Lake Erie College School of Education aims to increase teacher diversity

Lake Erie College School of Education and Professional Studies recently partnered with the Cleveland Area Minority Educator Recruitment Association to identify, recruit and graduate minority teachers through a new Teacher Diversity Initiative.

The initiative will begin this fall by recruiting students from nine high schools into LEC’s PreK-12 grade licensure programs.

“The School of Education and Professional Studies possesses a responsibility to meet ever changing needs of the school districts our graduates serve,” said Katharine Delavan, dean of the School of Education and Professional Studies. “We have a social and moral responsibility to prepare diverse teachers.”

Delavan, who developed the initiative, hopes to reach students at schools involved with CAMERA as well.

The purpose of CAMERA is to develop coordinated recruitment and retention of qualified minority educators that will enable member agencies to diversify their faculty more effectively, according to its website.

“The Cleveland Area Minority Educator Recruitment Association is very pleased with the recent partnership with Lake Erie College, specifically the Teacher Diversity Initiative, as our goals and objectives related to the promotion of diversity within the teaching profession are absolutely aligned,” said CAMERA President Samuel Gifford. “We are proud to call Lake Erie College our partner in the very important endeavor of recruiting, hiring and retaining minority candidates within our organizations and within education industry.”

The first diversity cohort will enroll in the fall of 2019, according to the news release.

Students will then remain on campus year round for a summer bridge experience, which includes summer employment, courses and experiential trips with mentors. Similar diversity programs have seen increased graduation rates through this practice, the release also said.

As an added incentive, CAMERA offers four $2,000 scholarships to minority education students, one per year of their college career. Following that, college graduates receive help finding teaching positions with competitive salary and benefits within its 20-member collaborative.

Participating school districts are Akron, Barberton, Bedford, Berea, Canton, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Kent, Lakewood, Lorain, Maple Heights, Nordonia Hills, Orange, Painesville, Parma, Rocky River, Shaker Heights, South-Euclid/Lyndhurst and Twinsburg.

Lake Erie College is also seeking sponsors to support the mentor/mentee experiences and scholarships for the Teacher Diversity Initiative. Those outside of the 20 district collaborative who wish to serve as mentors are welcome to inquire.