Preparing a Diverse Teacher Workforce
Research and common understanding continue to show that students of color benefit from having teachers who represent and mirror their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities.
To support the recruitment of diverse candidates into the teaching profession, WestEd works with teacher preparation partners to track recruitment and enrollment efforts and study the conditions that are likely to yield diverse candidates, including the establishment of teacher residency programs, tailored recruitment strategies, and program support throughout the teacher recruitment and application process.
We also study high-quality teacher preparation programs, as research shows that educators who are prepared for today’s classrooms are more likely to stay in the profession.
Our experts are available to help you measure the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs and share insights to help you meet your program goals.
Components of High-Quality Teacher Preparation Programs
- Classroom experience—Allocating practice time in classrooms builds an understanding of effective classroom management and instructional strategies.
- Co-Teaching—Applying a co-teaching model, supported by a high-quality mentor teacher, strengthens confidence and validates high-quality teaching.
- Teacher professional development—Providing opportunities for school-based professional development strengthens skills, knowledge, and confidence.
- Professional learning communities and school events—Including professional learning communities and school events as part of teacher preparation strengthens relationships among students, teachers, and community.
Equity in Focus
Going Beyond the Data in Diversifying the Teacher Workforce
By Saroja Warner, Director for Culturally Responsive & Equitable Systems at WestEd
In this blog article that first appeared on the Comprehensive Center Network website and is shared here with permission, Dr. Saroja Warner discusses collaborative statewide efforts to improve the recruitment and retention of educators of color.
Our Work in Action
Increasing Rural Teacher Preparedness Through a Teacher Residency
WestEd studied implementation and outcomes of the Kern Rural Teacher Residency (KRTR) in the California Central Valley and provided continuous data-informed recommendations to improve the residency for future cohorts. The KRTR helped California State University at Bakersfield establish a model for high-quality teacher residency implementation that has since been expanded to five additional residencies in the area, including the Teacher Residency for Rural Education (TRRE). The TRRE program has successfully recruited a majority of candidates of color in each cohort since program inception to earn their single-subject credential and teach in the local partner districts.
Adapting Teacher Preparation Programs to Meet Candidate Learning Needs
WestEd works with several US Department of Education Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant recipients to study their programs and provide formative and summative data to improve grant activities and outcomes. WestEd highlighted the work of our partners in this archived webinar titled “What We Learned Preparing Teachers During the Pandemic.”
WestEd team members are skilled researchers in all aspects of program evaluation. They are innovative and insightful and bring so much value to what we do—truly the best in the field! They are consummate professionals offering strategic thought partnership that informs how we can improve our services with every educational partner we serve in California teacher residencies.
Adriana Cervantes-González, EdD
Tulare County Office of Education
TRRE Project Residency Lead