From BGSU OFFICE OF MARKETING & BRAND STRATEGY
Bowling Green State University, in partnership with Washington Local Schools near Toledo, was recently selected as one of 20 awardees by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) as a recipient of its new Diversifying the Education Profession grant program.
Under the grant, BGSU will work with Washington Local to implement strategies to address diversity needs within the district’s faculty and staff over the next two and a half years.
The University’s Northwest Ohio Center for Excellence in STEM Education will also work in partnership with Washington Local to implement a program called Project EDUCATE, which will focus on recruiting students of color to explore careers in the teaching profession. Under the project, middle and high school students from diverse backgrounds will be placed into cohorts to connect with positive role models and participate in after-school clubs and activities.
“This project recognizes and addresses the critical need for increased diversity in the teaching profession,” said Dr. Dawn Shinew, dean of the College of Education and Human Development at BGSU. “We are excited to begin this very important work with partner Washington Local Schools and look forward to its outcomes and the positive impact on our community.”
Dr. Kadee Anstadt, superintendent of Washington Local Schools, said she’s also pleased with the award as it builds on work already begun through the Whitmer Career and Technology Teaching Professions Program, which identifies and recruits teachers of color.
“Employing teachers who look like and have similar experiences as students in our district is a priority,” Anstadt said.Announced earlier this year, the ODE grant was launched in response to the 2019 Diversifying the Education Profession in Ohio Brief and Taskforce Recommendations Report. The group, consisting of roughly 40 individuals from various education stakeholder organizations around the state, developed a set of recommendations for implementing initiatives and programs to diversify the Ohio education workforce.
*Original headline misidentified the school district.
