Portraits of Anti-racist Alternative Routes to Teaching in the U.S.

Portraits of Anti-racist Alternative Routes to Teaching in the U.S.: Framing Teacher Development for Community, Justice, and Visionaries portrays how a critical teacher development framework for Teachers of Color can be applied to alternative routes to teaching and professional development program initiatives to actualize commitments to communities, social justice and visionaries. The types of anti-racist structures, vehicles for justice, tailored and responsive preparation, and community-based partnerships and leadership identified by program initiatives provide a sketch of possibilities for school principals, policymakers, community organizers, teacher education programs, and district personnel to work together as key stakeholders to begin challenging and dismantling systems of oppression that restrict the recruitment and retention of Teachers of Color in schools. Portraits of Anti-racist Alternative Routes to Teaching in the U.S. compels us to stir up a radical imagination to strengthen communities, work for justice, and grow visionaries.

Conra D. Gist, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Arkansas and holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. Her research agenda integrates two key areas of study—racial/ethnic teacher diversity and teacher development—and takes an interdisciplinary approach to explore how culturally responsive pedagogy, critical social theories, and African American history intersect to produce just and transformative teaching and learning possibilities. She started her teaching career in Brooklyn, NY as a fourth grade teacher and currently serves as Principal Investigator for the Teacher Testimony Project, an initiative that challenges the silencing of Teachers of Color through the development and featuring of teacher testimonies. As a 2016 Spencer/National Academy of Education Postdoctoral Fellow, she is also Principal Investigator for a national study examining the experiences of Black Teachers in Grow Your Own Programs.