DREAM—Diversity Recruitment Educators Association for Miami Valley
The mission of DREAM–the Diversity Recruitment Educators Association for Miami Valley is unifying efforts to recruit, support and mentor Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) educators by coordinating recruiting, mentoring and growing professionals across the Miami Valley.
We are working together as DREAM to increase the recruitment and retention of diverse educators in the Dayton, OH and Miami Valley Region.
Studies show Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, and white students all benefit from having diverse educators.
Passionate diverse educators of color provide positive role models, set high expectations, reduce negative discipline occurrences, and help students achieve better outcomes.
We are working together across our districts to implement exciting new strategies for recruiting high-quality teachers that represent the diversity of our communities and our students.
We hope you will join us and consider how you might be involved in changing the lives of children and transforming our neighborhoods and schools.
STRATEGIES FOR DIVERSIFYING EDUCATORS
Grow Your Own
Teacher Pathway
Teacher Workforce Pathways offer students in high school and sometimes middle school to learn more about becoming an educator. This can be a tremendous way of Growing Your Own teachers of color. Click on the photo to learn more about what we are going.
Pathways
Options for Paraprofessionals
Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous paraprofessionals benefit from having support as they complete their teaching degrees. Time off for student teaching and other supports can help paraprofessionals make the jump to becoming licensed teachers. Learn more about our strategy by clicking the photo.
Equity Training
Resources
Professional development is critical for providing culturally responsive instruction. Equity training not only benefits students of color but professional development and learning communities can provide more support to diverse teachers and all faculty. Click on the picture to learn about this strategy.
Mentoring
Support for New Teachers
Mentors can be very effective in supporting inexperienced teachers. The Ohio Department of Education has shaped mentoring for teachers on the successful residency practices for physicians. Click on the photo and investigate mentoring as a strategy. ”
Goal 1-Recruiting
- Recruit regionally together
- DREAM has developed relationships with Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) to assist with recruitment
- Collaborate ton recruiting across the Dayton and /Miami Valley by jointly advertising & highlighting a regional network approach
- Strengthen relationships with universities to promote pipelines and ensure diverse recruitment
- Connect job recruits with other resources – churches, housing, etc.
Goal 2-Growing Your Own Pipeline and Professional Development
- Grow Your Own pipelines include teacher academies or educator pathways for high school students.
- Grow Your Own Pipelines also include work assisting paraprofessionals in obtaining teacher degrees.
- Professional Learning Community provides an affinity group for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) educators.
Goal 3-Mentoring
- DREAM collaborates with multiple districts working together, higher education partners, Learn to Earn Dayton, and Preschool Promise on mentoring for new BIPOC teachers and staff.
- Mentoring occurs in both whole group and individual formats.
- Collaboration also includes mentoring around completion of Ohio Assessment for Educators.
Scholarships for students
Scholarships and other forms of financial aid and grants are critical to reducing the debt associated with higher education. Individuals interested in teaching and other education professions should consider assistance available to all students and funding for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, or Asian scholars. One option is the Scholarship Connections through Dayton Foundation.
Other Assistance
Locally, the Teaching for Equity–Montgomery County committees are looking at loan forgiveness and other forms of assistance, including payment of test preparation or assessment expenses for students. Some districts offer some tuition reimbursement for existing staff. There is also a current public loan forgiveness program for teachers and other public service professionals. You can apply for both.
Supports in college
Our college and university partners offer a range of supports that help individuals of color complete their education. Resources include retention services; groups and peer support for diverse students; and help with completing necessary exams and assessments needed to become an education major and to obtain a license. Some colleges also connect students to peers and they complete their education as part of cohorts.
Middle school
Most Teacher Pathway programs target high school students. However, career exploration is often best targeted in middle school. Career choices and ideas made in middle school may shape subjects that are taken and grades obtained in high school.
We want to ensure middle school youth have exposure to a range of in-demand careers in Montgomery County including options in the education profession. To learn more about Teacher Pathways in general, click on the link to Learn More.
TRY US ONCE, WE BET YOU’LL COME BACK FOR MORE!
This site is a wonderful resource for school staff, teachers, parents, youth, community members, and others. On these pages, we identify the strategies we are working on to increase educator diversity. We will be adding sections as we implement resources and post our findings.
