Diverse Educators Transforming Education

Support for foster and systems-impacted youth

South LA South Bay LAUSD (select only if you have a district-wide partnership)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Research confirms what families already know: diverse teachers matter. We see remarkable improvements in student engagement and achievement at high-needs schools when teachers share the demographics and lived experiences of the students they serve. Yet there is a persistent gap in representation, and schools are struggling to recruit and retain diverse educators.

Meanwhile, LA ranks among the least affordable housing markets in the US. Teachers early in their careers, and especially those without intergenerational wealth, struggle to live in the communities they serve. Today, there is not one neighborhood in LA where housing prices are low enough for a first-year teacher to live without being rent burdened.

This crisis is compounded for transition-age foster youth ages 17–24, who are navigating frequent school transfers, housing instability, emotional traumas, and the sudden loss of support at age 18 when they age-out of the foster system.

Our unique teacher residency bridges the gaps in standard teacher preparation programs faced by people of color and those navigating marginalized backgrounds. We partner with CSUDH’s credentialing program and integrate a unique range of wrap-around supports, including specialized professional training, subsidized housing, therapy, mentoring, financial literacy and a culturally affirming community. Our 2-year program focuses largely on Black and Latinx men who already have a college degree and have been impacted by economic instability, often including housing and food insecurity. Our work with transitional age foster youth (TAY) entails a 6-year structured and deeply supported pathway for foster youth from high school, through college and career.

At WPF, affordable housing is a key innovation that sets us apart - it alleviates financial and mental burdens for aspiring teachers, so that fellows can reduce debt, focus on their studies and residency without taking on additional work. Fellows also build a strong village of mentors and peers which combats isolation and promotes long-term career sustainability.

At WPF, we are cultivating a future in which diverse educators are not the exception, but the expectation; and where diverse students see themselves reflected in those who teach, lead, and care for them. We are building an ecosystem of care that supports diverse educators so they can, in turn, support diverse students to succeed in school and life.

When students consistently see educators who look like them and share their lived experience, it affirms their identity and sense of belonging. When they see those teachers housed, supported, and thriving, they internalize what is possible for themselves and their communities. A better future for marginalized children includes teachers and communities that surround them with care. Our vision is to support and sustain diverse teachers in LA over the long-term, so they can create environments where students like them feel seen, supported, and inspired to thrive.

By 2027, we will recruit and train 40 new teachers each year, with 40% being specifically from the foster youth population. Our graduates will serve long-term as highly effective teachers, uniquely qualified to transform life outcomes for 4,500+ LA’s most vulnerable students per year. Our teachers will be supported to buy homes in the neighborhoods they serve, building intergenerational wealth and transforming communities.