Educators of Color in Kansas City

Focus Areas: Teachers Work, Career Pathways, Postsecondary Education

Year: 2020-2021

This series of studies examines the preparation, recruitment and retention patterns of teachers of color in the Kansas City metro area.

In the United States, 25% of K-12 students identify as Latinx, yet only 8% of educators do. This series of studies, commissioned by the Latinx Education Collaborative, explores the educator pipeline in Kansas City, focusing on the gender, age, and racial-ethnic makeup of the pre-service and in-service educators in the region.

To date, three studies have been completed:

  1. Teachers of Color in Kansas City looks at teachers in the 14-country Kansas City metropolitan area, asking the following questions:
    • Are schools in Kansas City recruiting and retaining teachers of color?
    • To what degree do teachers reflect the students they teach?
    • Do teachers of color in Kansas City leave the profession at higher rates than white teachers?
  2. Teacher Preparation Programs examines teacher preparation programs in Kansas and Missouri.
    • What types of teacher preparation program are available in KS and MO?
    • Are KS and MO making progress in enrolling more students of color into their teacher preparation programs?
  3.  Educators of Color in Kansas City provides a snapshot of educators (teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff) in the Kansas City area.  The dashboard provides 2016-2019 district-level data on educators of color in the region.