According to “Does Teacher Diversity Matter in Student Learning?” an article published today in the New York Times: “Research shows that students, especially boys, benefit when teachers share their race or gender. Yet most teachers are white women.”
Here in Oregon, according to the Chief Education Office’s “Oregon Educator Equity Report“, only 9.9 percent of teachers are ethnically diverse. Student diversity is increasing in our state, though, with the percentage of ethnically diverse students currently reported at 37.6 percent.