Kathy Wood, associate dean of recruitment and teacher diversity at Buffalo State, recently spoke about the need for more teachers of color as part of a story that aired on WKBW-TV Channel 7 on December 14.
Wood talked to reporter Eileen Buckley about the challenges of getting students to embrace a career in education and also Buffalo State’s efforts to narrow the gap between teacher and student diversity in K–12 classrooms. Currently, 98 percent of teachers in Erie County are White.
One initiative she pointed to is Buffalo State’s Urban Teacher Academy. Through a partnership between Buffalo State and two Buffalo Public Schools high schools—McKinley and International Prep—students are motivated to study education in college and prepared to teach specifically in urban settings.
Wood added that educators should start encouraging students of color as early as middle school to be teachers. With time, these approaches should help combat the lack of diversity among teachers in the classroom.
Photo: WKBW reporter Eileen Buckley interviews Buffalo State Associate Dean of Education Kathy Wood. Photos courtesy of WKBW.
