MINORITY EDUCATORS LOCALLY RARE RECRUITING IS DIFFICULT.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS  Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Minority student enrollment in Santa Clarita's high school district has grown to more than 30percent, but the faculty is overwhelmingly non-Latino white despite a recommendation that more minority teachers be hired.

Educators fear the ratio in the William S. Hart Union High School District could create disparities in education for some students because they have few role models from their racial or ethnic backgrounds.

``Students do better if they see themselves reflected in authority,'' said Greg Lee, hired as the district's diversity coordinator after race-related troubles on some campuses.

Spurred by those problems, district officials have identified the need for faculty members who better reflect the student body. The district has 106 minority teachers at its 16 schools -- 13.5percent of the faculty -- and is having trouble recruiting more.

In the 2005-06 school year, one in four students was Latino, while 5.9percent of the district's student population was Asian and 4.4percent black. Other races and ethnicities totaled 2percent.

Lee wrote the district's diversity action plan. He recommended hiring more minority teachers, but he said he has faced some challenges.

``The pool of minority teachers is shrinking,'' he said.

The school board adopted the plan this year after some parents of black students filed discrimination complaints. Those students said that when they complained they were mistreated, the administration did not act. The district eventually settled a lawsuit earlier this year, paying a total of $300,000.

The district also faced race-fueled violence at the end of the last school year when brawls broke out at Hart and Golden Valley high schools.

Statewide, there has been a decline in minority college students going into education. Meanwhile, the minority student population has continued to grow.

Lee said a partnership with city government could help entice more minority teachers to take jobs in Santa Clarita. Expensive housing and a lack of social outlets could be keeping applicants away, Lee said.

``We need to work with the city to see how we can draw these candidates in,'' Lee said. ``It's not about fulfilling any quotas. It's about finding qualified teachers who are also minorities.''

At Hart High, one of the most diverse high schools in the district, there are six Latino teachers and two black teachers. The student body includes 828 Latinos, 176 Asians and 80 black students.

``Personally, it is a priority to have representation,'' said Larry Oshodi, an administrator at Hart responsible for diversity education. Oshodi, who is African-American, is one of two campus administrators who are minorities.

``Even in an all-white campus, there is a positive to having diversity because when (students) graduate and go out to work, they will begin to interact with people of color,'' he said. ``That is the real world.''

Angela Minnici, senior research associate at the Center on Education Policy in Washington, D.C., said the need for minority teachers has been perennial.

``It just makes sense that you want your school district to reflect your community,'' Minnici said.

Expectations linked to race, ethnicity, language and even gender are major reasons why minority teachers are sought.

``When you have cultural mismatch, what occurs, usually, is low expectations,'' Minnici said. ``Just because English isn't an English-language learner's first language doesn't mean he can't be one of the brightest students in the class.''

Children may be placed into courses or class levels that are wrong for them because of false expectations, she said.

Universities and other teaching institutions should do a better job of preparing educators for multicultural students, Minnici said, especially when the prospective teacher has not been exposed to a variety of cultures.

``As we move toward being a global society, we need to make sure we understand different cultures and interact with people from various cultures.''

[e-mail]

[phone]