As part of an initiative aimed at recruiting teachers who represent the students they serve, Dallas ISD will hire 20 male professionals of diverse backgrounds who will serve in high-priority campuses.
In the Fall of 2021, the soon-to-be educators – 10 Black and 10 Latino men – will be paired with exemplary educators as adjunct teachers in Dallas ISD classrooms. At the same time, the Human Capital Management department (HCM) will support them on their path toward becoming licensed teachers through the district’s Alternative Certification program.
“Our ongoing effort to transition career professionals of diverse backgrounds to educators strengthens our district’s commitment of providing greater equity, diversity and inclusion in our campuses,” said John Vega, deputy chief of HCM. “Having someone who looks like you to teach you has a great impact on a student’s future success. We believe that the more teachers that we can get in front of our students that look like them, the more successful the students will be.”
Dallas ISD launched the Adjunct Teacher Dallas Residency Program in the Fall of 2020 and hired Black professionals for the program’s first cohort. HCM has expanded this initiative to also hire Latino male teachers and place them in secondary campuses.
The program is a collaborative effort between the HCM Recruitment Team and Dallas ISD’s Alternative Certification Program; a highly successful program that trains college graduates who studied a career outside of teaching to follow their passion and lead a classroom.
Along with recruiting, screening and hiring, HCM staff places the career transitioners in schools, trains their mentor-educators who will tutor and supervise them, and provides them ongoing training and assistance throughout their first years.
“We’re introducing male role models who share similar ethnocultural backgrounds with our district’s student population,” Recruitment Manager Pricilla Vega said. “All the members of this program are men who have been highly successful in their endeavors and who are passionate about helping students grow.”
The members of the Adjunct Teacher Dallas Residency Program’s third cohort will be assigned to a campus at the beginning of the next school year, where they will receive pedagogy instruction and practical classroom experience.
HCM introduced this hiring initiative in response to the resolution on the Commitment of Dallas ISD to Black Students and Black Lives. In June, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to identify high-need issues and to take actions to achieve measurable improvements for Black students in Dallas ISD.
Black or Latino men seeking to make a difference in the lives of students, we welcome you to join our team of diverse teachers. Apply for the paid internship and teacher training with Alternative Certification program fees waived.
