Ileana Najarro is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in schools across the country. She previously wrote for the Tampa Bay Times and the Houston Chronicle.
Educators chat with each other during the Edifying, Elevating, and Uplifting Teachers of Color conference in Minneapolis, Minn., on Oct. 20, 2023. Retaining educators within the profession requires paying attention to the quality of induction support they get, ongoing mentorship, and how well prepared school administrators are.
Clint Mitchell, superintendent for Colonial Beach Public Schools in Colonial Beach, Va., visits a class at Colonial Beach Elementary School on Nov. 6, 2023.
Reinaldo Caraballo, Angel Solivan, center, and Joseph Santana, center right, participate in a group activity during a history class at Pascagoula High School on Oct. 25, 2021 in Pascagoula, Miss. The Pascagoula-Gautier School District has by far the largest English Learner population of any on the Coast, at about 13% as of May 2021, most of whom are native Spanish speakers.
Students Anthony Gonzalez, middle, and Kritza Ardon Blanco, right, listen to teacher Kristine Jones, left, in the library at Valencia Newcomer School on Oct. 17, 2019, in Phoenix. Valencia Newcomer School in Phoenix is among a handful of public schools in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping some of the thousands of children who arrive in the country annually.
English-language learning program Coordinator Dina Saunders collects worksheets while helping in Katie Pringnitz's 6th grade language arts classroom on Aug. 24, 2016 at Mount Pleasant Middle School in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
Educators at the College Board's AP annual conference learn about various AP program offerings intended to address access and equity to advanced coursework for underrepresented students in Seattle, Wash. on July 20, 2023.
Verona Area High School students Maddie Hankard, left, Gabby Henshue, center, and Allison Ford collaborate on a homework assignment during class time in an advanced placement chemistry course on Feb. 14, 2013 in Verona, Wis.
The "statue" of Michelle Obama, played by Kaylee Gray, talks to students during Black History Month's wax museum at Chestnut Grove Elementary School in Decatur, Ala., on Feb. 27, 2020.