The Anti-Racist Retention Toolkit, was developed to address the gap in teacher retention resources by providing a simple and flexible resource that aids districts and schools in retaining teachers of color while also supporting diverse student populations. While teacher retention resources exist, most focus on retaining white teachers in white schools and do little to nothing to hire faculties that reflect students’ racial identities, cultural backgrounds, and life experiences.

Alongside Sharif El-Mekki, my team and I worked with educators of color, educator activists, thought leaders, and researchers from our community to create this guide—one of the first of its kind in the nation. By actively recruiting and retaining educators of color, research has proven there is a mirroring identity effect that can vastly improve student academic outcomes and projected life success.