Celebrating Educators of Color A Radical Disruption of the Status Quo

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Published: Aug 5, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14288/workplace.v36i1.187125
Keywords:
frame analysis, educators of color, teachers of color, unionism, professional development

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Amira Nash
University of Iowa
Monique Cottman
Iowa City Community School District

Abstract

In the 2020-21 school year, educators of Color made up around 20% of public school educators compared with 54% of public school students being students of color (Irwin et al., 2024). In our Midwest state, teachers of Color make up only 3% of public school teachers. Across the state, there have been impending efforts to recruit and retain teachers of Color, yet those efforts largely seem to focus mainly on recruitment and not retention. Amidst recent legislation in our state to limit professional development for educators related to equity and receiving professional development geared towards white educators, educators of Color remain in need of community and professional development relevant to them. We offer this paper analyzing how we (authors) as educators of Color have engaged in a pedagogy of insurgency (Au, 2021) by creating a conference celebrating educators of Color through a collaborative partnership between a teacher education program at a higher education institution, the state teacher’s union, and the local school district in a Midwest state. Our paper aims to analyze how a new initiative to provide professional development to K-12 educators of Color in our state came to fruition, highlighting collaborative partnerships through frame analysis.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 36 No. 1 (2025): Teachers’ Work in Contentious Political Times (Special Series, Part 1) + GLRC Symposium + Featured Articles & Commentary
Section
Teachers’ Work in Contentious Political Times
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Author Biographies

Amira Nash, University of Iowa

Amira Nash is a doctoral candidate at the University of Iowa pursuing a PhD in Teaching and Learning in the Literacy, Culture, and Language Education program. Amira also serves as the Associate Director of School Partnerships and Global Education Initiatives in the University of Iowa College of Education. Prior to this role, Amira taught high school social studies and students identified as English Language Learners.

Monique Cottman, Iowa City Community School District

Monique Cottman is an abolitionist educator in the Iowa City Community School District and an adjunct professor at the University of Iowa, committed to advancing racial equity in education. She has served as an elementary educator and a union leader while leading efforts to uplift Black youth. Monique’s work challenges systemic inequities to create transformative learning environments where justice, inclusion, and high achievement are the norm.