URBANA, Ill. – Illinois State University College of Education professor Amee Adkins thinks the state’s schools need more ethnic diversity in its teaching ranks to address lagging performance from minority students.

Adkins recently pointed out the News-Gazette what most Illinois public school administrators already know: most teachers are white women. And Adkins believes that’s “problematic” in places where “the staff is disproportionate to the community it serves.”

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“What message does that communicate to students?” she questioned. “Are their adults not capable of leading student learning?”

“A more culturally diverse staff learns about and from one another and, thus, can better connect with and serve their students,” Adkins contends. “Having a shared cultural background helps in building good relationships among teachers, students and parents who are then able to work together to improve student learning.”

The implication, of course, is that white teachers can’t relate as well to their black, Hispanic, Asian or other minority students as educators who match their race.

“There needs to be commitment to the issue, intentionally in recruiting and intentionality in supporting those hired,” Adkins told the news site. “Think about all the challenges new staff would face as they lead the way in diversifying a school. (Minority teachers) have to contend with suspicion and scrutiny, if not hostility.

“The stories I have heard from racially diverse educators in central Illinois have been chilling,” she said.

School officials in central Illinois, however, argue it’s becoming increasingly difficult to recruit quality teachers in general, much less quality minority teachers. Six districts in Vermilion County, for example, have only white teachers. In most others, white educators comprise about 85 percent or more of the teaching staff, the News-Gazette reports.

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Rod Grimsley, superintendent of the Gifford school district, told the news site he’s struggled to find any quality candidates in recent years. During the most recent hiring phase, only 11 applicants applied for three open positions, he said.

“The numbers are down statewide in the teacher-prep programs at state universities, and in four or five years, I am not sure how many new teachers will be available,” Grimsley said.

“The bottom line is that most central Illinois school districts are picking from very similar pools of candidates,” said Vic Zimmerman, superintendent of Monticello schools. “Overall, we are not a very ethnically diverse school district, but we have seen a wider range of diversity in recent years.”

Arcola Superintendent Tom Mulligan said his district has went out of its way to recruit minority teachers, including some from Spain, but pointed out that “unfortunately, it is tough for a small school in central Illinois to compete for minority candidates with the suburban school districts.”

He also rebuffed the suggestion that a teacher’s race somehow determines whether they’re effective at teaching minority students.

“To me, quality teaching is quality teaching, regardless of race,” Mulligan said. “It would be beneficial to have more Hispanic teachers but we employ several non-certified employees that are Hispanic to assist with the language barrier that can sometimes exist with students and parents.

“But ultimately, it is the school culture of acceptance and tolerance for differences that exist in your building that leads to successful students, regardless of their race.”