PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Teaching the next generation of teachers is a path that many colleges offer, but at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, educators are putting a focus on making sure more teachers of color make it into the classroom.
According to the One Million Teachers of Color Campaign, in 97% of school districts across the nation, the percentage of students of color exceeds the percentage of teachers of color. Additionally, 25% of public schools do not have a single teacher of color on staff.
"I had five male teachers in my entire life. And two of them were males of color, so I’m making a difference," said UAPB education major, Dennis Ugbaja.
The junior said that he has a passion for social studies and children, and is especially passionate about impacting young Black males in the classroom.
Dr. Kimberely Davis, Dean of the School of Education at UAPB, agreed that Ugbaja will make a difference.
"At UAPB, we want to focus on changing how everyone views education, because being a teacher is one of the most powerful careers that you can possibly have, and also the most impactful careers that you can have," Davis described.
She added that they will continue its legacy of building a pipeline for teachers of color with the help of organizations like Forward Arkansas.
In 2021, the group launched the EPP (education preparation program) design collaborative, a competitive grant program to identify universities committed to addressing problems within Arkansas's teacher workforce.
"Our students are able to go out in the field, three days a week, working with different teachers, and not only that they're able to earn funds during that they're able to actually do strategic staffing where some of our student teachers are paid. As an aspiring teacher, some of our student teachers are paid as substitutes. And some of our student teachers are actually paid during the paraprofessional where they're working in the classroom with another teacher," Davis said. "So it really goes outside of the box in order to bring innovative ideas into the classroom and into the EPP as a whole."
Forward Arkansas has supported eight participating universities across the state with resources and guidance from national experts like U.S. Prep.
This grant program focuses on transformation and increasing the quantity, quality and diversity of our teacher workforce.
"We have 84% retention of all of our candidates that have entered into the school of education," Davis said. "We focus on cultural diversity, we focus on preparing students through practical coursework, and not the traditional coursework. The retention rate has increased because of the different activities that we have designed in our EPP to make sure that we're keeping our students here.
Tonya Caldwell-Colen is a graduate of UAPB's School of Education. She now works as a site coordinator for the Educator Preparation Program and said she often reminisces on the impact the professor had on her life.
"I came through this program years and years and years ago and I'm still excited about it," Caldwell-Colen said. "The program focuses on growing great teachers, we're wanting to make sure that their disposition is great. Their background, their knowledge, their content knowledge is on point, and that they have classroom management skills. Those types of things are definitely needed for the classroom and that's what we're doing here.”
For Ugbaja, choosing this path isn't about the salary or summers off, for him, it's about much more.
"I do it to inspire. I also do it to motivate and encourage. I just want people and students to know that you can always do anything you put your mind to," Ugbaja said.