The purpose of the Guidebook is to support district and school leaders to design and implement a teacher diversification strategy in service of achievement and equitable outcomes for students. Engaging more staff of color requires intentional, reflective, and open-minded practices that are grounded in both the technical work of revising talent activities and the adaptive work of exploring individual identity and the manifestation of biases. As the Guidebook outlines, a talent diversification strategy requires an approach to both reevaluating and revising current practices around recruitment and selection while also taking steps to create a more inclusive culture through ongoing cultural proficiency work across the district.
The development of the Guidebook is grounded by the theory of action below:
The Guidebook proposes four (4) key steps to building and implementing a talent diversification strategy:
As teams engage with this Guidebook, it will be evident that decision-making must be grounded in the work of understanding the experiences of students, families, and staff of color. The reflective work of exploring our individual dimensions of identity and the intersection with unconscious bias also illuminates the importance of elevating more voices and perspectives to better understand the challenges and opportunities available. Creating a more racially and ethnically diverse teacher workforce is not just about updating recruitment and selection models; we must attend to retaining teachers of color to ensure that students and communities benefit from the sustained impact of more diversity at the front of the classroom.
MA Teacher Diversification Guidebook
The guidebook is currently in the process of being updated for FY25.
Last Updated: July 15, 2024