ABSTRACT
Public schools in California and the southwestern United States are undergoing a process of “Latinization” in their student population. However, the proportion of teachers who teach science, math, or computer science and are Latino remains low (~3% of California K-12 teachers in 2016–2017). The demographic mismatch between students and teachers is unfortunate for two reasons: (1) Nationwide, Latinos are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-related careers which pay higher than average salaries compared to jobs requiring similar levels of education, and (2) studies have shown the positive benefits of having even a single co-ethnic teacher on academic performance and retention of students of color. Autoethnography along with interviews of current Latino teachers suggests that recent immigrants including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)-eligible individuals and their children are an important and potentially overlooked group of future Latino teachers. With an eye to strengthening the science and technology infrastructure in the United States, policy makers should consider expanding loan forgiveness programs for future teachers along with “grow your own” teacher training programs of local school districts, which employ a significant number of these recent immigrants and first-generation immigrant-descended educators.
