HBCUs key in producing teachers of color
Colleges are helping address shortage of educators in US
BOWIE, Md. — Surrounded by kindergarteners, Lana Scott held up a card with upper and lower case Ys, dotted with pictures of words that started with that letter: Yo-yo. Yak. Yacht.
“What sound does Y make?” Scott asked a boy. Head down, he mumbled: “Yuh.” Instead of moving on, she gave him a nudge.
“Say it confident, because you know it,” she urged. “Be confident in your answer because you know it.”
He sat up and sounded it out again, louder this time. Scott smiled, then turned her attention to the other kids.
As a student teacher from Bowie State University, a historically Black institution, Scott said she has learned to build deep connections with students. The school, Whitehall Elementary, is filled with teachers and administrators who graduated from Bowie State. Classrooms refer to themselves as families, and posters on the wall ask children to reflect on what makes a good classmate.
HBCUs play an outsize role in producing teachers of color in the U.S., where only 7% of teachers are Black, compared with 15% of students. Of all Black teachers nationwide, nearly half are graduates of an HBCU.
Having teachers who look like them is crucial for young Americans. Research has found Black students who have at least one Black teacher are more likely to
graduate from high school and less likely to be suspended or expelled. Some new research suggests the training found at HBCUs may be part of what makes an effective teacher.
A recent study of elementary school students in North Carolina found Black students performed better in math when taught by an HBCU-educated teacher.
“There’s something to be said for the environment that’s cultivated, the way they connect with their students, the inspiration, the vulnerability that they may have with their students,” said Stanford University graduate student Lavar Edmonds, who conducted the study.
In his study, the teacher’s race did not have an effect on student outcomes, but the training did. For Black students, Black and white HBCU-trained teachers were more effective than their non-HBCU-trained counterparts.
HBCUs also have received recognition as key players in solving teacher shortages around the country. The U.S. Department of Education this month announced $18 million in awards for minority-serving institutions, including HBCUs, highlighting their role in building a more diverse teaching force.
Faculty, students and alumni at Bowie State said their training as teachers centered around the
importance of building a strong sense of community and connecting with students as individuals.
“It’s making sure that your students just feel safe at school,” Scott said.
The tradition of training educators at HBCUs dates to before the Civil War.
Founded in the 1800s to educate Black Americans not allowed to study at other colleges, many HBCUs first existed as “normal schools,” or training programs for teachers.
Training at HBCUs provides an immersion in Black culture and an understanding that teachers can bring that to classrooms, said Sekou Biddle, a vice president at the United Negro College Fund. Students at HBCUs, he said, also learn about “the history of Black excellence in America that I think oftentimes gets missed in a lot of other environments.”
Christine Ramroop, a Bowie State graduate who now teaches at Whitehall Elementary, said hearing about her classmates’ experiences as students — including times where they did not feel supported, respected or understood by teachers — made her more aware of the impact she could have in the classroom.
“Going to an HBCU, I heard a lot of stories about so many teachers that didn’t feel seen in the classroom as students,” Ramroop said. “It really kind of shapes your mind as a teacher.”
Ramroop said her time at Bowie emphasized the importance of finding a connection with each student and making them feel at home.
As students walk into her class each day, they pass a poster. Under the title “23 reasons why Ms. Ramroop is a grateful teacher,” each child’s name is listed next to a specific quality.
Lionel’s big smile. Aiden’s sweet personality. Nadia’s leadership.
On a recent Tuesday, Ramroop gathered her first graders onto a carpet. Hands raised for the chance to answer the vocabulary warm-up exercises. Ramroop was quick to praise those who got it right and gentle in correcting those who were wrong.
“Give yourself a round of applause,” Ramroop said. “Tell your partner you did a good job. Now point to another friend and say, ‘You did a good job.’ ”
Around her, little voices echoed, “You did a good job. You did a good job. We did a good job!”