KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In schools nationwide, less than 10% of teachers are Latino. In Kansas City, that number is even less.
Local nonprofit Latinx Education Collaborative is working to bring more Latino teachers into the classroom.
Susana Elizarraraz explained what it feels like to be a Latino student in a school with few Hispanic teachers.
"The hard part about that is feeling like an outsider within a school that's in your neighborhood," Elizarraraz said.
It's part of the reason she became an educator, the first generation in her family to achieve higher education.
Elizarraraz taught at Gladstone Elementary School for years as the only Latino educator.
"Parents of kids in other classrooms that I didn't have began knocking on my door and say, 'I have this bill that I don't understand, can you help me'?" Elizarraraz said. "It was really cool to come full circle and see the gratitude come over families faces, sometimes the parents, sometimes the kiddos themselves, that I could speak their language."
Elizarraraz explained the cost of higher education, teacher certifications and overall attitudes toward educators in schools deter potential Latino students from the teaching industry.
There are all of these cracks within the system, and there are people who say maybe this isn't for me," Elizarraraz said.
Elizarraraz now works with the Latinix Education Collaborative to support future teachers in a field lacking Hispanic voices.
"In order to not get burnt out, make sure to ask for help and there are resources here to offer that support," Elizarraraz said.
Edgar Palacios launched several programs with the Latinx Education Collaborative to increase the number of Latino teachers in Kansas City area schools.
"You can't be what you can't see," Palacios said.
In two years, he explained the number of Latino teachers has doubled from 1% to 2% in Kansas City Public Schools.
"It doesn't seem like a lot, comparatively, because there are teacher shortages, but when you're thinking about 1% of educators in Kansas City are Latino and you start growing that number, those gains are significant overtime," Palacios said.
Those numbers matter to Kansas City Public Schools parents like Miriam Galan.
"When I first started, I didn't know the language, I didn't know how to do the application and how the school system works, so it was very difficult," Galan said.
Representation is not only important for Latino students, but for their families, too.
"We are more empowered, we are are more confident, we learn about many things," Galan said. "The most important thing, in my case, is learning how to advocate for my children."
The Latinx Education Collaborative has a goal to help certify and support 50 new teachers by 2027. You can learn more about the programs here.
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