A joint analysis by The Seattle Times and The Columbian newspapers found that even though the number of teachers of color is growing at a faster rate than that of white teachers, there are still few of them in classrooms. The newspapers looked at the 313 school districts, charter schools and educational service districts that sent teacher and student demographic information to the state. Last school year, nearly a quarter of Washington’s school districts had no teachers of color.

It’s a chasm that has remained stubbornly wide for decades, worsened by barriers to higher education, teacher-credential tests and limited funding to diversify teacher- training programs.

As students in Washington classrooms have become more diverse, the teachers who stand before them have remained almost always white.

Note: Totals are based on reported data from districts, charter schools, and educational service districts with both teacher and student demographics. Source: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (2017-18)

To Washington’s students, that lack of diversity matters — researchers say it can have lasting effects on high-school completion, discipline rates and test scores for students of color. Students like 17-year-old Lindsey Luis, a senior at Fort Vancouver High School in Southwest Washington, can spend nearly the entirety of their time in school without a single teacher who looks like them or shares their background. “There’s nothing like that one person you can speak Spanish with,” said Lindsey, who is Latina. “I’ve never had someone to relate to on a personal level.” What it would take to achieve parity Over the last five years, Washington’s schools have seen an 18 percent increase in the number of students of color — and a 2 percent decrease of white students. The growth of teachers of color, an increase of 32 percent, also outpaced the increase of new white teachers, which was about 10 percent. Still, three out of every four teachers the state has gained over the past five years were white. For students who identified as Latino or Hispanic, the state’s second largest demographic group, the difference is particularly stark. For every 88 Hispanic/Latino students last school year, there was only one Hispanic/Latino teacher. By contrast, there is one white teacher for every 11 white students on average.

Teachers of color still a rarity in a diversifying state

Sources: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, American Community Survey (2012, 2017)

Emily M. Eng / The Seattle Times

To fully represent today’s students, about 29,500 of Washington’s 64,700 teachers would have to be people of color. That’s about 22,300 more people of color than those who currently teach here.

How many more teachers would it take to achieve parity?

Source: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (2017-18)

Emily M. Eng / The Seattle Times