Student diversity not reflected in staff
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Alexandria public schools boast a culturally rich student population -- hailing from 128 countries and speaking about 75 languages -- but getting staff members to reflect that student population has been a challenge.
Nearly 37 percent of students in Alexandria schools last school year were black, according to the school system's statistics. Twenty-seven percent were Hispanic; almost 25 percent white; 6 percent Asian; 1 percent Native American; and the rest unspecified.
More than 51 percent of the city's teachers and support staff members, however, are white, based on data from before this school year's first week. Almost 37 percent of the teachers and instructional workers are black, and 8 percent are Hispanic.
The school system hired two Hispanic principals for
