Official Site of The State of New Jersey

In March of 2018, the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) launched the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers (DLRT) initiative, engaging eleven states, including New Jersey, and 30 national organizations. The network collaborated with experts to provide individualized support as states developed plans to increase teacher diversity. Participants also worked to revise, enact, or eliminate state policies that posed challenges to diversifying the educator workforce and ensuring all educators are culturally responsive.

For this initiative, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) partnered with educator preparation programs, local education agencies, professional associations, county colleges, community-rooted organizations, and teachers to address these challenges. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the initiative was paused from 2020 – 2022. In 2022, New Jersey resumed its efforts to advance this work under the DLRT initiative through 2024.

During this period, the DLRT committee focused on increasing access for public school students to high quality, culturally responsive teachers that reflected the race/ethnicity of the student population. Strategies included identifying best practices in culturally responsive teaching and developing assessment tools to measure the effectiveness of culturally responsive training and practices for educators. To support these efforts, the committee shared the following resources:

• Culturally Responsive Practices: Provided by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, these resources include a collection of evidence-based literature and tools to assist districts in fostering safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments for all students.
• Culturally Responsive Practice – Digital Promise: Resources including the Learner Variability model and culturally responsive resources.

While this formal initiative has concluded, the NJDOE remains committed to efforts ensuring all students have access to high quality, culturally responsive teachers who reflect the diversity of the student communities they serve.