I’ve argued the need for school districts to hire more Black teachers; specifically Black male teachers.[1] My argument isn’t limited to only adding more Black male teachers – but Black and Latino teachers of both as well. My call isn’t limited to where Black and Latino teachers are largely absent; but also for where they are “plentiful.” Black and Latino teachers tend to be “plentiful” in urban and inner-city school districts. However, if one were to do a deep dive into the numbers, they’d find that these districts could do a better job at recruiting and retaining Black and Latino faculty. Schools in the city of Camden could do a better job; Camden City School District (CCSD), renaissance charter schools[2] (RCS) and non-renaissance charter schools[3] (NRCS). On its face, TPS in Camden have gone through a number of changes that are responsible for declining enrollment and a reduction in faculty. Schools have closed, others have merged, and some have been given to RCS to manage. Also, NRCS have always posed competition for TPS. One can look at all charters and point out that growth in both enrollment and faculty is due to the changes felt by TPS. What do all these changes mean with respect to Black and Latino teachers? Black and Latino teachers are losing their jobs with TPS but are they faring better with RCS and NRCS where faculty employment demographics is concerned?
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Urban Education Mixtape 