TEACHER DIVERSITY

As Figure NYC-3 shows, differences in group sizes for the various racial and ethnic categories can mean that
relatively modest changes in one group’s proportional share can actually represent a fairly large shift within that
category. For example, the small number of Asian teachers meant that, even as their share of the total teaching
force grew by 2 percentage points, their numbers actually grew by nearly 53 percent. The proportion of White
and Hispanic teachers in the district, which remained fairly stable, represented a modest 2 percent decline in
numbers for both groups. Meanwhile, the 3-point decrease in the share of all teachers who were Black represented
a 15 percent decline in the total number of Black teachers.
Figure NYC-4 illustrates the trends in the “representation gaps” between minority students and teachers
(the proportion of students minus that of teachers, in percentage points), by sector. In New York City district
schools, the gap between Black students and teachers diminished very slightly over time, due to a modest
decrease in the Black share of the student population. The gaps between Hispanic students and teachers and
Asian students and teachers both increased very slightly. The gaps appear a bit more volatile in charter schools,
but, again, the short duration of our data and the small charter samples make it difficult to determine whether
these trends are transitory or persistent. Of note, however, is that the gap between Black students and teachers
was approximately four times larger than in the district sector.
FIGURE NYC-4: STUDENT-TEACHER REPRESENTATION GAP, BY RACE AND ETHNICITY AND SECTOR, 2002–2012
60
50
40
38.3 36.9
30
23.8
25.3
20
10
0
-10
22.0
11.5
18.6
8.5
1.7
9.2
-3.6
Black (D) Hispanic (D) Asian (D) Black (C) Hispanic (C) Asian (C)
The fact that teaching is a female-dominated occupation means that Asian, Black and Hispanic men constitute
only miniscule proportions of the total teacher workforce in New York City (Figure NYC-5), resulting in a demographic
mismatch that is particularly acute for Asian, Black and Hispanic boys.
ALBERT SHANKER INSTITUTE 71 THE STATE OF TEACHER DIVERSITY