ELPS, Schools Statewide Struggle to Build Diverse Teaching Staffs

When Klaudia Burton was hired as a new science teacher at East Lansing High School in 2019, she thought she had found her dream job. Burton soon found herself feeling lonely and isolated as the only Black teacher at the high school, and among only a handful district-wide.

“It was eye-opening, ” said Burton, looking back at her hiring five years later. “I was the only Black teacher at the high school. It felt like there was no one I could go to and share with culturally, or who shared my background and experiences.”

Today, Burton is among a team of administrators in the district whose goals include recruiting and hiring more Black teachers, and implementing strategies to make sure their professional and personal needs are being met so that they’ll remain in the district.

“We’re behind many other districts,” Burton said. “Our staff demographic is not what it should be. We’re lacking in this area. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

During the 2023-24 school year, only 12 of the district’s 300 teachers were Black, including only one at the high school, said Burton, who in 2021 was promoted to the district’s then new position of director of equity and social justice. Of the 3,800 students enrolled in the district, 700 are Black.

The shortage of Black teachers isn’t unique to the East Lansing School District, Rulesha Glover-Payne, the district’s chief human resources officer said.

“One of the district’s goals is to recruit a more diverse workforce and we’ve been intentional with meeting this goal,” Glover-Payne said. “Last year, I am happy to say that we made gains with hiring minority staff.

“While the need for more minority staff is still great, the minority teacher shortage remains a huge topic of conversation across the state and nation. Unfortunately, there doesn’t exist a huge minority candidate pool nor are huge numbers of minority students going into the field of education.

“As a result, you will find many districts vying for the same candidates,” she added.

East Lansing Public Schools in recent years has implemented several strategies to try and boost the number of Black teachers in the district, Glover-Payne said.

Alternative teacher programs have existed in Michigan for some time, but few racial minorities are taking advantage of the opportunity, she said. Another program that rolled out last year is called Talent Together, and offers free tuition is beginning to gain some traction.

The biggest challenge is the lack of interest by students of color to pursue a teaching career, Burton and Glover-Payne agree.

“I make it a point to attend college career fairs and most recently MSU just a few weeks ago,” Glover-Payne said. “Only four students of color attended MSU’s career fair.

“The two that came by expressed little interest in remaining in the Lansing area and expressed interest in working on the east side of the state instead.  Also, I am an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) graduate and still remain connected to HBCU interests.  There doesn’t appear to be a big interest from HBCU students coming to Michigan.  Unfortunately, they correlate Michigan with being cold and snowy.”

ELPS launched its Exploring Education pilot program during the 2023-24 school year. The high school class introduces students to careers in education, with the hope that more students of color will become interested and later attend college to pursue a teaching degree.

East Lansing resident Josh Hewitt, who is the father of two students enrolled in the district, believes the Exploring Education program has potential, but says school officials need to continue efforts that will see results much sooner.

He worries that his two daughters, and other current Black students don’t have enough support or mentors now. The absence of Black teachers could make efforts like Exploring Education a difficult sell to current students, said Hewitt.

“It is a pipeline problem, not just in terms of people not being exposed to becoming teachers, but historically they weren’t always welcome to the ranks, ” he said.

Black educators can share their experiences and lessons learned from the challenges they’ve encountered along the way, Hewitt said.

That’s not to say white teachers can’t be effective mentors and role-models to Black students, Hewitt said.

“A good teacher is a good teacher,” he said. “When that happens, that’s great. So it’s not automatically that Black teachers are better. But they do bring other variables to the table.

“Essentially, you want good teachers, but you also want someone that [Black] students can emulate, share experiences, and some social issues can often be better addressed by Black teachers. Experience is not just theoretical.”

Hewitt said he continues to challenge East Lansing school officials to address issues of diversity and equity because too often organizations don’t take the issues seriously.

“After George Floyd, schools began talking more about it, because that’s what you’re supposed to do,”  Hewitt said. “But what’s being promoted aren’t always good ideas, they’re cosmetic changes.”

Floyd, a Black male whose 2020 videotaped murder under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota sparked outrage and protests across the country. It also prompted law enforcement and other organizations to pledge that they would step up to promote diversity in their ranks.

For example, after Floyd’s death, Minnesota school districts began offering financial stipends to encourage more racial minorities to pursue teaching degrees. But the program was saddled with so many loopholes, most applicants were not eligible to receive the stipend, Hewitt said.

“When it comes to hiring more Black teachers, the question becomes do we really want to,” Hewitt said. “[Some people say] they value diversity but only until it makes them uncomfortable.”

Part of the problem is that “historically human resources [departments] would be responsible for recruiting and hiring,” Hewitt said. “But interviews are conducted by principals – the majority of whom are white. There needs to be more accountability.”

Burton agrees: “This may not be a favorable opinion, but this is not a major concern for people who live in the majority. The question becomes how do you get people to buy into it [diversity]?”

People need to be reminded that diversity benefits everyone, not just people of color, Burton said. Being exposed to different cultures, experiences and points of view can make an entire community stronger.

Glover-Payne explains how the district’s recruiting, interviewing and hiring efforts have changed in recent years:

“Candidates that apply for a teaching position for ELPS, must submit a video cover letter and provide us with an equity statement,” Glover-Payne said. “I have systematized the hiring process by creating a uniformed hiring process that hiring managers (principals, superintendent and directors) must follow.

“I am currently working on procedures for hiring managers to utilize so they are identifying and interviewing more minority candidates, while at the same time ensuring that members of the interview committee reflect diversity.”

Burton, who also recruits for the district, says school officials need to inform potential employees of the many reasons why East Lansing is a great place to live and work.

“We need to improve how we promote our community and workplace when recruiting,” Burton said. “East Lansing/MSU is our greatest connection. Our district provides many professional learning, and professional growth opportunities.

“And the city of East Lansing is becoming increasingly diverse and there is a synergy that comes with it. It creates an inclusive environment that makes me want to stay.”

Glover-Payne adds: “I really hope the public understands that the shortage in school districts doesn’t come from a lack of effort. Many districts who have set this as a goal are really trying to attract, recruit and retain teachers of color.

“It is my belief that it begins with colleges and universities. Recruitment to the education program. I am unsure how that looks for colleges and universities. One thing is certain and that colleges and universities aren’t seeing the enrollment numbers to fill the needs we have locally and nationally.”