‘Discriminatory’: Baltimore County Schools Offer New Scholarship With Race, Gender Requirements
The Baltimore County Public School System is offering $1 million dollars in scholarships for students pursuing teacher certifications, but white males appear to be excluded from the opportunity designed to diversify the BCPS workforce, in what one activist is calling an “overtly discriminatory” practice.
The scholarship, called the “The Diverse Teacher Recruitment Scholarship: Growing Our Own for BCPS,” is limited to students who are “black, indigenous, a person of color (BIPOC), and/or a woman pursuing a teacher certification in science, technology, engineering, and/or math (STEM),” according to the Education Foundation of BCPS website.
Announcing the grant funding the scholarship in February, Baltimore County Democrat Executive Johnny Olszewski said diversity is Baltimore County’s strength.
“Every child deserves to grow up with role models and mentors who look like them,” his statement read. “Diversity is our strength in Baltimore County and the new recruitment scholarship will support students from across the county and make our school system stronger and more vibrant.”
He pointed out that, currently, 55% of BCPS teachers are white, while just 33% of BCPS students are white, meaning white teachers are over-represented. At the same time, only 35% of teachers in the district are black, while 40% of its students are black, making black teachers under-represented.
Reacting to the eligibility requirements for the scholarship, Alex Nester, an investigative fellow with Parents Defending Education, said it is “overtly discriminatory.” And that BCPS is prioritizing “race and gender politics” over merit based hiring practices, to the detriment of students.
One of the pillars in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, an education reform that WBFF said in 2022 will cost tax-payers an additional $30 billion dollars during its first ten years, is to attract “High Quality and Diverse Teachers and Leaders.”
When Carroll County’s 2024 Board of Education candidates were asked what opportunities Blueprint will bring during an early March candidate forum hosted by the Carroll County Democratic Club, one candidate, Amanda Jozkowski, said Blueprint’s focus on diversity is important to her.
“The focus on diversifying teachers and leaders in the school system is something that’s really important to me,” she said. “I want to make sure that students see themselves reflected in the leadership and that they are hearing from people that maybe look or speak or grew up like them.”
As of 2023, 78% of Carroll County Public School students were white, while 8% were hispanic, and 5% black, according to the CCPS website.
Also in early March, the Anne Arundel County Public School System shared data showing that, in 2023, 32% of the district’s teacher hires were people of color, almost double what it was in 2017, when 17% of teacher hires were people of color, according to a Monday article in the Capital Gazette.