Teachers of color in OUSD
In touring kindergartens this fall it’s become clear to us that our child would thrive under the guidance of a teacher of color, particularly a brown or black one. Does anyone have recommendations for elementary schools in OUSD where the teachers reflect the population of students? Schools where a decent percentage of teachers are black and brown?
Nov 9, 2018
Parent Replies
My kids go to Chabot, which is a big school and has room to accept kids from all over the district. Of our 22 classroom teachers, 10 are white women, one is a white man, 6 are women of color and 5 are men of color. Of the teachers of color, three are African-American, two are Asian American, and the others are either Latinx, mixed, or middle Eastern in origin. So... it would be pretty unlikely for your child to go all the way through with teachers of color, but he/she would definitely get black or brown teachers at some point. (I know my kids have.)
Importantly, Chabot has a principal who is tuned in to the importance for kids of color (especially African-American kids) to have teachers that look like them at some point in their lives. It's been my experience that our principal is also quite responsive to parent insights into what kind of educational environment (i.e., what kind of teacher) will help their kid thrive. So... maybe Chabot is worth a visit? It's a great school in general as well.
I would strongly consider touring St Pauls Episcopol School. There are several non white educators in the lower school. All but one grade in the lower school has at least one person of color educator. And the other teachers who are not, are well versed and committed to diversity issues. One of the main reasons we chose the school was due to seeing an incredibly gifted African American male educating the 4th grade kids w/respect, skill, kindness, and challenge. We are fortunate to have actually gotten him for our child’s 4th grade year and he has yet to disappoint! And all the educators that we have had so far, regardless of their own race/ethnicity have been wonderful educators who are committed to fairness and diversity .
St Pauls has much to offer in many ways Feel free to contact me If you would like more information.
One of the things we love about the school that our child attends is the diversity. St. Paul's Episcopal is in Oakland, and the teachers are a very diverse bunch. They have a great ratio of both male and female teachers of color, something you don't see very often. You should contact the school for a tour. I promise you won't be disappointed! You can also checkout the website at www.spes.org .