Oregon reports making progress in diversifying educator workforce

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Educator Advancement Council, on behalf of and in partnership with the Oregon Department of Education), Oregon Teachers Standards and Practices Commission and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission announced Friday the release of the 2024 Educator Equity Report.

The 2024 Educator Equity Report is the ninth report published by the state education agencies since 2015 on educator workforce diversification efforts in Oregon. 

The 2024 Educator Equity Report highlights several key findings that underscore the ongoing bright spots and challenges in achieving a more diverse educator workforce in Oregon. It is important to note that no state has a teacher workforce that proportionally mirrors the racial and ethnic diversity of its students. Despite slow progress, states, including Oregon, are actively improving and seeking strategies to recruit and retain teachers of color.

Key Findings from the 2024 Report

• Growth in Diversity of Early Career Educators:
  • Over the past decade, Oregon has doubled the proportion of first-year teachers identifying as people of color reaching 20.6% in 2023. 
  • The number of racially and ethnically diverse teachers with five or fewer years of experience has tripled over the past decade. 
  • Half of Oregon’s racially and ethnically diverse teachers had less than five years of experience in 2023-24. However, new teachers, Special Education teachers, and teachers of color still face high turnover rates.
• Rising Diversity, Falling Completion Rates in Education Preparation Programs: 
  • Racial and ethnic diversity in education majors is gradually increasing at community colleges, but the completion rates of educator preparation programs in Oregon for these groups are declining. 
• K-12 and State Agencies See Diversity Growth, but More Progress Needed: 
  • The number of diverse candidates receiving preliminary teaching and administrator licenses is rising. Higher proportion of emergency or restricted license holders are racially and ethnically diverse compared to preliminary license holders in Oregon in 2023.
  • Licensed K-12 teachers, the largest educator group, are the least diverse, while non-licensed staff are more diverse and growing faster. 
  • Hispanic/Latino educators are notably underrepresented relative to Hispanic/Latino students. 
  • Despite diversity in both rural and urban student populations, educator diversity lags behind.

The report offers comprehensive recommendations across four priority areas: 

• Affordability of Career Preparation Pathways and Programs: Increase funding in Oregon’s public postsecondary institutions and grant programs that provide direct support for enrolled students, continue to identify areas of educator preparation improvement, expand efforts for non-traditional pathways into K-12 education careers.
• Hiring, Placement, and Early Career Support for New Educators: Place early career teachers and admin in supportive environments, provide culturally responsive training, high quality mentoring, invest in recruiting leaders within schools.
• Educator Development and Career Advancement: Reduce financial barriers for diverse educators through scholarships, create strategy to recruit teacher leaders, develop success indicators to monitor and scale best practices.
• State Data Systems and Reporting: Expand inter-agency efforts to share data, increase awareness of needs, develop statewide systems to track educator workforce development metrics.

The full report is available on the Educator Advancement Council’s website. For additional questions regarding the report, please email the Educator Advancement Council. 

About the Educator Advancement Council:

Since 2018, the Educator Advancement Council (EAC), in partnership with state and local education agency partners, professional organizations, as well as institutions of higher education, has worked to support Oregon's educator workforce through local, educator-led networks to ensure high-quality education and culturally responsive learning for PK-12 students. EAC initiatives include Regional Educator Networks (RENs) and Grow Your Own (GYO) programs, plus more.