Research shows that diverse schools and classrooms benefit all students, yet, in Connecticut, some students go through their entire education without ever being taught by a teacher of color.

Minority teacher recruitment has been a persistent issue in Connecticut (and the country as a whole) but one district has made some strides, at least in terms of hiring school leaders. Among administrators in New Haven, 45 percent are white, 38 percent are black and 17 percent are Hispanic, according to the New Haven Register.

Three New Haven principals, Joe Johnson, Glen Worthy and Larry Conaway, sat down with the Registrar to discuss the challenges of leading an inner-city district and the importance of being role models for their students

The New Haven Register has the story:

“Finding students who have great potential and getting students to believe in their own

potential and to believe in themselves is one of my biggest challenges as an administrator,” said Conaway, 62, principal of Riverside Education Academy and New Light High School.

Early in his career, according to Conaway, “I couldn’t see students’ potential — now, I can see it.”

“It’s a matter of patience with them; it will develop at some point,” he said.

Worthy, 51, who is the principal at Hillhouse High School, said tapping internal and external resources to rebuild his school’s brand is a challenge.

“We need our community to become more involved in our building with more mentors and internships to make learning in the classroom come to life,” said Worthy, who grew up in the Newhallville section of the city and became the school’s leader last fall.

Over the years, the school has been unfairly placed under a dark cloud.

“The perception of Hillhouse is not valid. I told the students when I got there, we have to do a better job with telling our story about all the good things our kids are doing,” said Worthy.

“We have our issues,” he said, “yet, we need the community to step up their game to help us make sure our kids are ready for the next level of life.”

For Johnson, it’s not only to encourage and motivate students, which are some of his challenges, he said it’s also maintaining integrity and credibility among staff, parents and community stakeholders…”

If you’d like to read the full story, here’s a link.