EDUCATORS PUSH FOR

MORE LATINO TEACHERS

JULY 30, 2012



Educators Push for More Latino Teachers
July 30, 2012
By Post Staff
Libre youth organizer Cory Aguilar and Emiliano Zapata Street Academy
teacher Marisol Nuo recently joined communities from all over the U.S. to
campaign for a diverse teaching force.

Currently, only 6.9 percent of U.S. teachers are Latino, though 22 percent
of U.S. students are Latino. Nuo experienced the problem first-hand as a
student in Oakland. I never had a Latino teacher until I was 16 years old,
she said. Then I had Israel Macias at Street Academy, and it changed my
whole attitude about education. She went to college, earned a credential
at the University of San Francisco and applied for a job at the Street
Academy in Oakland, teaching the same classes once taught by Israel
Macias. She also helps to recruit Latino candidates for Teach Tomorrow in
Oakland.


2009.08.06- L.I.B.R.E. Coordinator, Karina Najera, at City of
Oakland discussion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M46j7zx0FqU

The institute organized by the National Association for Multicultural
Education sponsored workshops for people around the country to
discuss how to break down the barriers that keep Latinos and African-
Americans out of teaching. A workshop by Kitty Kelly Epstein and Fred
Ellis helped participants from Utah, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas
and other states figure out a plan to deal with costly and biased
requirements. The presenters shared details of Oaklands successful
programs for creating political will and support systems.

Cory Aguilar works with youth at Fremont High and United for Success in
Oakland, inspiring students to love life and value education. He found the
national institute valuable in planning how to work to increase the numbers
of Latino educators. The institute provided a space for conversations that
need to be addressed locally as well as globally when it comes to
education, he said. I felt as if I was at the forefront of a new teacher
movement that needs to be heard.