About
The Teaching Equity Network is a group of cross-sector collaborators promoting equity in the preparation of future educators, equity in pathways into teaching, and ongoing training around equity and culturally responsive practices for educators.
Our Mission & Vision
Our mission: To advocate for and develop a racially and linguistically diverse teacher workforce who are competent and confident in their abilities to transform educational systems.
Our vision: Every student learns from teacher activists (teachers who fight for, not with students) that are committed to racial justice and equity.
The need for equity in education
In the 2018-2019 school year, 87% of classroom teachers in Washington State identified as white while 47.5% of the students enrolled identified as students of color (OSPI Report Card, 2020). Underrepresentation of teachers of color in classrooms has significant implications for equity.
When teachers of similar backgrounds teach students, there are benefits, including instruction that is likely to be more responsive and relevant to the students.
Boser, 2014; Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 2009
The Teaching Equity Network Fund seeks to promote and support efforts to diversify the demographics of our educators, deepen cultural responsiveness among educator professionals, and enhance efforts to promote equity through local gatherings and partnerships across the state. These gatherings facilitate collaborative professional learning through grants.
Our Approach
We believe that stakeholders from across sectors must come together to learn and take action in their local communities. This provides opportunities to make individual and systemic changes. This belief is observable in the makeup of our board and is a requirement for all grant applications.
In a society that is stratified across race, class, and gender, unequal childhoods have a lasting impact on life opportunities. Yet, teacher competence and efficacy can still influence student learning outcomes. In addition to achievement, hope and resiliency develop at greater levels with multiple caring teachers over time. The exponential impact of competent and responsive teachers can disrupt the school to prison pipeline, disrupting the social and economic inequality that constricts opportunity. All students can learn, and TEN wants to ensure that teachers are prepared and developed to help every student reach their highest potential.
