The California Charter School Association (CCSA) released a new study titled “The Face of California Public Charter School Teachers” highlighting that public charter school educators are racially and ethnically diverse.
This is the first comprehensive analysis of the education sector in California public charter schools in several years.
The report explains that there are more and more Latino teachers in charter education although there is still a disparity, but there is greater interest from parents and the number of Latino students is also increasing.
Myrna Castrejón, the president and general director of the CCSA, responded to La Opinión some questions about the situation of Latino teachers and her perspective.
“Schools in California have long grappled with a lack of teachers of color, especially Latinos and African-Americans. Recruiting and retaining Latino teachers to better represent the growing Latino student population should be a priority for all schools. This diversity gap is a problem at the state level”, said the general director.
A good part of the faculty was interviewed for the report, and “Latino public charter school teachers say they choose to work in charter schools because they believe they encourage and promote inclusion,” said Castrejón.
Teachers interviewed for the report said that growing up in a Spanish-only household or immigrating to the United States from a Spanish-speaking country made them feel isolated at school. Teaching in a public charter school has allowed them to cultivate culture and help students from similar backgrounds feel seen.
“A dual language immersion teacher conveys to us how a model school is, and the fact that she speaks Spanish makes her more accessible to parents. Her experience is that parents feel more comfortable asking her questions and trying to figure out how best to help their students at home because they speak the same language,” the executive director responded.
‘The face of teachers’
According to the association, the goal of the new study, “The Face of California Public Charter School Teachers,” is to provide the California public charter school industry, policymakers, and the general public with first-hand insights. of the state’s charter school teaching workforce.
That vision includes an analysis of its charter school diversity, its educational achievements, its motivation and the commitment of the people who serve more than 685,000 public charter school students throughout the Golden State.
The first part of this report focuses on public charter school educator demographics, educational levels by ethnicity, and credential levels by ethnicity.
For now that version is only available in English but in a few weeks it will also be ready in Spanish.
The second part of the study, to be published soon, will focus on the accounts of public charter school teachers and the main conclusions of interviews with educators from different backgrounds.
This second part will be the human face of the charter education teachers and will also refer to their motivations and values to work with this model.
Thus, the study fills a void, that of giving voice and presenting teachers from the California charter model.
It is a vital aspect, because “teachers have a vital role. In addition to being in direct contact with students on a daily basis, they also collectively represent the “public face” of the schools along with the administration,” the study says.
He notes that “interestingly, in the existing research and policy, in the discourse around public charter schools, the voices of teachers are often missing.”
As of 2023, California has more than 1,200 charter schools serving approximately 12 percent of the students in the state.
In 2019, the most recent year with public statistics on teacher demographics, all California charter schools employed approximately 30,114 teachers, which translates to ten percent of California’s statewide teacher payroll.
Charter school teachers are diverse in gender, race/ethnicity, age, and experience. In 2019, 74 percent of teachers in public charter schools identified as female, and 26 percent identified as male.
Charter school teachers were, on average, younger than the traditional sector
Charter school teachers are on average 40 years old, while those in traditional schools are about 45 years old on average.
Charter school teachers had less average teaching experience compared to traditional public school; a difference of 9 years vs. 14 years, respectively, the report says.
Of all charter school teachers, 18 percent identified as African American or Latino, although both ethnic groups had higher proportions in urban than rural areas.
More specifically, 27 percent of charter school teachers in Los Angeles County and 19 percent in the Bay Area identified as African American or Latino.
About a quarter – 28 percent – of charter school teachers worked in a non-school classroom setting. Comparatively, of site-based charter school teachers with teachers not in the classroom.
The report has some very important data for Latino parents. For example,
the majority – 76 percent – of students enrolled in charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are Latino
However, only 31 percent of charter school teachers within LAUSD identified as Latino.
At the same time, only 9 percent of charter school students are white.
Both LAUSD and Oakland Unified (OUSD) and San Diego Unified (SDUSD) show the same disparity, with less representation of white teachers.
When comparing education levels across ethnic groups, white teachers had the highest degree attainment, a total of 60 percent. However, Latino teachers were the most likely to have a bachelor’s degree, at 67 percent, followed by whites.
teachers at 62 percent.
Asian teachers were the most likely to have a graduate degree at 44 percent, followed by Filipinos at 42 percent and African Americans at 41 percent with a graduate degree.
Similar to national trends, California charter school teachers are overwhelmingly female and tend to be younger and newer to the teaching profession than their counterparts.