Investing in leaders has long been a part of the NewSchools strategy. One of the biggest talent challenges in education today is diversifying leadership to better reflect and serve our students.
Our goal is for Black and Latino leaders to represent at least 40 percent of the PreK-12 education workforce, mirroring the demographics of U.S. students today.
Today’s young people are the most diverse generation in our nation’s history. Forty percent of PreK-12 students are Black and Latino; more than half identify as a person of color. If we are going to reimagine learning so it works better for every student, we need diverse education leaders who understand the backgrounds and life experiences of the students they serve.
The benefits of diverse leadership are well documented, but Black and Latino leaders are underrepresented in education as compared to the percentage of Black and Latino students in our nation’s schools. If no action is taken, this gap will grow as the number of children of color in the American public school system continues to climb.
NewSchools’ Diverse Leaders strategy aims to close the diversity gap by growing, advancing, and supporting Black and Latino leadership in education. Our goal is for Black and Latino leaders to represent at least 40 percent of the PreK-12 education workforce, mirroring the demographics of U.S. students today. We work towards this goal by:
Click here to learn more about our strategy and the research behind it.
Recognizing that leaders want to advance DEI initiatives, but often struggle with how to get started or what to focus on, we enlisted Catalyst:Ed to create the “DEI Expert Hub.” The DEI Expert Hub informs and connects leaders of schools, school systems, nonprofits, funders, and ed tech companies with experts who bring deep experience assessing, designing and implementing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in education organizations.
How diverse, equitable and inclusive is the education sector? In partnership with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Raikes Foundation, Schusterman Family Foundation and Walton Family Foundation, we commissioned a study of more than 200 organizations and received responses from nearly 5,000 individuals. This is the most comprehensive data on the state of diversity, equity and inclusion in the field.
Meet the Team
Deborah McGriff | Frances Messano | Zeina Fayyaz Kim | Elise Smith
Please email us with any questions you might have. You can also sign up to receive updates on our Diverse Leaders work, including upcoming funding opportunities.
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