Several well-respected New England colleges, including the University of Vermont, have recognized the benefits of a diverse faculty, and are working to realize these benefits. Several public universities in Massachusetts, for example, are making concerted efforts to diversify their faculty, as reported in a recent article in the Milford Daily News. One school official who is involved in the work said that “one of the things research shows is that a diverse faculty, staff and student body enhances the academic benefits for the students. We want to provide the most well-rounded education to our students.” Another school representative said that “we’re not unique to other New England schools – recruiting and retention can be a challenge. We’ve been working on processes to recruit and retain (minorities) on the staff side as well.”

The University of Vermont has made similar efforts toward a more diverse educational experience. From 2002-2008, UVM hired 41 diverse instructional and research faculty members for an increase of 2.5%. As of 2008, the university employed 415 minority and international faculty and staff members, and since 2007, has required students to complete a six-credit diversity requirement, which involves taking at least two classes related to race or diversity. The school states that it believes that “diversity and academic excellence are inseparable,” and that it is “clear that academic excellence goals cannot be met without a diverse professoriate.” The university’s “Why Diversity Statement” goes on to say that

“A diverse faculty is necessary not only for the variety of ideas and experiences that it brings to the creation of a truly excellent curriculum but also for the intellectual and social vibrancy that marks a vital academic community. Likewise, diversity among our staff enhances the safe and respectful climate that is essential to achieving the University’s educational goals and the greatest possible range of cultural skills sets to serve our communities.”

Local public schools for younger students could follow this example and realize these same benefits by working to diversify their faculty. The ethnic make-up of Vermont’s public schools is very similar to that of UVM and other New England colleges, who clearly see the value of a diverse faculty.

For additional information on diversity at UVM:

The University of Vermont FY 2010 Sourcebook

Office of the President’s “Why Diversity” Statement

This isn’t a diversity related offering, but we do like to pass along information about excellent opportunities for aspiring public school teachers when we can. Troops to Teachers helps teaching candidates who are progressing towards their NEXT career in teaching having come from the military community.

Please check out their flyer to learn more about their next information session on March 26th at St. Michael’s College in Colchester.

Troops to Teachers Flyer

The Bush Administration’s heavily publicized education effort, the No Child Left Behind Act, has not made progress reducing the achievement gap between white and minority students, according to a New York Times article published last year. The article says that the No Child Left Behind law is officially described as “an act to close the achievement gap,” but has had little effect, leaving the gap “stubbornly wide.” While some progress has been made increasing the test scores of 9 and 13 year old students, the overall scores of 17 year olds have not improved since the 1970s. The gap in achievement among high school students is even more worrisome. White students scored 29 points higher on the exams in reading, and 26 points higher in math, which roughly compares to two or three school years worth of learning. The proportion of diverse students taking the exam has also increased dramatically, from 12% in 1971, to 40% in 2008.

According to the Vermont Department of Education’s 2009 NECAP Assessments, our state is not exempt from these problems. In high school, Black and Latino students in Vermont generally did not do as well as white students on the reading, writing, and math assessments. The New York Times article suggests that these trends could partially be due to cultural issues. A more diverse teaching staff can help remedy this situation by providing a diverse student body with more representative role-models. Recent studies also suggest that students are more successful when taught by members of their own ethnic group, and that these educators have higher expectations for students of their own ethnicity. We recently posted on an Illinois community’s progress reducing their district’s racial achievement gap through intentional efforts to diversify their teacher workforce.

Information for this post is based on the following sources:

The National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force

Vermont’s Grade 11 NECAP Assessments

For the New York Times report, click here.

The Vermont Teacher Diversity Initiative has secured a booth at the National Minority Careers in Education Expo in New York City to be held on Saturday, March 13th, 2010. Districts who are interested in sending representatives to conduct recruitment of teachers to intentionally diversify their staffs are encouraged to attend.

The VTDI is covering the cost of the event; interested parties would only need to pay for their own travel and lodging in New York. The Burlington School District is sending staff and community members in order to conduct outreach. Space is provided to conduct interviews on site with potential candidates. Contact us for more information or to attend.

Vermont’s public schools are becoming increasingly diverse. The percentage of minority students in the state has more than doubled in the past decade, with increases in the numbers of every ethnic group other than Native Americans. In the Burlington School District, for example, minority students now make up about a quarter of the school population. This group represents over sixty countries, and speaks more than fifty languages and dialects.

This demographic shift brings new challenges and opportunities. Other communities experiencing a similar diversification have taken a proactive approach and have seen the benefits that can result from their deliberate efforts. The suburbs outside of Chicago, for instance, have experienced an influx of more diverse students, and one district has made special efforts to welcome these new students. These successes, in the Plainfield community school district, were profiled recently by the Chicago Tribune. A central part of their undertaking involves hiring a more diverse and representative school faculty, as well as doing things like hosting cultural events and clubs to promote cultural understanding.

School officials report that they have made significant progress reducing the achievement gap between their white and nonwhite students through the program, but stress that the benefits are universal. A diversity expert with the district said that “This work does not impact just the black and Latino students. When we look at diversity in education, everyone wins.” A member of the district’s diversity council made a similar point, saying that “Diversity is going to be critical to any person’s success in our globalized society.” Vermont schools that are going through similar changes could follow this example, and see the same kinds of benefits and progress.

For the full story of the Plainfield community’s efforts click here.

Location: McCarthy Arts Center
Start Date: 2/18/2010  7:00 PM
End Date: 2/18/2010  9:00 PM

Tim Wise will speak on “Race and Racism in the Age of Obama.” One of the most respected and provocative speakers in the nation on race, antiracism, and white privilege, Tim Wise has spoken in 48 states on 400 college campuses. He is the author of Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama and three other books. He is a nationally recognized authority, speaker, trainer for anti-racism programs.

The recipients of the VTDSP that have been selected as part of the Fall 2009 selection round have been determined. We are extremely pleased to announce the selection of the following Scholars:

Pierre Cotton of South Burlington: Pierre will be completing a Master’s degree at the Union Institute and University.

Aaron Mason of Colchester: Aaron is enrolled in the Teacher Apprenticeship Program for Spring 2010, and will be completing portfolio review for his licensure.

Madhu Neupane of Burlington: Madhu earned a Master’s degree in Nepal, and will be completing the requirements for a US equivalent (and VT teacher certification) through the External Degree Program at Johnson State College.

Ellada Siliski of Rutland: Ellada is completing an Master’s program at the University of Vermont and is already teaching at Rutland High School.

Lisa Thurston Flynn of Bennington: Lisa already holds an M.Ed. from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and is completing her teacher licensure through the Department of Education “Peer Review” process.

We’ll be posting full biographies of the rest of our terrific new Scholars some time in the coming weeks.

Congratulations to our new Scholars!

Three new Scholars were selected as part of the Spring 2009 selection round. The VTDSP is pleased to be providing assistance to Gerardo Ortiz, Redel Frometa, and Henri Sparks.

Click here to learn more about Gerardo.
Click here to learn more about Redel.
Click here to learn more about Henri.

The Center for Cultural Pluralism has organized the following series of four special seminars to engage our community in awareness, understanding and meaningful actions.

Discrimination in a New Package, Microaggressions: How to Understand Indirect Bias in Our Lives
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
5:00pm–6:30pm
Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building

This program is free and open to the public. It shares the most current research on microaggressions and its impact on communities. The event provides a forum to discuss the best practices for addressing microaggressions from multiple viewpoints and situations by bring together the following experts to discuss the issues:

Kevin Nadal: Professor, psychologist, performer, activist, and author who received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University in 2008.

Nicole Watkins: Multicultural researcher and therapist, academic advisor, and doctoral candidate in the psychological counseling program at Teachers College, Columbia University.

David Rivera: Therapist, multicultural researcher and doctoral candidate in counseling psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University.

This program is open to the public, please call (802) 656-8833 for more information

The VTDSP supports equity, equality, and respect for all. With that in mind, we’re passing along this information from our friends at the First Congregational Church in Burlington. VTDSP staff will be attending, and we hope you’ll consider attending as well.

Thank you,
Jim Woodard, Executive Director

Dear Friends,

As described on page one of last Sunday’s Burlington Free Press, members of the Topeka, Kansas, Westboro Baptist Church are bringing their message of hate to Vermont next Tuesday, September 1. Their principal target is the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, although they also intend to focus on three local Jewish communities as “filthy, Christ-rejecting Jews.”

On Monday night, August 31, at 7:30 PM, the First Congregational Church (38 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington) is hosting a “Community Meeting of Solidarity in the Face of Hate Speech.” Rabbi Joshua Chasan of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Reverend David O’Brien of Burlington’s First Baptist Church, and I are working together with members of our congregations and of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to plan the meeting.

This is not a “rally” nor a “protest.” It is a gathering of the whole community so that we might together feel the warmth, support and reaffirmation of the bonds that tie us together as a community. Please plan to join us if it is humanly possible. Please invite members of your faith community to attend as well. We have chosen not to confront the Westboro people directly on Tuesday and instead to meet Monday night. It will send a great message to everyone in Vermont if we can fill the church and flow out into the street.

As our building is currently under construction, parking will be a challenge Monday night; plan to use the free Public Parking Garage across the street. Our hope and expectation is that the gathering will last no longer than one hour.

Peace,
Bob Lee
First Congregational Church of Burlington