Pathways2Teaching, meanwhile, is a nationally recognized initiative founded by CU Denver Professor Margarita Bianco that aims to get more minority students into classrooms to better reflect the diversity of a local student population, Schultz said.
Students of color interested in teaching face a variety of barriers, including poverty, language and being first-generation college students, said Bianco, who is also a Timmerhaus Teaching Ambassador. “Colleges and universities must find ways to be more inclusive if we truly want to address the critical shortage of teachers of color,” Bianco said.
Both CU Denver and Boulder “flag” Pathways2Teaching students’ applications for a more personal interview. “And in those cases where students are so close to meeting admissions criteria, but fall short, we can step in and advocate for and find solutions to support our students,” Bianco said.
In the program’s first eight years, about 800 students in Colorado have been enrolled in Pathway2Teaching, she said, and have been aligned with seven metro-area school districts, she said.
“I am especially proud the number of men of color in our program,” Bianco said. “It’s good for them and it’s good for our schools.”