ROGERS — School administrators said a new grant will help them attract and retain minority teachers using recruiting trips and bonuses.
The $189,950 grant came from the Walton Family Foundation.
Roger Hill, head of the district’s human resources and a former middle school principal, said the goal is to get teacher demographics to more closely mirror student demographics.
Hill did not have exact figures, but estimated that 16 of about 1,000 teachers in the district were Hispanic, or about 1.6 percent.
By comparison, 40 percent of the district’s 14,003 students in the 2010-11 school year were Hispanic, according to state data.
“We are way, way off,” Hill said.
Hill said he hopes to add at least five minority teachers per year.
Some of the grant money could be used for signing and retention bonuses for minority teachers, but school administrators have not yet decided on the details of a bonus system, said Ashley Siwiec, a district spokeswoman.
BY THE NUMBERS
District Demographics
Rogers School District student demographics, 2010-11
• Two or more races: 289
• Asian: 293
• Black: 191
• Hispanic: 5,656
• Native American/Native Alaskan: 168
• Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 61
• White: 7,345
Source: Arkansas Department Of Education
Hill said the money also will be used for recruiting trips to job fairs and colleges with large Hispanic populations.
Gary Ritter is a professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas.
He said he wasn’t aware of any data showing benefits of matching teacher demographics to student demographics.
“But people have talked about it a lot,” he said. “The idea that each type of kid would be able to have a vision of a role model for himself or herself, that makes sense and has lots of intuitive appeal.”
Ritter noted paying extra for minorities, if they are in high demand, is similar to offering incentives for math and science teachers who are in high demand.
“You’re essentially saying this is an area of high need for Hispanic teachers and paying for that,” Ritter said.
The district has already put some effort into recruiting Hispanic teachers from out of state.
Ryan Quintana started teaching fifth grade this year at Bonnie Grimes Elementary School after being recruited from New Mexico State University.
He said he and his family were initially skeptical of him moving to Arkansas, thinking it would be an unfriendly place for minorities.
“We thought it was a conservative, Confederate state,” he said.
But a visit to the area and the school changed Quintana’s mind, he said.
“I love it,” he said Thursday during a break from teaching. “School just started, and I’m already sad I’ll lose them at the end of the year.”
Quintana said one key to recruiting more Hispanic teachers will be convincing them they’ll be welcomed in Northwest Arkansas and can make a difference in students’ lives.