GENERATION BLACK: YOU’RE NEXT!
BY PUNITA BHARDWAJ O
n October 1,2022 ETFO held a public symposium entitled Generation Black: You’re Next! to address bar- riers to the recruitment of
Black teacher candidates and the retention of Black educators. ETFO partnered with Black organizations and educational stake- holders to identify strategies to improve the representation of Black people in public edu- cation. The following partners participated in Generation Black: You’re Next!: Network for the Advancement of Black Communities (NABC), Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators (ONABSE),
Federation and Ontario Principals’ Council. Over 150 participants attended Genera-
tion Black in person, alongside those who viewed the livestream of panels and the key- note presentation from home. The panels addressed the foundation of why representa- tion matters and Black excellence within the education sector and presented the voices of parents, students and community. Keynote Wes Williams (Maestro Fresh Wes), spoke about the impact of educators on the lives of students and communities. Throughout the day, seminars were presented by educational stakeholders such as Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators (ONABSE), the On- tario Teachers’ Federation and the Ontario Principals’ Council. The symposium gave rise to calls to ac-
tion to address the significant underrepre- sentation of Black teachers in public educa- tion. Generation Black: You’re Next! Calls to Action include:
• Government provide financial incentives to faculties of education to recruit Black teachers
• Faculties of education develop intentional recruitment initiatives for Black teachers
• Faculties of education hire more Black teacher secondees
• School boards encourage, promote and support Black teacher secondees
22 ETFO VOICE | WINTER 2022
• Faculties of education to collect race- based data of teacher candidates applying to programs and staff
• Mandatory race-based data collection of candidates applying to school boards for teaching positions
• School boards must analyze race-based data to inform their hiring practices and develop policies and programs that sup- port the retention of Black teachers
Another outcome of Generation Black: Ontario Teachers’
You’re Next! is an ETFO-sponsored public campaign to create broad discussion, am- plify our message, engage the Black com- munity, create awareness about opportuni- ties for Black educators, encourage Black students to go into teaching and advance the goals of ETFO and our Generation Black stakeholders. n Punita Bhardwaj is a member of ETFO executive staff.
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