Answering the call for more black teachers
By Linda Wilson
As a lifelong resident of Peoria, Ill., and a teacher in Peoria’s District 150 public schools, I care deeply about our community and the 14,000 students we serve. About 55 percent of our students are African-American, but less than 7 percent of our teachers are. The district also has a growing number of Latino students, yet Latino teachers are significantly underrepresented on staff, and male teachers are in short supply too. That’s why I’m committed to bringing the Grow Your Own program back to Peoria schools.
Grow Your Own is an Illinois program designed to recruit and retain diverse candidates to become teachers in their own communities. Despite the increased awareness of the positive impact of, and the need for, more teachers of color, many school districts are like Peoria and suffer from a lack of teacher diversity.
For underrepresented children and those with few resources, it is important for them to have role models they can relate to. And research suggests that white children benefit from having teachers of other races to dispel negatives stereotypes they may be exposed to.
Despite the increased awareness of the positive impact of, and the need for, more teachers of color, many school districts suffer from a lack of teacher diversity.
I’m a black woman. I am educated. I have a career. I have a family. I am from this community. And as a proud graduate of Grow Your Own, I know how beneficial it is — for participants and their students.
For me, the program was a godsend. I entered in 2008 when GYO was first launched in Peoria. I had been attending classes sporadically at Illinois Central College and was working as a teacher’s aide at that time.
Before entering the program, I had no idea how I was going to complete my teaching degree. I was juggling school, family, work and financial challenges. But the amazing support I received from peers and mentors in GYO helped to see me through and encouraged me to keep going to reach my goal.
There were so many helpful components to the program. I traveled to Chicago for the statewide networking meeting and heard Stanford University professor Linda Darling-Hammond speak. I networked with other teachers across the state. I received training and leadership development. I received a stipend to help defray the costs of my education and, with forgivable loans, I was able to go full time to Bradley University, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in early childhood education.
My school is three blocks away from my house. I see students and parents on my block and at the grocery store. I’m really invested in my community and my students.
I’m now entering my seventh year as a teacher at Trewyn K-8 School in Peoria. Many of our teachers live in surrounding communities. While there is certainly nothing wrong with that, you do see things through a different lens when you live and work here. My school is three blocks away from my house. I see students and parents on my block and at the grocery store. I’m really invested in my community and my students. My students know I care about them, and I hope my success is inspirational to them. I want them to know they can overcome their challenges and go on to bright futures too.
I’m fortunate that my union, the Peoria Federation of Teachers, Local 780, understands the importance of teacher diversity in our district and is supporting my efforts to bring GYO back to Peoria. I’ve been named the local’s Grow Your Own advocate, a role I take very seriously.
Our community wants great teachers, and we know that GYO produces high-quality educators. GYO graduates have high GPAs, continue our education by pursuing master’s degrees, and are invested in our communities. We aim to teach children that they can be successful, inside and outside the classroom.
Grow Your Own created new possibilities for me that would never have existed without the program. I know there are others who want to become teachers but who, just like me, need a few doors opened and some encouraging words. With the support of my union, I’m committed to helping them do that in my community and others.
Linda Wilson is a middle school teacher and the political/diversity director for Peoria Federation of Teachers, Local 780. This story originally appeared on the Illinois Federation of Teachers website. Read more about what the AFT is doing to diversify the classroom on our news tab.
