Teacher Education Quarterly, Fall 2007 Increasing the Supply of Latino Bilingual Teachers for the Chicago Public Schools (original) (raw)

I did not believe I would be the “great Latino savior. ” I would be me. I decided to teach in the public school system where I felt the students would need someone like me. As it turned out, I ended up where I belonged, in the Mexican community, helping nurture young minds and giving comfort and confidence to those that need it. In a way, I am... a “savior, ” but to myself, not the students. (Retana, 1997) The prevailing situation in which students of color represent over one-third of school enrollments, yet teachers of color represent merely one-tenth of the nation’s teacher force (Clewell & Villegas, 2001b; Ladson-Billings, 2005), is an important yet rarely considered factor amidst the constant claims of teacher shortages. Urban and rural schools struggle with an inadequate supply of teachers, but shortages are more concentrated in selected fields such as bilingual education and special education. In urban school districts that are majority children and youth of color, students ha...