service teachers completed preparation programs
in Tennessee. Seventy-seven percent of these
completers were women. An overwhelming majority
of completers (85 percent) in the 2013-14 cohort
identified themselves as white. African Americans,
Hispanics, and Asians made up just 11 percent of
completers. By comparison, these three racial and
ethnic groups make up 24 percent of the Tennessee
population.13 Figure 1 provides a breakdown of racial
and ethnic demographics of teacher candidates as
well as students in 2013-14.
Several EPPs in Tennessee are developing strategies
to recruit a more racially and ethnically diverse
group of candidates. Lipscomb University, for
example, in 2015 created the Pionero Scholarship
Program, which attempts to bridge the gap between
the number of immigrant and refugee students and
teachers in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).
This year, Lipscomb offered its first six academic
scholarships to local, first-generation and minority,
academically talented high school seniors who
planned to enter the teaching field. These MNPS
graduates represent a range of racial and ethnic
backgrounds, including Hispanic, Bosnian, and
Filipino. The program includes an intensive mentoring
component, with mentors who are teachers of color
from four local high schools. After obtaining their
degrees and licensure recommendations through
Lipscomb, Pionero scholars will be encouraged to
teach in an MNPS school. However, there is no
requirement for teaching in an MNPS school for a
certain number of years.
The University of Tennessee-Martin also recently approved funding to launch the Call Me MiSTER program, an initiative to recruit teachers from more diverse backgrounds that will launch in fall 2017. Each
year’s cohort is restricted to five students. The cohort
sizes are intentionally small because participation in
the program involves an intensive commitment from
11
Largest EPPs in Tennessee
In 2013-14, the latest year for which
data are available, TICUA, TBR, and
the University of Tennessee system
represented 90 percent of EPP com pleters. Middle Tennessee State University produced the largest number of
completers in the state (404), followed
by Tennessee Technological University
(386), and the University of Memphis
(278). Lipscomb University in Nashville
graduated the largest number of new
teachers among private institutions,
with 239 program completers.
Figure 1:
Racial and Ethnic Diversity of
Teacher Candidates, 2013-14
8%
2%
1%
85%
White
African American
Hispanic
Asian
Racial and Ethnic Diversity
of Students, 2013-14
8% 2%
24%
66%
White
African American
Hispanic
Asian