Most Teachers Are White. Most Students Aren’t.

The nation’s 6.6 million teacher workforce has grown more racially and ethnically diverse over the past three decades — but not nearly fast enough to keep pace with a student population that’s nearing majority-minority in public schools, two new reports show.

Why it matters: The disparities are especially acute between Hispanic students and teachers, and in schools with 90% or higher non-white student populations.

• Recruitment is only part of the problem; experts tell Axios teachers of color are leaving the profession faster than their white counterparts.

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By the numbers: 79% of U.S. public school teachers identified as white, non-Hispanic, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released late last year, based on data from the 2017-18 school year, the latest compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics.

• Fewer than one in 10 teachers was Black (7%), Hispanic (9%) or Asian American (2%).
• Compare that with the latest available comparable NCES student data from 2018-2019: 47% of all public elementary and secondary school students in the U.S. were white, 27% were Latino, 15% were Black and 5% were Asian American.
• Between fall 2009 and fall 2018, the percentage of public school students who were Hispanic increased from 22% to 27%.
• The percentage of public school students who were white decreased from 54% to 47% and the percentage of students who were Black decreased from 17% to 15%, National Center for Education Statistics found.

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Details: In swiftly diversifying Houston, the census analyzed 2014-2018 data and found that only 15% of high school students — but about 47% of city teachers — were white.

• Nationally, in schools where at least 90% were students of color, white teachers were the plurality at 43%, Pew found; 28% of teachers at those schools were Hispanic, 20% were Black and 5% were Asian American.

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