BOULDER — Just one month after Centennial Elementary School in Denver drew criticism for advertising a “families of color” playground night, Boulder Valley School District appears to be the latest school district to get in on the growing trend to resegregate people by race.
This time it’s teachers.
A “Teacher of Color hiring event” is being advertised on the back of buses in the Boulder area. The virtual event, which is scheduled from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Feb. 12, requires preregistration on the district’s website.
According to that website, there are currently 83 open positions at the school district, only a handful are for licensed teachers.
The website says the district is “committed to hiring diverse candidates who bring high quality skills and knowledge. We are looking for individuals who have a growth mindset and are seeking opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and the community to create an exceptional learning experience for kids.”
Complete Colorado reached out to the school district with a series of questions about the event including:
- Where did this idea come from?
- Why just people of color? Why not all licensed teachers?
- Does this not give an appearance of racism?
- If a white educator shows up, will they be turned away?
Communication Director Randy Barber told Complete Colorado that Boulder Valley School District is focused on addressing achievement gaps as part of its All Together for All Students Strategic Plan.
“One of the initiatives the district is working on is increasing the diversity of our faculty, understanding that research shows that there is a significant benefit to students of color, when the faculty of schools is representative of the diverse community they serve,” Barber said, adding no white applicants would be turned away from the event. “Last year, BVSD created the Teacher of Color job fair to increase the pool of qualified individuals of color. BVSD continues to be an equal opportunity employer and ultimately hiring managers select the best candidates for positions based on qualifications and job responsibilities. Our efforts such as the Teacher of Color job fair are focused solely on ensuring that there is diversity within the qualified candidates being considered for our positions.”
