Toward Greater Academic Achievement Through Hiring Greater Diversity of Faculty, Staff, and Administrators in Public Schools

WHEREAS, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ("NAACP") works to ensure that all disadvantaged students and students of color are on the path to college education, or a successful career by ensuring access to great teaching, equitable resources, and a challenging curriculum; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP is dedicated to eliminating the severe racial inequities that continue to plague the education system in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the ultimate goal of the NAACP is that every student of color receives a high quality public education that prepares him or her to be a contributing member of a democracy; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP recognizes that there is persistent disparity in academic achievement between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP recognizes that the largest factor in the persistence of the achievement gap is the creation and maintenance of an environment that is as conducive to learning as is possible for each individual student; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP also recognizes that students of color in general, and Black students in particular, disproportionately experience school disciplinary actions. This, we acknowledge, likely contributes to lagging educational achievement as school discipline typically results in a loss of educational time; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP is aware that students of color are consistently more likely than their white peers to be rated as disruptive by their teachers and experience school discipline but are also much less likely to have a teacher of the same race; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP is aware that studies show that exposure to a Black teacher during elementary school raises long-run educational attainment for Black male students. For the most disadvantaged Black males, conservative estimates suggest that exposure to a Black teacher in primary school cuts high school dropout rates by 39%. It also raises college aspirations; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP recognizes studies wherein Black primary school students matched to a same-race teacher perform better on standardized tests and enjoy more favorable teacher perceptions; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP is aware that there is credible evidence that students of all races have more positive ratings of Latino and Black teachers than white teachers; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP is aware of credible studies which have shown that while the presence of a Black teacher does not guarantee academic success for students of color, however, the research literature suggests that a white teacher's failure to address or value a student of color's primary culture could be a significant factor in student of color's academic success; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP stands in favor of moving the Unites States' school systems toward greater academic achievement through the process of diversifying faculties, staffs and administrations; and

WHEREAS, the Mary McLeod Bethune Process to hire more African American teachers would consist of:

• school systems shall each interview at least one qualified minority candidate for each faculty, staff and administrative opening;
• school systems shall notify the NAACP in advance, and before publishing same to the staff faculty or public, of every new and anticipated job opening in each school for every faculty, staff and administrative position;
• school systems shall at least participate in any hiring/job fairs which are held at each of the below listed Historically Black Colleges and Universities; and/or actively and affirmatively partner with the respective career services representative at each school regularly to identify, interview, and recruit qualified minority candidates;
• each school system shall each maintain, concurrently with the local Branches of the NAACP, an active database of resumes of qualified minority candidates to review upon the availability of a position opening; and
• School systems must retain resumes until a period of three years from the date the resume was submitted has elapsed, and shall each engage in an affirmative and active partnership with members of local Branches of the NAACP Education Committee in all aspects of the search, recruitment and hiring process.

WHEREAS, the NAACP believes that it is clear from a review of the numbers of faculty, staff and administrators in many of the respective school systems in this country that current recruiting practices are an insufficient process for attracting and employing qualified minority candidates.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the national NAACP will encourage all local branches to work directly with local school systems and through the local, state and federal legislative processes in order to establish and maintain more aggressively inclusive hiring practices in school systems; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the NAACP will urge all of its Units to advance, and work to implement the Mary McLeod Bethune Process outlined above in all Historically Black Colleges and Universities.