Practical Strategies for Serving Diverse Students

How do we make schools more equitable for all students and families? Two of metro Denver's principals have some ideas.

Strategy: Grow Your Own Teachers

Chris Denmark has been a principal in Denver metro public schools for 25 years. “Percentage-wise, we are a statistical anomaly at Global Village Academy,” said Denmark, speaking of the 12 African American male teachers on his staff of 120 that serves 1,000 students. That’s because he makes a point of nurturing students and reiterating that they can have careers as professionals. “We make sure our African American male students are strong in math,” Denmark said. Then, when they graduate, he turns around and hires the ones who are aspiring teachers to work in his school.

"Administrators have to be very intentional with their recruiting efforts. Finding the right teachers for your student population doesn’t happen by itself."

Global Village Academy is also highly unusual because the 60% Latinx student population is mirrored in the teaching staff. “We are a language immersion program, and that means we need teachers who are fluent not just in the language, but in the day-to-day culture,” said Denmark. “Administrators have to be very intentional with their recruiting efforts. Finding the right teachers for your student population doesn’t happen by itself. You have to build and maintain long-term relationships.”

Just a few of the excellent teachers at Gobal Village Academy Aurora

Strategy: Partner with Higher Education Institutions

Denmark doesn’t hire simply to increase diversity; he looks for teachers who have been trained in culturally responsive teaching. He finds many such candidates when he volunteers at “Interview Day” at the University of Northern Colorado Center for Urban Education (CUE). The teacher candidates attend the event to practice interviewing for jobs as they near graduation, but Denmark says he is actually interviewing them for jobs he has available.

"I’ve known Rosanne for years,” he said, referring to Dr. Rosanne Fulton, the Director of CUE. “I enjoy the partnership with the UNC Center for Urban Education because we both focus on the mission of filling in the gaps. Rosanne understands the power and equation of equity.”

"We show our teacher candidates how to be nonjudgmental advocates for all children and families.”

Fulton and other faculty at CUE use grassroots methods to reach out to the surrounding community, specifically to seek out people of color who might consider a career in teaching. All students receive extensive training and education in the theory and practice of culturally responsive teaching. “We show our teacher candidates how to be nonjudgmental advocates for all children and families,” said Fulton. “In the classroom, those practices translate to students gaining more knowledge and developing critical skills and attitudes.”

Blake Hammond, Principal, Marie L. Greenwood Academy

Strategy: Teachers Teach Each Other

Denver Public Schools Principal Blake Hammond is the leader of Marie L. Greenwood Academy (Early Childhood – 8th). He believes that students who see themselves reflected in their teachers—same gender, race, place of origin, or socioeconomic status—feel that the teachers understand them and their story much more easily. “I do think it’s necessary to have a diverse staff,” said Hammond. “It’s not acceptable for a student to go through a K–12 education and never have a teacher who looks like them or represents their values.”

“It’s not acceptable for a student to go through a K–12 education and never have a teacher who looks like them or represents their values.”

Strategy: Take a Tag-Team Approach

Hammond said that they take a tag-team approach to caring for a student. If a child isn’t relating to a male, a female teacher will talk to him. If the child relates only to his mother, they find someone on staff who mirrors the demographics of mom. “When you don’t have a diverse staff, it’s a lot harder to do that,” said Hammond.

Greenwood Academy Values

Strategy: Spread Ideas in Many Ways

Hammond relies on teachers to teach each other to build cultural literacy. “A diverse group of collaborators spurs innovation and outside-of-the-box thinking,” he said. And that leads to cross-germination of ideas and strategies for culturally responsive teaching. Hammond orchestrates multiple ways for staff to get together and share ideas: professional learning communities, peer observation and feedback, and professional development courses led by teachers.

Strategy: Recruit Culturally Responsive Teachers

Hammond also looks for teachers straight out of college who have experience using culturally responsive teaching methods. “Higher education pedagogy has to be aligned with what’s happening in today’s classrooms,” said Hammond. “It can’t be all theory with no real-world application, because then there’s a disconnect with students."

“Higher education pedagogy has to be aligned with what’s happening in today’s classrooms. It can’t be all theory with no real-world application, because then there’s a disconnect with students."

Hammond works in partnership with the University of Northern Colorado Center for Urban Education because they provide that high-quality education experience for educators. “I value the in-person experience they gain while in school—doing the work with kids, building relationships, and teaching. I know when I hire UNC graduates, they are ready to serve.” Hammond also mentioned that new teachers expose the existing staff to the strategies they’ve learned recently in class.

“The partnership is phenomenal,” said Hammond. “The UNC Center for Urban Education graduates qualified teachers, which helps us with the teacher shortage. They also support first-generation students of color, which addresses the community’s need for culturally responsive teachers."

Hammond has been a member of the Center for Urban Education Principal Cohort for the past two school years. If you are interested in joining the group, contact CUE's Director, Dr. Rosanne Fulton.

Looking for More Inspiration?

Watch our video that showcases CUE male students of color and listen to their moving stories about why they are pursuing a career in teaching and how they are chipping away at inequity in public schools.

Teacher Candidate Tyreeh Bell:
"Students say, ‘Oh, he looks like me. There’s nothing wrong with being smart.
There’s nothing wrong with learning.’”

CUE Graduate Donovan Fountain:
"You have to see examples of people that come from where you come from—racially and socioeconomically—in order to one day bring more of those people to the table when it comes to making big decisions for our communities.”

Newsletter Archive

Did you miss previous issues of the Chronicle? Visit the Leadership Council page on our website, scroll down, and click on past newsletters.

Contact Us

Rosanne Fulton, PhD
Director, Center for Urban Education
UNC Denver Center at Lowry
1059 Alton Way
Denver CO 80230
Office: 303-637-4334
rosanne.fulton@unco.edu
www.unco.edu/UrbanEd

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

UNC Loveland Center at Centerra | 2915 Rocky Mountain Ave., Ste 100
Loveland, CO | 80538 US

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.