As school began this fall, the first Latino participants in the Adjunct Teacher Dallas Residency Program started on their path to becoming certified classroom teachers next semester. They are the second group recruited for the initiative that began last school year to hire more educators who are representative of the students they serve.
The 11 soon-to-be educators are paired with exemplary educators at seven Dallas ISD high schools. The district’s Human Capital Management department (HCM) will support them on their path toward becoming licensed teachers through the district’s Alternative Certification program.
“Research has demonstrated that having a teacher with a similar ethnicity positively impacts students’ academic achievement,” said Chele Andreason, executive director of staffing at HCM. “We value our diverse student population and are excited to align educators to match our students’ backgrounds strategically.”
Dallas ISD students come from diverse backgrounds, and 70 percent are of Hispanic origin. For this reason, it was essential to increase the number of Hispanic educators to improve the Latino representation in the district and help shape students’ lives.
“We all have a teacher who motivated us to do our best, and the adjunct teachers are proving to be positive role models not only for the Hispanic students, but for all,” Andreason said.
One of these future teachers is Diego Morillo, who helps teach physics and biology to juniors and seniors at W.W. Samuell High School. He joined the Hispanic Teacher Residency Program to serve his community and work with the youth of Pleasant Grove.
“To impact an ever-changing and growing community such as Pleasant Grove, one must reach the young future leaders of our community,” Morillo said. “My goal is to build relationships, tear down barriers, and open their minds to the possibilities afforded to them through education.”
