MMSD also implemented new interviewing practices that assess not only a potential teacher’s knowledge in her content area, but her culturally responsive practices, including setting high and clear expectations for all students, acknowledging all students and connecting to students’ lives and cultural identity.
Hargrove-Krieghoff said the new competency and performance measures were a “game changer” for the district.
“We designed our overall set of competencies with those things in mind,” Hargrove-Krieghoff said.
In an emailed statement to the Cap Times, Cheatham reiterated her commitment to diversifying the district’s teaching staff.
“It is important to us as a district to have a staff that represents the diversity of our student population. It is common sense that students will benefit from interacting with and learning from teachers who look like them at school, and research supports it,” she said. “The benefits for African-American students to have even one African-American teacher in elementary school are long-lasting.”
Although Cheatham’s administration aims to increase the number of teachers of color in the district overall, some teachers are worried that change is not happening fast enough, particularly for African-American students.