Courtesy of Markus Flynn
Markus Flynn
Markus Flynn is calling from his virtual classroom. This week, his sixth graders at Prodeo Academy are learning about how ecosystems sustain themselves—and for a science class, it's an impressive feat to teach from one’s living room. Like all teachers, Flynn has been navigating a challenging teach-from-home situation all year. But in January, he’ll step into a new role as executive director of Black Men Teach, a Minneapolis-based organization aimed at increasing the number of Black male teachers in elementary school classrooms.
Minnesota’s teacher diversity stats are dismal: though the state’s students of color have increased from 24 to 34 percent over the last decade or so, teachers of color have flatlined at around four percent. Only 1.4 percent of Minnesota’s teachers are Black.
But the need for Black teachers is urgent: studies have shown that Black students who had at least one Black teacher in third through fifth grade were 29 percent less likely to drop out of school. For low-income Black boys, that number increased to 39 percent. The sheer fact of having Black teachers has increased student interest in college, and in other studies, led to higher test scores.
With those stats in mind, Black Men Teach has set out to increase the number of Black male teachers in elementary schools across the Twin Cities metro. They partner with K-5 schools, higher ed institutions, teacher preparation programs and community organizations to show Black men viable, affordable pathways to teaching, and support them as they navigate training, licensure, and new classrooms. Their goal is to recruit, prepare and place 100 teachers in the next 10 years.
Tell me how this all began. How did Black Men Teach come about as an organization?
I think first, we have to understand the context of the Minnesota education system. The success gap between Black and white students in Minnesota is extremely well documented. Disparities in test scores and graduation rates are among the highest in the country. But what’s also well documented is the longitudinal benefit that Black teachers have in classrooms, specifically elementary school classrooms. Black teachers have a benefit on all students, but for Black students in particular, we increase the likelihood of students enrolling in college, and decrease the likelihood of them dropping out of high school significantly.
In Minnesota, the teaching task force doesn't necessarily reflect the demographics of the students. There's about 65,000 teachers. And about 95% of them are white, and about 80% are women. There's about one and a half percent who are Black, which is about 875 teachers. And they don't stratify it by race and gender. So a conservative estimate leaves you with 320 Black male teachers in the state of Minnesota.
That's literally half of one percent. To me, that is aberrant. Literally every Black male teacher in the state of Minnesota is a unicorn. So Black Men Teach was created because we recognize that in order to increase Black students' success rate, we need more teachers who identify [with] and relate to our students. Black Men Teach works to create a pipeline to increase the number of Black males in the classroom, and we understand that there must be a comprehensive effort to address all the barriers that hinder Black men from teaching.
Black Men Teach describes itself as a “quarterback.” That’s an interesting way to talk about the organization’s work.
One of the images that that word provokes is this idea of teamwork, where the quarterback is nothing without the team, the receivers and all of that. Black Men Teach sees itself as one of the leaders bringing together stakeholders from all aspects of the education system, the teacher development pipeline, and then forming a collective team with a common goal of increasing the representation of Black males in the classroom. What we do as the quarterback is integrate the work of all of these partners. So that when we have a Black man who has interest in becoming a teacher, we can show them a viable, affordable pathway to the classroom that's right for that specific person.
What are some of the barriers on that pathway? Black Men Teach lists a lack of recruitment efforts, inadequate teacher training options and the cost of that, ineffective induction and unwelcoming school culture as a few. Can you break down how those challenges might play out for a young Black man who wants to get licensed to teach?
As the system currently exists, there are a variety of barriers that either inhibit, discourage or dissuade a Black man from becoming a teacher and remaining a teacher. Black men have to overcome the lack of targeted recruitment efforts, the different financial burdens associated with teaching and the preparation process. They have to navigate societal expectations of what it means to be a Black man and to be in a school. Those are very complicated and nuanced processes they have to go through individually. They have to endure the lack of representation ... and persist at a school where there's likely few people of color, and staff and administration.
When you're in high school, you make that decision [to teach]. You're the only one who looks like you who's also thinking about the same thing. So you have to be very introspective, very self-reflective, and also very confident in this decision. Because there's not a lot of things in life that will affirm you, that say yes, Black man, you should be an educator. Yes, young Black man, this is the right path for you. You're asking for a lot, right? Starting at 15 years old, being a unicorn and thinking that differently than everyone else, and pushing away societal expectations.
If you're someone who's already been through your bachelor's program, the idea of going into a resident program, and then having to navigate student teaching, where they want you to come in 15 weeks of full-time work unpaid, will literally turn off anybody. It's the schedule of a teacher, from eight to four, seven to three.
And probably a lot more, considering how much teachers actually have to work.
That's just the contract hours right? If you're someone who's trying to make the transition later in the game, that is a huge barrier. I’d be willing to bet that of the Black men who are currently teaching, that 2% nationally, a large percentage of them came in the non-traditional path. Because I think what goes into Black men teaching is a lot of reflection. Again, there's not a lot of things leading you down that path. You have to be willing to deviate from societal norms. And think to yourself, this is what truly fulfills my purpose. This is what lights my fire.
I was struck by this statistic that Black boys in elementary schools who have Black male teachers are 29% less likely to drop out of school later on. That’s a huge difference. How do those numbers translate to real life? What makes it so important in a Black child’s life to have Black teachers?
Representation is powerful. It truly is. I think many Black men know the negative sides of education. I think many of us can recall a time where we were either unfairly punished or overly disciplined. The K-12 system can be very punitive. And in order for young Black boys to be successful in school, they need to be engaged. They need their identity affirmed. Most importantly, they need to be understood. And I think Black men do all of those and more for young Black boys. In the best case scenario, we can be a person that they aspire to be like. There are certain things that you never consider until you see someone who looks like you doing them. Back to that representation piece: I remember when I was in college, the idea of getting a PhD had literally never crossed my mind until I met my first Black male who had one.
You’re a science teacher at Prodeo Academy in Minneapolis. How do you see Black Men Teach’s mission showing up in your own work?
Teaching is a profession where you go home with a story every day. One of my favorite moments that really elucidates the mission and vision of Black Men Teach is I had a student who was considered one of my most behaviorally challenged. At the end of the year, my instructional coach pointed out to me that that same student was now my most engaged participant in class discussion. Not in a disruptive way, like genuinely engaged, focused, locked in. That same student, much earlier in the year, had articulated to me how they had always wanted a teacher who looks like them.
Both school districts and the state legislature are trying to increase teacher diversity: some districts have “Grow Your Own” programs to recruit and train teachers of color, for example. And though many legislators recognize this as an issue, there’s little consensus on how to address it. The Increase Teachers of Color Act has failed to catch on in the legislature. So what efforts do we need to see from districts and the state to get more teachers of color into classrooms?
Like you said, there are efforts that are already underway. I'm happy Black Men Teach is in Minnesota, because I think that here is where we can actually make the change. We have the right people to do it. At a school level, I think all school districts are doing this, but they need to critically examine their data for disparity. Look at classroom send out. Look at detention, suspensions, expulsions. And if we see disparities there, let's rethink our practices at the school level. I think a lot of people see this as a population level problem, but we don't want to recognize the individuality behind it.
At the state level, we really need to think about how rigorous the licensure process is. Now, I know Minnesota takes pride in having, at a population level, one of the best public education school systems. Part of that, they believe, is because it’s so rigorous to get licensed here. But if we want to think about what it means to be equitable in our licensing, and we want to see that our teaching force reflects the demographics of our students better, we need to reexamine exactly how we go about licensing people. That would allow more Black men to get into the classroom, more Black teachers, more people of color in general. I think that will have tremendous impact in closing these success gaps.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
