Schools are meant to reflect the communities they serve, fostering opportunity and fairness for all students. But what happens when efforts to make classrooms more inclusive are branded as threats to education itself?
American education is at a crossroads, facing a pivotal question: Will our schools reflect the diversity and aspirations of the people they serve, or will they remain entrenched in a status quo that excludes and marginalizes? This is more than a policy question—it is a moral one. What kind of education system do we want, and for whom is it designed?
The demographic gap between an overwhelmingly white teaching workforce and an increasingly diverse student body underscores the urgency of these questions. Meanwhile, efforts to address disparities between our teachers and students are under attack by organizations like Parents Defending Education (PDE), emblematic of a broader right-wing movement to resist progressive reforms in education.
Organizations like PDE embody a larger movement resisting efforts to create education systems that reflect the broader diversity of our students and the aspirations of our communities. Indeed, the intensifying struggle over who gets to teach our children reveals a deliberate attempt to protect inequities and silence progress, underscoring the urgent need to reimagine how we talk about and achieve inclusive education. This moment demands a bolder vision—one that not only addresses systemic disparities but also builds schools that truly serve all students.
What PDE Represents
Parents Defending Education is part of a network of organizations mobilized to resist progressive changes in education. While PDE claims to defend parents’ rights, its underlying mission is to protect a status quo that has historically marginalized communities of color and upheld inequitable systems.
PDE’s opposition to equity initiatives is not isolated but reflects a more extensive strategy employed by right-wing advocacy groups to stifle reforms that aim to create inclusive and representative school environments. Other organizations, such as Speech First, the Heritage Foundation, and Moms for Liberty, have similarly engaged in campaigns against efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in education.
PDE’s leadership, including Nicole Neily and Caroline Moore, exemplifies this strategy. Neily’s background as the founder of Speech First reveals a history of targeting inclusive policies under the guise of defending free speech. Moore’s activism aligns with broader efforts to dismantle progressive reforms, often reframing equity as a threat to merit. These individuals and the organizations they lead are part of a concerted effort to resist change and maintain an education system that prioritizes certain voices while silencing others. Thus, we must ask: what are these organizations truly defending, if not a vision of education that perpetuates inequity?
A Crisis of Representation
The demographic disparity in U.S. education is stark and troubling. While over 50 percent of public school students are nonwhite, nearly 80 percent of teachers are white, with a majority identifying as women (U.S. Department of Education, 2022). This imbalance is not a coincidence but a reflection of historical and structural barriers that have long excluded or discouraged people of color from entering the teaching profession. Can a system that serves diverse communities thrive when its workforce does not reflect those communities?
Research highlights the profound consequences of racial mismatch in education. When students of color have teachers who share their racial or cultural background, their academic outcomes improve—graduation rates increase, disciplinary actions decrease, and a sense of belonging emerges (Gershenson et al., 2018). White students also benefit from exposure to diverse educators, developing greater cultural competency and empathy (Cherng & Halpin, 2016). Conversely, a predominantly white workforce reinforces racial biases, contributing to inequities in discipline, special education placements, and academic achievement (Skiba et al., 2011).
Representation is not merely about numbers; it is about the narratives that shape our classrooms. Teachers of color bring lived experiences, cultural knowledge, and perspectives that enrich learning for all students. They challenge dominant narratives and model resilience, showing students what is possible. Without this representation, schools risk perpetuating cycles of exclusion and failing to fulfill their promise as spaces where all children can thrive.
Reimagining the Teacher Workforce: forwardED’s Equity-Centered Workforce Initiative
To advance a representative workforce while avoiding divisive rhetoric and legal vulnerabilities, forwarded has created a new framework: the Equity-Centered Workforce Initiative (ECWI). ECWI offers a vision for articulating hiring policies that are inclusive, aspirational, and rooted in shared values. It embraces a philosophy of equity that invites collaboration and shared purpose.
ECWI begins with a question: How can schools cultivate a workforce that embodies the diversity and lived experiences of their communities? This initiative frames representation as a cornerstone of educational excellence, emphasizing cultivation and support over numerical targets. Instead of stating, “We aim to hire X percentage of teachers of color,” districts might articulate, “We are committed to fostering a teaching workforce that reflects the diversity, values, and perspectives of our community.” Such language positions diversity as a collective asset, inviting communities to see themselves as integral to this vision.
Under ECWI, districts would focus on creating pathways for underrepresented candidates, including targeted recruitment partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and tribal colleges. Mentorship and professional development programs would support educators of color, while retention efforts—such as affinity groups and leadership pipelines—would ensure they thrive within the profession. But beyond these strategies, ECWI emphasizes the moral imperative of representation: How can we create schools where every student feels seen, valued, and empowered to succeed?
This vision also seeks to bridge ideological divides. By framing equity as a shared commitment to excellence and inclusion, ECWI invites stakeholders from across the spectrum to engage in dialogue and action. It challenges districts to view diversity not as a compliance issue but as a fundamental aspect of justice and educational quality. In doing so, ECWI transforms equity from a contentious mandate into a unifying goal.
Conclusion
The demographic reality of U.S. education poses urgent questions: Who gets to teach, and whose stories are centered in our classrooms? Organizations like Parents Defending Education and their allies resist these questions, defending a status quo that excludes and marginalizes, defending a vision of education that casts a gaze that narrows perspectives, silences diverse voices, and reinforces inequities already deeply embedded in the system.
Yet, the vision for a truly inclusive educational system cannot be abandoned. By adopting frameworks like the Equity-Centered Workforce Initiative, we can reimagine what it means to serve all students and communities equitably. This vision is not about imposing quotas or lowering standards. It is about ensuring that education reflects the diversity of our society and prepares every child for a future where that diversity is a strength.
We have new questions: How can we create schools that honor the richness of all communities? How can we design systems where every child sees themselves in their classrooms and believes in their potential to succeed? These questions invite us to envision an education system rooted in fairness, inclusion, and shared purpose—a system worthy of all our children.
References
Cherng, H. Y. S., & Halpin, P. F. (2016). The importance of minority teachers: Student perceptions of minority versus White teachers. Educational Researcher, 45(7), 407-420. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16671718
Dee, T. S. (2005). A teacher like me: Does race, ethnicity, or gender matter? The American Economic Review, 95(2), 158-165. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282805774670446
Gershenson, S., Hart, C. M. D., Lindsay, C. A., & Papageorge, N. W. (2018). The long-run impacts of same-race teachers. IZA Institute of Labor Economics.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465-491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465
Skiba, R. J., Michael, R. S., Nardo, A. C., & Peterson, R. L. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. The Urban Review, 34(4), 317-342. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021320817372
U.S. Department of Education. (2022). National teacher and principal survey. Institute of Education Sciences.
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Suggested citation: Kirkland, D.E. (2025). Who’s Teaching Our Kids? The Fight for a More Diverse Classroom. forwardED Perspectives, https://www.forward-ed.com/post/who-s-teaching-our-kids-the-struggle-for-more-diverse-teacher-workforce.
David E. Kirkland, PhD, is the founder and CEO of forwardED. He is a nationally renowned scholar of education equity and the author of Pedagogy of the Black Child. He can be reached at david@forward-ed.com.
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