Auzzy Byrdsell’s article on teacher turnover and its disproportionate impact on students of color appropriately highlights a troubling reality in Massachusetts schools (“Schools with majority of students of color suffer,” The Great Divide, Metro, May 5). We are in the midst of an education crisis that demands urgent attention and bold solutions.
Interventions from the nonprofit sector are essential to addressing both teacher retention and educational equity. At organizations like ours, we see firsthand the power of immersive teacher-training models and long-term educator support for developing diverse pipelines of committed educators equipped to stay and thrive in the profession.
These programs are lifelines not only for the educators we train but also for the students who benefit from their commitment and skill. Yet work such as this is becoming increasingly difficult in the face of severe cutbacks at the US Department of Education and at keystone institutions such as AmeriCorps.
If we are serious about closing opportunity gaps and creating stable, supportive learning environments, state and federal lawmakers must sustain investments in proven training models and the organizations that lead them. Teacher retention is not just a staffing issue. It is a matter of justice and future opportunity.
Oneda Horne and Jennifer Stange
Co-executive directors
Breakthrough Greater Boston
Cambridge