December 2020| Vol. 41 No. 6 www. learningforward. org| The Learning Professional 25 experiences and, therefore, are likely to employ instructional practices responsive to cultural strengths (Villegas & Irvine, 2010). A diverse workforce is associated with improved academic outcomes on standardized tests, attendance, retention, advanced-level course enrollment, graduation rates, and college-entrance rates for students of color (Villegas & Davis, 2008; Villegas & Irvine, 2010). The benefits of teacher diversification are not limited to students of color. White students benefit from seeing teachers and leaders of color in their classrooms and schools and give these teachers high ratings in surveys, noting that they feel both cared for and academically challenged by these teachers (Carver-Thomas, 2018). Teachers of color more frequently use culturally relevant instructional practices and have a greater likelihood of addressing racism and bias in their classrooms, which better prepares all students for a diverse world (Grissom & Redding, 2016).

Yet across the US, the racial disparities between teachers and students are striking. More than half of the students in US public schools are students of color (51%), while only 20% of teachers are people of color. Compared with a US population of about 40% people of color, this is a disproportionately low percentage (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019; Taie & Goldring, 2017). Similarly, the gap between