Too many students lack leaders of color. What K-12 can do about it

A racial gap in a southern state reveals one of education’s most pressing problems: Many students don’t go to schools with leaders of color.

Nationally, only 22% of principals are people of color compared with 54% of students. And in Georgia, more than a third of all students—and the majority of white students—do not attend schools with even one leader of color, according to a new report by The Education Trust and New Leaders.

“Access to same-race school leaders positively shapes education experiences for students of color, including higher math achievement and greater representation in gifted programs,” said Denise Forte, CEO of The Education Trust, the equity advocacy nonprofit.

More from DA: How ongoing superintendent turnover is fueling pay gaps in K-12 leadership 

About one in five students of color in Georgia attend schools without any leaders of color, including 14% of Black students and 30% of Latino students. Students of color also lack access to diverse leaders: 59% of Georgia’s students identify as people of color compared to 44% of principals and assistant principals in the state.

“Georgia is only one example of a state that primarily serves students of color and needs a strong diverse leadership pipeline,” said Jean Desravines, CEO of New Leaders, a leadership training nonprofit. “To build more equitable schools, we must acknowledge that principals of color are key to the retention of teachers of color.”

One promising finding is that many Georgia schools with medium and high percentages of students of color do have at least one school leader of color. For example, 83% of students in Atlanta Public Schools identify as people of color and almost all of them go to a school with a leader of color. But in Columbia County, where less than half of students are of color, just 57% of them have access to diverse leaders.

“Diverse school leaders are crucial to building a positive learning environment for all students as well as recruiting, retaining, and developing a strong, diverse teacher workforce,” said Eric Duncan, Ed Trust’s assistant director of P-12 policy. “This report provides information for Georgia to invest and build a school leader workforce that is representative of the students in Georgia schools.”

The report recommends:

• Requiring that state- and district-level data on school leader diversity is made publicly available and easily accessible.
• Highlighting the successes of educator preparation programs that can best help districts recruit educators of color. Three HBCUs—Albany State University, Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College—are all working to improve preparation programs for principals of color.
• Providing resources to help districts 1.) better orient their recruitment and hiring practices toward educators of color, and 2.) ensure access to leadership development opportunities.
• Establishing statewide affinity networks, fellowships and communities of practice for leaders of color.

FETC 2023