A Delaware Student Shares Why Teacher Diversity Matters

Teacher diversity in Delaware is not just an aspiration; it is a necessity. Research shows that a diverse teacher workforce can significantly improve student outcomes, from higher academic achievement to better social-emotional development. In Delaware, where over 50 percent of students are people of color but only 20 percent of teachers share similar backgrounds, the need for a representative educator workforce is pressing. A variety of initiatives and collaborations are shaping this journey toward equity and inclusion. Delaware is adopting a multi-faceted approach to recruit and retain teachers of color, focusing on key areas. Explore the key areas here with the Delaware Educator Snapshot. 

We wanted to take a closer look at how teacher diversity has impacted a Delaware student’s experience. Ayreonna Hudson, a 12th grader at Cape Henlopen High School studying theater and arts in her career pathway, and fierce advocate for her school, speaks on the importance of diversity in the educator workforce. 

 

Why is diversity in our educator workforce important to you?  

 I feel like diversity in an educator workforce is important to me because I believe that all students, no matter their background, should have teachers who not only understand but also celebrate their cultures and perspectives, but also their lived experience they bring to the classroom. 

I think it’s crucial for our educators to reflect who our students are is most important and allowing students to see themselves in leader positions… I feel like people need to see themselves in a position to strive for, to want to go for it. Like this is who I look up to, so I’m going to get it.  Everybody has their ideal person that they want to be like. And I feel like you you don’t really see that in teachers. 

 

How does a racially diverse educator workforce impact your student experience?  

 I think having a racially diverse workforce has a significant impact on my life as well as others. During my high school career, I had teachers of color who shared personal experiences with me. Being at a predominantly white school, I think having somebody that looked like me helped me feel seen and heard.  

And I feel like knowing that someone who shared cultural experiences can be a little bit more relatable and who can also encourage me to embrace who I am, so I never forget who I am.   

 

What has influenced your thinking around the importance of diversity in the educator workforce? 

 I think the teachers who have shaped my thinking on diversity weren’t ones who even looked like me. They were ones who created an environment that felt like I was valued. And that was the most important.  

Mrs. Jinni. she works for Pathways to Success as the coordinator for our program called Grow Your Own.  

She’s amazing. She’s not from my cultural background. But she understands and is willing to learn and to adapt and has been with many students who look like me.    

 

Tell me about a time when you felt empowered due to a culturally competent teacher? 

 We were going to present to the school. The presentation was about a project that we can propose to our school that can change the way we do things here and make it better for us. We come from a school that’s predominantly white, so we never had the confidence. [Mrs. Jinni] sitting and having that pep talk with us and pushing us, speaking [about] life and aspiration, and giving us the knowledge from our history and telling us our history that makes us stand where we are today. That was my moment, like she understood me. 

[For the presentation] we proposed that we need to be heard, I mentioned that our advisory class [the physical space] for all students enrolled in Pathways got taken away. The seniors would have presentations or give topics about what everyday teenagers go through. For example, mental health, “what is going on today, how are y’all feeling?” Just sharing our thoughts and opinions to help the next generation. Sometimes we had field trips and did fundraisers so we could have breakfast together.  

We were devastated. We kept wanting answers as to why. Our classroom [space] wasn’t the top priority.  This helped us get through the day. This was what we depended on coming to school, like that one opportunity to sit down and talk about our problems, and talk about what issues we’re having throughout school, and having it taken away shattered a lot of people last year. 

I was a junior, so our seniors even did stuff like writing letters to the school board. Pushing it out. We were so serious about getting our classroom [space] back. 

 

Did you get your classroom space back? 

Yes. For a period of time, but it did get taken away again because they wanted to free up more space for other activities.  Now we’re either sitting in the cafeteria or sharing the auditorium. It’s still something. Why is it getting taken away when we’ve been here and impacting a lot of our students? [Removing the designated classroom] created a disconnect with students not even wanting to be in the program anymore. They lost hope. It was like we keep fighting for something and change is not being made and makes people lose hope. 

 

Do you think culturally affirming curriculum is important? 

 I think it’s important because by not seeing yourself in the curriculum, you lose touch with where you came from. You lose touch with your history and I feel like history is a big part.  By my peers hearing that and seeing that, I think it will make us come together way more. I think it will make us feel like we’re not always alone. In a classroom setting, seeing us only like two or like three black people in the classroom, it’s like we’re all standing alone, we’re not talking to each other. It shouldn’t feel like that. I will always wonder in my head, like, is she feeling the same thing? By hearing about it will make us engage more because it’s like, hey, I can talk about this, I can relate to this. 

 

How can school communities create welcoming and affirming environments for students and educators of color?  

Focusing on the curriculum and the culture within the school is very important. Incorporating diverse perspectives on different lessons. Celebrating. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. Day just passed. The only thing we did was make a little announcement saying his speech, but what about doing something further than that? Let’s go to art class and make posters or let’s read up on a lesson for today about that person.  When we talk about like, you know, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, when we go into all of them, I feel like they set the standard.  When I look at them, it makes me want to fight for change even more. We’re dealing with the same issues they were dealing with years ago, just in a different way. 

 It doesn’t have to be my cultural background.  I feel like kids are smart enough to know what’s a priority and what’s not. 

 

Why is it challenging to retain educators of color? What might we do to improve those conditions?  

 I have never seen an actual teacher [of color] that’s teaching me a core curricular class.  It will be like, for instance, like a counselor.  They are still here, they’re still around, they’re still trying.  If we had more actual teachers in that profession, they could do more. 

 Lack of support and resources. Isolation or feeling burnt out from being the voice of everything. You can get tired. It also depends on your faith and how bad you want it.  If this is something that you strongly want to do. No matter the burnout, no matter that you’re never going to give up.  

 I’m not saying that you can’t give up because there is a point in time where enough is enough. And sometimes you have to pass the baton on to somebody else to make the change. 

 

As we seek to create a workforce that represents you, the students we serve, we are putting a lot of effort into early exposure and growing our own workforce. Are you interested in or planning to pursue education as a career? Why or why not? 

 I think I am going to do marketing and business.  I knew I wanted to be a marketing and business when I started doing everybody’s homecoming flyers for school.  I do want to go to HBCU, I want to learn more about my history. I would come back to education for diversity, equity, and inclusion because I like to advocate for people and make a difference. I do see myself being in a teacher-like role, but I wouldn’t say being like an on time full teacher. 

 

If you had a magic wand, what would you change about education? 

The curriculum, having more teachers that look like me, improving priorities- priorities set for all and not just one.  The money that the school gets should be for funding the actual school.