District to Seek More Minority Teachers

The Antelope Valley Union High School District, faced with a 30% minority-student enrollment that is still climbing, has approved an affirmative action plan aimed at increasing the district’s relatively small number of minority teachers.

Officials in the nearly 10,000-student district said the goal of the plan is to hire 19 more minority teachers in each of the next three years. The district said the hiring plan should increase the percentage of minority teachers in the district from 8.9% to 16.4% by 1992.

District officials acknowledged that the plan will not bring about parity in the ethnic makeup of students and teachers any time soon, in part because minority student enrollments are expected to continue increasing and because minority teaching candidates are in demand by urban school districts. But they said the plan will narrow the gap.

“I think clearly we have an obligation to have a staff that is reflective to the extent possible of our community,” said Michael Rossi, a district assistant superintendent. “I don’t think it will be an easily accomplished objective. I think it’s long-range at best.”

The affirmative action plan was approved unanimously Wednesday night by the district’s Board of Trustees. The plans calls for aggressive teacher recruiting at minority colleges and the establishment of an affirmative action committee to study the issue further and make additional recommendations.

Latinos, who make up 17.8% of the students, are the fastest-growing group, increasing nearly 32% since last year. Black students now represent 8.4% of the district’s enrollment, a 17% increase from last year. Asians account for 2.4% of the students, up 26.6% over last year. The remaining 1.8% are Filipinos, American Indians and others.

The percentage of white students declined from 74.3% in 1988-89 to 69.6% this year.

Meanwhile, the percentage of minority teachers increased slightly from 8.6% last year to 8.9% this year.