"I am keeping in mind that the purpose of public education is to help the young transcend individual identity by finding inspiration in a story of humanity."
Neil Postman, The End of Education, p. 170

While the student population is becoming more diverse in the five states served by SCIMAST, teachers remain overwhelmingly white. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has the most recent (1998) figures on teacher diversity. The CCSSO broke down teacher population in percentages by subjects taught and race or ethnicity.
No data were available for Louisiana.

Arkansas Teachers
		Hispanic	White	Black	Asian	Native American
	Mathematics	0%	91	8	0.2	0.2
	Biology	0%	90	9	0.2	0.2
	Chemistry	0%	95	5	0	0
	Physics	0%	97	3	0	0

New Mexico Teachers
		Hispanic	White	Black	Asian	Native American
	Mathematics	19%	78	1	1	1
	Biology	14%	83	0.5	0.5	2
	Chemistry	10%	89	0	1	0
	Physics	8%	92	0	0	0

Oklahoma Teachers
		Hispanic	White	Black	Asian	Native American
	Mathematics	0.1%	95	2	0.2	3
	Biology	0.4%	94	2	0.2	3
	Chemistry	0.4%	96	1	0	3
	Physics	1%	97	1	0	2

Texas Teachers
		Hispanic	White	Black	Asian	Native American
	Mathematics	12%	80	7	1	0.2
	Biology	12%	79	8	1	0.5
	Chemistry	9%	84	5	1	1
	Physics	7%	89	2	1	1

SCIMAST is developing responses to this problem through its teacher diversity meetings. This network is made up of educators interested in developing teacher preparation and retention programs focused on potential and practicing educators from underrepresented groups. For more information contact scimast@sedl.org.