Recruitment and Retention Strategies to Diversify New York’s Pipeline

Access to teachers of color has a significant impact on student outcomes, including increased graduation and college enrollment and lower suspension and expulsion rates.[1] Yet New York schools struggle to recruit and retain a diverse educator workforce. More than one in five New York students—around 10 percent of Black and Latinx students, 20 percent of Asian students, 33 percent of White students, and 75 percent of Native American students—attend a school with no teachers of color on staff.[2]

Limited recruitment strategies, lack of targeted support systems, and challenges with career advancement and financial sustainability present barriers for underrepresented populations to enter and stay in the teaching workforce. By clarifying career pathways and improving recruitment and retention strategies, New York can better diversify its educator pipeline.

Recruitment

Challenges. Aspiring teachers of color must navigate structural and systemic barriers that limit access to and opportunities within the teaching profession. The cost of teacher preparation programs, licensure exam fees, and the high cost of living in New York—especially in New York City, where housing and transportation costs exceed the national average—create financial burdens for aspiring teachers. Additionally, many teacher preparation programs, schools, and districts lack effective recruitment programs that incentivize diverse candidates.

The high cost of New York’s teacher licensure exams also creates burdens for low-income candidates and especially for those who might need to take the test more than once. Candidates of color, for instance, are less likely to pass New York’s teacher licensure exams on their first try.[3] A 1996 lawsuit also found that culturally biased exams in New York City violated civil rights of Black and Latinx teaching candidates and contributed to lower pass rates among candidates of color.[4]

New York’s institutions of higher education prepare more teachers for the classroom than any other state but Texas and also contribute to a more representative teaching workforce.[5] The City University of New York’s (CUNY’s) education cohorts have increased in diversity over the past decade, with 63 percent of students enrolled in teacher preparation programs in 2022 identifying as people of color.[6]

While progress has been made, New York’s educator workforce does not reflect the rich diversity of its student population, and institutions of higher education, teacher preparation programs, districts, and schools across the state must take further action to recruit and train more teachers of color. Strengthening recruitment efforts and implementing intentional strategies can help bridge the diversity gap between teachers and their student populations.

Promising Practices. Over the past few years, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and its local unions, including New York City’s United Federation of Teachers (UFT), have partnered with the Take a Look at Teaching project, which connects high schools with institutions of higher education to increase the number of students of color entering teaching careers. In New York City, this initiative has

• established partnerships between institutions of higher education and districts;
• launched Future Teachers Clubs in high schools in Staten Island and Queens;
• sponsored visits to CUNY campuses for students interested in pursuing teaching careers;
• held focus groups with paraprofessionals interested in becoming teachers;
• hosted gatherings of club participants, CUNY representatives, and union leadership to share experiences; and
• convened national teacher diversity experts to discuss building a more diverse and sustainable educator pipeline.

The UFT also partners with New York City Public Schools and CUNY colleges to offer FutureReady NYC, a collaboration aimed at growing equitable career-connected learning. In recent years, they also collaborated on the Teacher Career Pathways program and NYC Men Teach and established the Teaching Academies, which provide support for new teachers.

NYC Men Teach aims to address workforce disparities among young Black and Latino men by supporting men of color to become public school teachers. Since 2015, it has recruited more than 3,000 men of color to teach. To boost recruitment, the program provides participants with monthly metro cards and free certification exam practice tests, pays for certification exams, connects participants with program managers who provide advice throughout the teacher certification process, and offers a semester-long seminar focused on culturally responsive education.

Alternative certification programs also support a more diverse teaching workforce. New York City’s Teaching Fellows alternative certification program has been running for 22 years. As part of this program, candidates who complete an intensive seven-week summer training earn a provisional license and can begin teaching full-time in a high-need public school. They then earn a subsidized master’s degree from a local higher education institution. The NYC Teaching Collaborative, which launched in 2012, also offers a five-month spring residency training program that leads to a transitional license and a subsidized master’s degree. From 2018 to 2021, two-thirds of the new hires through the Teaching Fellows and Teaching Collaborative were people of color.[7]

In western New York, the Buffalo Urban Teacher Pipeline Residency offers a 16-month paid residency designed to prepare and retain effective teachers for the region. The program works through community-based recruitment, culturally responsive mentorships, and financial and professional support. In 2022, the US Department of Education recognized the program as a model for others to follow. It trained 70 teachers, the majority of whom are people of color.[8] However, the program is now in jeopardy due to funding cuts from the federal government, putting its future—and the pipeline of diverse educators it supports—at risk.[9]

Encouraging more classroom support professionals to pursue teaching opportunities also diversifies New York’s educator pipeline. The majority of New York City’s public school paraprofessionals are educators of color, and past UFT partnerships have sought to provide effective pathways for paraprofessionals to enter teaching.[10] Currently, over 1,800 paraprofessionals are enrolled in coursework toward education degrees, and New York City hires about 500 teachers each year directly from the paraprofessional role, many of whom enter through programs like the NYC Teaching Fellows. In Suffolk County, SUNY’s Old Westbury Teacher Diversity Pipeline program develops pathways for teacher aides and assistants to become certified teachers, aiming to increase diversity in high-need districts in Long Island.

In 2023, New York passed the Teachers and Educators Aiding the Communities They Call Home (TEACH) Act, requiring the state education agency to work with institutions of higher education to issue guidance for developing grow-your-own teacher preparation initiatives.[11] These initiatives recruit candidates from underrepresented groups into the teaching profession, begin teacher pipeline initiatives among secondary school students, motivate paraprofessionals and other school staff to become teachers, and use existing funding sources, including grant programs, to attract and retain teachers of color. Forty-three local teachers unions received Take a Look at Teaching grants in 2022–23 to develop grow-your-own programs.[12]

Apprenticeships also help reduce barriers to the workforce, particularly for candidates of color, by offering paid training, tuition assistance, immersive placements, and access to additional services. UFT, CUNY, and New York City Public Schools are currently working with state and local partners to expand access to teaching apprenticeships across the state. With funding from a three-year federal apprenticeship grant, New York State United Teachers created the New York Educator Workforce Development HUB to develop educator and school leader apprenticeship programs statewide.[13] These programs provide options for not only high school students to enter the profession but also for paraprofessionals and other adults who are interested in pursuing teaching but are concerned about the costs and time commitment of full-time study.

Retention

Challenges. More than four years after COVID-19 disrupted schools across New York State, the lingering impact of the pandemic continues to contribute to teacher burnout and dissatisfaction, exacerbating long-standing challenges in teacher retention. Even before the crisis, educators faced mounting pressures, but the pandemic intensified burnout, financial strain, and workforce instability.

In a RAND study from August 2024, 60 percent of teachers reported feeling burned out.[14] Combined with persistently low pay, skyrocketing student loan debt, and an anemic educator pipeline, the state’s ability to retain its teaching workforce has further deteriorated.

The New York City Independent Budget Office found that teacher retention in the city had been slightly improving before the pandemic.[15] During the 2020-21 school year, retention remained relatively stable as the city’s public schools offered hybrid instruction. However, teacher retention dropped sharply when schools returned to in-person learning in 2021–22, with an even steeper decline in the 2022–23 school year.

Between the 2018–19 and 2021–22 school years, teacher retention rates were highest (83 percent) in schools in low-need districts across New York, while schools in the biggest four districts (New York City, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester) had some of the lowest retention rates (76 percent).[16]

Teachers of color face unique challenges, including isolation as racial minorities. An analysis by the New York Equity Coalition found that Black teachers had a 9 percentage-point lower retention rate than their White colleagues between 2018 and 2022. During that same period, rural high-need districts experienced a 10 percentage-point retention gap for Black teachers compared with all teachers.[17]

Between 2018 and 2022, students of color and teachers of color were disproportionately concentrated in schools with the lowest overall teacher retention.[18] Low teacher retention rates also hurt student achievement.[19] Experienced teachers who remain in the same school are more familiar with their students’ needs and community challenges and are better positioned to help students thrive. Low retention rates place increased recruitment, hiring, and training costs on districts. Replacing experienced teachers takes time, and new educators can need years to develop expertise comparable to those who leave the profession.

Limited pathways for career advancement and the inability to earn family-sustaining wages further contribute to teacher dissatisfaction, retention rates, and workforce instability in New York. A recent article on the challenge of retaining Black male teachers identified relatively low wages as a reason many Black men left teaching after their first few years. “We have the similar rings that we have to jump through, and yet time and again, we’re not seeing salaries match that level of expertise and certification,” one interviewee said.[20]

Low teacher pay is a major factor in low retention rates overall, but teachers of color cite different incentives for staying in the classroom. While most teachers nationwide view higher salaries as the strongest incentive for remaining in the profession, a 2022 survey by EdTrust and Educators for Excellence found that teachers of color prioritize leadership opportunities, professional development, and greater support.[21]

Despite the critical role that school leadership plays in shaping teacher retention and diversity, very few teachers transition into leadership positions each year, and those who do are disproportionately White. The underrepresentation of Black, Latinx, and Asian educators in leadership roles has significant consequences, as school leaders of color are more likely to hire and retain diverse teachers.[22] Similarly, principals of color are more likely to encourage teachers of the same race to pursue leadership opportunities.[23]

Yet teachers of color have limited opportunities for career advancement. For example, less than 0.5 percent of New York teachers transitioned to leadership roles between 2018 and 2020. Of that small sample, the vast majority (62 percent) were White teachers. Just 25 percent were Black, 9 percent Latinx, and 4 percent Asian.[24] Without intentional efforts to strengthen the leadership pipeline for educators of color, schools risk perpetuating inequities that impact both teachers and students alike.

Promising Practices. The NYC Men Teach program has recruited and retained over 3,000 men of color since 2015 by providing mentorship, professional development, and community-building opportunities.[25] In western New York, the New Teachers Project supports early-career teachers of color in Buffalo and Rochester through instructional coaching and personalized professional learning. The Buffalo Urban Teacher Pipeline Residency also offers program graduates with ongoing professional development when they are hired in Buffalo Public Schools. These early-career supports are designed to develop teachers’ skills and retain them in the classroom.

Statewide, the New York State Master Teacher Program cultivates teacher leadership and retention through professional learning communities and mentorship. The program builds connections for more than 1,700 public school teachers committed to enhancing STEM education across the state. In October 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the addition of 144 STEM teachers to the program, expanding its reach to 83 school districts, including 40 high-need districts such as Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.[26]

Investing in the recruitment of diverse teachers is a crucial strategy for retaining them, making New York’s efforts in this area promising. However, these efforts alone are not enough; New York must improve school cultures, expand professional development and career growth opportunities, and address pay disparities to better retain teachers of color.

Recommendations for State Policymakers

Retention. States can increase retention of teachers of color by focusing on mentorship and support programs that provide coaching and collaborative planning time, investing in inclusive school leaders who actively seek and implement teacher feedback, and improving culturally responsive working conditions.[27] Financial incentives, such as competitive salaries and loan forgiveness programs also play a crucial role, as do culturally responsive professional development programs.[28]

New York has taken a few promising first steps aligned to these best practices. To build on this momentum, state policymakers in New York can take the following recommendations.

The governor should

• convene a statewide taskforce to outline best practices in recruiting, training, and retaining teachers of color and ensure reporting requirements align with federal requirements.

The legislature should

• provide growth pathways so more teachers of color can move into leadership positions, including through grow-your-own initiatives to create a fellowship program for educators who came out of those programs and want to move into leadership positions;
• develop strategies to ensure teacher salaries and benefits are competitive with similar college-educated professions, including additional cost-of-living benefits—such as housing subsidies, mortgage assistance programs, child care subsidies, transportation support, and expanded state-level loan forgiveness programs—to help offset the high cost of living in New York;
• evaluate the impact of New York’s teacher licensing requirements and assess whether current requirements create inequitable barriers for teachers of color without improving teacher effectiveness;
• consider additional investments in scholarship and loan forgiveness programs for teachers who commit to teach in high-need schools; and
• increase the Regional Cost Index measure of the Foundation Aid formula to reflect regional teacher wages.

The state education agency should

• adjust guidance for districts on effective mentorship programs for new teachers to emphasize the importance of matching them with mentors who share their racial or economic background;

• identify, develop, and promote principal training that equips school leaders to effectively use surveys and listening sessions to understand the needs of teachers of color and drive meaningful change to school environment and increase retention; and
• provide technical assistance and guidance that supports districts to invest in opportunities for teachers of color to move into school leadership positions, including by identifying high-quality professional development opportunities and investing in cohort models and continuing education opportunities that encourage teachers of color to consider future leadership.

Recruitment. To build a more diverse educator workforce, New York’s leaders must take intentional steps to improve data transparency, strengthen teacher pipeline programs, and support districts in advancing racial equity in hiring practices. The following recommendations outline key actions for state policymakers to build on promising practices and recruit a more inclusive and equitable teacher workforce that reflects the diversity of New York’s students:

New York’s governor and legislature should

• enact free community college for students pursuing high-demand fields, including teaching proposals already included in the Governor’s Executive Budget this year; and

• convene a statewide taskforce charged with elevating best practices in recruiting, training, and retaining teachers of color. The taskforce should align reporting requirements for their recommendations to federal requirements.

The state education agency should

• examine the impact of teacher certification requirements, exams, and other criteria on candidates of color and identify strategies to reduce barriers that disproportionately impact candidates of color, such as eliminating exam registration fees and providing licensure exam study support services to ensure more opportunities for candidates who face financial barriers;
• build on EdTrust-New York’s data tool that tracks how well school districts are representing the diversity of students and retaining teachers of color. New York’s Office of Higher Education should invest in a transparent data system that tracks the number and racial/ethnic makeup of students in institutions of higher education who are pursuing teaching certification;
• establish a registered apprenticeship program for teaching with multiple pathways, aligned with the governor’s proposal to make community college tuition-free for high-need professions;
• work with districts to establish grow-your-own programs and partner with organizations like Take a Look at Teaching and the Kennedy Children’s Center, which have already implemented successful programs in the state;
• provide technical assistance and clear guidance to districts with disproportionately low shares of teachers of color, supporting them in developing racial equity plans with intentional and measurable goals for increasing educator diversity. The state education agency’s support should include best practices for expanding recruitment efforts, as well as identifying and addressing barriers to hiring;
• provide transparent reporting on teacher preparation program outcomes, including enrollment and completion rates, program costs, licensure exam pass rates, matriculation rates into teaching roles, and graduate retention rates; and
• explore flexibility for potential teachers to complete licensure exams and provide options for teacher candidates to have the cost of taking licensure exams subsidized. Teacher candidates should be able to use performance or portfolio measures to achieve licensing rather than traditional licensure exams.

Notes

[1] Constance A. Lindsay and Cassandra M.D. Hart, “Exposure to Same-Race Teachers and Student Disciplinary Outcomes for Black Students in North Carolina,” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 39, no. 3 (2017): 485–520; Seth Gershenson et al., “The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers,” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 14 no. 4 (2022): 300–42.

[2] The Education Trust–New York, “Representation Matters: A Look at the State of Teacher Diversity in New York,” report (2022).

[3] New York: Learning from Institutional Pass Rates on Elementary Teacher Licensure Tests,” National Council on Teacher Quality, web page, 2021.

[4] Sara Randazzo, “Black, Latino Teachers Collecting $835 Million in Discrimination Lawsuit,” Wall Street Journal (July 14, 2022).

[5] US Department of Education, “2024 Title II Report: Academic Year 2022-23 Data,” web page.

[6] Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, “Teacher Education at CUNY: Enrollment, Graduation, and Diversity Trends,” report (City University of New York, June 2023).

[7] Cara Matthews, “Who Will Teach the Kids? Nationwide Educator Shortage Grows More Acute,” web page (United Federation of Teachers, September 8, 2022).

[8] David J. Hill, “Preparing K-12 Teachers to Meet Today’s Social Challenges,” blog post (University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education, August 2020).

[9] Mylien Lai, “UB Teacher Residency Program in Limbo after Federal Funding Cuts,” The Spectrum, student publication (University at Buffalo, March 24, 2025).

[10] Nick Juravich, “Union Advocacy for Paraprofessionals-to-Teacher Pathways,” American Educator 46, no. 4 (American Federation of Teachers, 2022).

[11] New York State Senate, Teachers and Educators Aiding the Communities They Call Home (TEACH) Act, S2140B, 2023-24 Legislative Session (2023).

[12] New York State United Teachers, “Grow-Your-Own Programs in New York State,” web page, 2021.

[13] US Department of Labor, “US Department of Labor Awards $121M in Apprenticeship Building America Grants to Expand, Diversify, Modernize Registered Apprenticeship Programs,” press release (July 7, 2022).

[14] New York State Educator Workforce Development HUB, “Partnering to Grow the Next Generation of Well-Prepared Educators,” web page.

[15] Julia Konrad and Joydeep Roy, “Roll Call: Recent Trends in Teacher Retention and Hiring in New York City Public Schools,” report (New York City Independent Budget Office, 2023).

[16] New York Equity Coalition, “Teacher Retention in New York State,” report (The Education Trust–New York, July 2023).

[17] New York Equity Coalition, “Teacher Retention in New York State.”

[18] New York Equity Coalition, “Teacher Retention in New York State.”

[19] Learning Policy Institute, “2024 Update: What’s the Cost of Teacher Turnover?” interactive tool (September 17, 2024).

[20] Amaya McDonald, “Why Are So Few Black Men Teachers in New York City?” Chalkbeat New York (March 8, 2023).

[21] Educators for Excellence, “Voices from the Classroom: A Survey of America’s Educators,” report (2022).

[22] Brenda Bartanen and Jason A. Grissom, “School Principal Race and the Hiring and Retention of Racially Diverse Teachers,” working paper (Annenberg Institute at Brown University, 2019).

[23] Jeannie Myung, Susanna Loeb, and Eileen Horng, “Tapping the Principal Pipeline: Identifying Talent for Future School Leadership in the Absence of Formal Succession Management Programs,” Educational Administration Quarterly 47, no. 5 (2011).

[24] New York Equity Coalition, “School Leader Diversity in New York State,” report (September 2023).

[25] Cara Matthews, “Who Will Teach the Kids?”

[26] The State University of New York, “Governor Hochul Celebrates over 140 Exceptional Teachers and 26 Master Counselors Chosen to Support New York State’s World Class Education System,” press release (October 31, 2024).

[27] The Education Trust–West and California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, “Recruiting and Retaining Educators of Color: Hiring Practices to Diversity Your Candidate Pool and Strategies to Support and Retain Educators,” report (2020).

[28] Hannah Putman, “From the Source: What Strategies Do Teachers of Color Believe Will Be Most Successful in Recruiting and Retaining Teachers of Color?” report (National Council on Teacher Quality, October 27, 2022); Stephanie Aragon, “Response to Information Request,” report (September 28, 2016).