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Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
With threats to diversity in schools, are Black male teachers in jeopardy?
The Department of Education's recent letter stressing that discrimination on the basis of race is "illegal" could put Black male educators at risk, according to education experts and advocates. A 1,000-word "Dear Colleague" letter sent by acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor emphasized the Department of Education will strictly enforce the Title VI civil rights laws that hold schools accountable for racial discrimination. The looming deadline to comply is this Friday, Feb. 28. Education policy professor Phelton Moss suggested the letter is antithetical to promoting teacher diversity. "[The letter] runs afoul to the work that we have already been doing to increase the share of Black male educators," Moss told ABC News. Once dominant voices in education, Black men have become an anomaly in the field, making up just 1.3% of public school teachers in the National Center for Education Statistics' National Teacher and Principal Survey in 2020, the last time results were released for the study. Moss said the "Dear Colleague" leads him to question how the work to recruit and retain Black male teachers will get done, given what appears to be a "lack of support" for it at the federal level. MORE: 'We're under attack by billionaires': Fired federal workers speak out on terminations Over years of reporting, roughly two dozen Black male educators at public, charter and private pre-K-12 schools across the country have told ABC News that they feel underappreciated and overstretched -- with their numbers in the profession already small and appearing to dwindle, according to experts. In a recent interview with ABC News Live, Curtis Lewis, founder and CEO of the Black Male Educators Alliance, said educators are "scared" to discuss diversity because of the Trump administration's actions. The administration has signed multiple executive orders aiming to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the federal government, as well as its grantees and contractors. However, the orders were blocked by a federal judge for constitutional violations, including violating the First Amendment. "Federal dollars are important to schools, especially low-income schools," Lewis said. "If folks are having initiatives that's focusing on getting more teachers of color, they're going to be less hesitant to do that if it's going to mean they're going to lose money." This week, education groups opposing the memo sued the Department of Education, acting Education Secretary Denise Carter and Trainor because it could "irreparably harm" students and educators, according to the lawsuit. ABC News reached out to the department for comment but did not receive a response before publishing this story. MORE: Teachers fear shuttering Department of Education will diminish vital programs But the Department of Education has already taken steps to terminate the federal awards granted to teacher diversity programs, including the CREATE project formerly at Georgia State University, which conflicted with the department's policy of prioritizing merit, fairness and excellence in education, according to a termination letter obtained by ABC News. Advocates, such as The Education Trust Senior Vice President Wil Del Pilar, said they believe targeting programs that expand diversity initiatives is the latest method to create fear among educators of color and can trickle down to programs that aid Black male teachers. "If a district has or supports an effort to increase the number of Black male educators, I absolutely think that that will be called into question," Del Pilar told ABC News. De'Shawn C. Washington said Black men are needed as educators now more than ever. Washington, the 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, called Black men "warm demanders," or educators who are demanding by setting high expectations while simultaneously creating a nurturing learning environment. "When Black male teachers -- warm demander teachers -- step into a space and hold every student, including themselves, accountable for the learning of every child in that space, all children get better," Washington told ABC News. "And that's the essence of what we bring to the table each and every day in our classroom spaces." According to the Institute of Labor Economics' 2017 paper "The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers," when assigned a Black teacher between third and fifth grade, Black children are less likely to drop out of high school and are more likely to be interested in college. In the "Dear Colleague" letter, the Department of Education vowed to crack down on school practices that critics say further segregate students on the basis of race and color, among other characteristics. During her nomination hearing, Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of education, decried DEI for further segregating schools. "We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools," McMahon said, adding "There are DEI programs that say that Black students need separate graduation ceremonies or Hispanics need separate ceremonies, but we are not achieving what we wanted to achieve with inclusion." MORE: Education nominee McMahon grilled amid Trump's vow to kill department Meanwhile, House Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Bobby Scott, D-Va., called the memo an ill-advised and far-reaching interpretation of the Supreme Court's 2023 affirmative action decision. Ayodele Harrison is the founder and director of Black Male Educators Talk (BMEsTalk), a safe space for existing and aspiring Black male educators to connect, grow and lead. Currently, Harrison is focused on Black men cultivating emotional intelligence, self-care and wellness. "We could host conversations around DEI and the impact of these executive orders, or we could spend time saying, 'Hey, checking in with one another: How are you doing?'" Harrison told ABC News. "We've had conversations, but we really talk about how we are doing as human beings and how we're navigating -- less on the policies, the executive orders, etc." Harrison isn't as worried that this letter or other efforts to dismantle diversity initiatives will influence hiring future Black male teachers, saying he remains hopeful. He added that it may be too early to tell, just a month into the Trump administration, how Black men will be affected. For now, Harrison told ABC News he is 100% focused on the 1% of the teaching workforce. "This is a community of brave-hearted men that are committed to working in the education space," Harrison said. "We are going to encourage and support and push and hold each other accountable and celebrate and cry and hug and high-five and mentor each other in this education space." "That's what we're going to do," he added. With threats to diversity in schools, are Black male teachers in jeopardy? originally appeared on
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Creating next generation of Black male teachers a top mission for educator's nonprofit
When educator Curtis L. Lewis noticed he was the only Black, male teacher in a district of 20 elementary schools, he says he decided to do something about it. "I began to think about what are some ways in which we can begin to shift this narrative. How do we begin to engage younger people, younger males, into the profession?" Lewis told ABC News. In the United States, Black male teachers made up 1.3% of all teachers in K-12 grades in public schools for the 2020-2021 school year, according to data from the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). That makes them the second least-represented demographic in teaching, with Asian men representing just 0.5% of all teachers. Lewis, who holds a Ph.D., founded the Black Male Educators Alliance, or B.M.E.A, in 2017, a nonprofit that is dedicated to creating equitable educational environments where Black male educators and students can thrive. "I began to focus on Michigan," Lewis said. "And so that sort of also helped to facilitate that sort of the idea and grow that idea. I was really hyper, you know, hyper-focused, focused on getting quality teachers, but also really wanting to see if there are ways to engage Black men." As B.M.E.A. grew, Lewis and his educators implemented the Youth Leadership Development Program, which follows an intergenerational mentor model to increase math and literacy proficiency among Black and Brown male students in pre-K through fifth grades. This program engages students in relevant issues that affect them directly. The goal is to help them develop essential leadership skills, including communication, collaboration, and creative problem-solving, which they will need as they grow older. The B.M.E.A program currently has 77 high school mentors in the Youth Leadership Development Program and just under 250 elementary school mentees. "We believe our Youth Leadership Development Program has many benefits, but one is to help rebuild a pipeline of Black males interested in becoming teachers," educator Joseph said. "And that program is an intergenerational model of mentoring, in which you have supervisors that serve as mentors and supervise the high school Black males who work in the local elementary schools." The B.M.E.A. website states that the organization has a 100% retention rate for their Teacher and Principal Fellowships, as educators nationwide are committed to transforming education. In Detroit, students feel the impact of B.M.E.A. and its programs. It's a ripple effect, with teachers influencing high school students and those same high school students becoming mentors for middle school students, according to Lewis. "They help me grab my voice, like I know how to speak up for myself and speak up for others," high school student DeRick McCalebb said. "Now, especially since I've been around elementary students and I've noticed like to recognize when something's wrong and kind of stand up for that in a way." The program is designed to positively impact students like McCalebb, who can go back and be a role model to younger students. Mentors on elementary school levels prepare kids for high school while at the same time recognizing their influence by simply being themselves while striving to be the best versions of themselves. The B.M.E.A. website reports that 91% of students in the math fellowship have shown growth through various assessment tests. A summer program for 150 Black males in grades 2-11 also continues the year-round Youth Leadership Development Program. The program offers math intervention, social and emotional learning, and cultural and identity development, according to the B.M.E.A. website. "It's a fun job to do," high school teacher Walter Mathis said. "Teaching is not really about the salary. Just seeing kids being inspired by, you know, look at it, me being a product in this community to, you know, give them the knowledge to say, OK, well, if he did it, I know I could do it, too. And so it is just a joy." Creating next generation of Black male teachers a top mission for educator's nonprofit originally appeared on
