Do Worcester Public School Teachers Lack Diversity?

Monday, April 13, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

Recently, there has been discussion in the city regarding the lack of diversity among Worcester Public School teachers. Specifically, some have called into question whether or not the faculty at North High is diverse enough to suit the extremely diverse student population.

SEE SLIDES BELOW: The 25 Most Diverse Schools in Worcester County

GoLocal Worcester looked into how the faculty at each of Worcester’s public schools compared to each other and to other cities in the Commonwealth and whether or not the argument that these schools weren’t diverse enough had any ground to stand on.

“The diversity of our Worcester Public Schools is one of their special and distinctive qualities. Almost all Worcester students are immigrants - or descendants of immigrants - and they bring to school their rich cultural heritage - language, history, customs, values, cuisine, and activities,” said Worcester School Committee member Brian O’Connell. “Schools can and should highlight this diversity, encouraging students and parents to share their heritage and culture with other members of the school community, and to learn from the traditions and values of others as well.”

The Diversity Breakdown of WPS Teachers

According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), there are 10 times the amount of white teachers than there are Hispanic teachers, more than 22 times more white teachers than African-American teachers, and a startlingly high 66 times more white teacher than Asian teachers.

John Monfredo, also a member of the Worcester School Committee, said, "It would be great to have a more diverse staff, but the the first quality that I look for is to select the best and the brightest individual. That being said, I do feel that it is important for the teaching staff to reflect the diversity of the students they will be instructing. I'd like to see more hiring early in the spring for all school systems are reviewing their hiring practices and let's select the best that's out there."

Nearly 87% of the teachers in Worcester are white (2,750), 8% are Hispanic (255). nearly 4% are African-American (122), and little more than 1% are Asian.

WPS Faculty by Race/Ethnicity 2014-2015- graphic from Mass DESE.

“The teachers should be a reflection of the student population or at least these should be teachers in the school that look like the children attending,” said Jennifer Gaskin, President of the Worcester Caribbean American Carnival Association and a member of the Worcester Redevelopment Authority. “In the 10 plus years my son attended school in Worcester, I don't recall him ever having a black male teacher. It's pretty sad. Students need to have people who look like them, that they respect and identify with in the classroom.”

"The district in Worcester does need a more diverse staff," Worcester School Committee member Hilda Ramirez said. "The staff should reflect more closely the population of the city and the schools. In order to reach this goal, it is important to encourage our students and universities to work towards the same goal. Its not enough to say we need diversity, we need to work at it in the same way we work on improving our graduation rates."

As far as gender diversity is concerned, there’s nearly five times more women than there are men teaching in Worcester public schools.

Worcester can, and should, recruit a teaching staff which reflects its community- i.e., one which seeks to be as diverse as the demographics of Worcester,” said O’Connell. “This has been a priority of the Worcester Public Schools, and its Human Resources office has tried a wide range of initiatives to increase the number of staff members it has recruited from diverse backgrounds.”

In comparison to other cities in the Commonwealth, Worcester employs more Hispanic teachers (255) than all minority teachers combined in every other city in Central Massachusetts (Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Marlborough, and Southbridge).

When considering population size, a stronger comparison for Worcester would be the city of Springfield. Worcester employs more Hispanic and Asian teachers than Springfield, but has less African-American and White teachers. (For a look at a complete breakdown of every district, please click here: Race/Ethnicity and Gender Staffing Report)

How Does the Data Translate to Teachers and Students?

In contrast to the diversity (or lack thereof) of WPS teachers, nearly 40% of WPS students are Hispanic, while nearly 34% are white. 15% of the students are African-American, 7.5% are Asian, and 4.1% are mixed race.

“All can, and should, be proud of their heritage, and, especially for first generation immigrants, their stories are often those of great courage, persistence, and achievement against overwhelming odds,” said O’Connell. “This can be one of the most important aspects of a Worcester education, and it should assist students to learn to appreciate the richness of diversity in our schools - perhaps one of the most vital lessons students learn which equips them well to thrive in the varied but closely interconnected world which awaits them.”

Compared to the rest of the Bay State, Worcester is home to more than double the number of Hispanic students, nearly double the number of African American students, and is slightly above the state average for number of Asian students. The Worcester school district has less than half of the average population of white students compared to the rest of the state. (See graph below).

Ramirez said, "Diversity is important in urban districts that have a large population of English language learners and students with special needs. A diverse staff is better equipped to help the district meet the special needs and cultural needs of our diverse students. For example, a staff that can speak many languages and is able to understand the norms of students arriving from other countries becomes a greater assett to the district. Its all a matter of having staff with more skills to meet the needs of the district. Diversity is important not only locally but also to meet the needs of a high skill global economy and to produce students that can easily adapt in an uncertain future."

Worcester Public School Enrollment 2014-2015 - graphic from Mass DESE

A Look at Diversity in Worcester’s High Schools

“Diversity plays a major role in secondary schools not only in Worcester but in all communities. In secondary school we are preparing students to be part of the "real world". A real world that is increasingly diverse and requires you to consider the cultural context of your interactions,” said Gaskin. “Worcester is one of the most diverse cities I've ever lived in. This is an opportunity for the schools to teach students the skills to navigate in the broader community. Unfortunately I don't think it is a topic that has been appropriately addressed and/or embraced through curriculum.”

Following the North High’s unfortunate email controversy in which the principal of the school accused a teacher of potentially causing racial tensions and attacked the teacher’s use of the word ‘color-blind,’ the relationship between teachers and their diverse group of students came to the forefront.

According to the DESE, Hispanic students make up nearly half of the school’s population, while white employees make up 82 percent of the school’s faculty.

Here is a breakdown of North High’s faculty by race:

North High Faculty by Race/Gender 2014-2015 - graphic from Mass DESE

Here is a look at North High’s student population:

North High Students by Race 2014-2015 - graphic from Mass DESE

Utilizing data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, GoLocal Worcester put together a list of the 25 Most Diverse Middle and High Schools in Worcester County.

GoLocal assessed public middle and high schools in Worcester by their overall racial balance. Nine schools in Worcester are in the top 10 most diverse in the County.

Based on a simple formula that included all schools with 300 or more students (1 point for each race that makes up 10% or more of the school's population, 1 point for mixed race/Native American making up 5% or more of the population, and a general comparison of the schools), GoLocal was able to abstract the 25 most diverse schools.

Here is the breakdown of the nine most diverse middle and high schools in Worcester