Report Highlights Challenges and Motivations of Latinx Educators in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A recent report has shed light on the challenges and motivations faced by educators of Latin American origin or descent in the Charlotte area.

LatinxEd Report: Nuestra Esperanza

The report, titled Nuestra Esperanza, was released by LatinxEd, a non-profit organization dedicated to investing in leadership from Latin American backgrounds to achieve educational equity. The publication stems from a survey and focus groups conducted with Latinx education leaders from 21 counties in North Carolina, with the goal of identifying sustainable strategies to recruit and retain more Latinx educators.

One of the educators who provided insights for the report is Wendolyn Fernandez, the North Site Director of UrbanPromise Charlotte. The organization offers free after-school and summer care programs for children, as well as job and college support resources for teenagers.

Challenges Faced by Latinx Educators

Fernandez, a first-generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic, shared her personal experience in the report. She mentioned leaving public schools in 2021 due to challenging working conditions, including long hours and a lack of work-life balance.

“I would work about 12-hour days pretty regularly. I didn’t take lunch breaks. [By] the time I was 28, I had already ruined my bladder because I did not go to the bathroom. As a teacher, I did not believe in work-life balance, and I ended up having some medical issues because of it.”

Other Latinx educators also highlighted experiences of excessive stress, anxiety, and exhaustion in the report. The challenges mentioned include feeling overloaded with responsibilities without proper compensation, especially in areas like translation services.

Low Representation in Education

According to the 2020-2021 National Center for Education Statistics, Latinx students make up 19.8% of the student population in North Carolina Public Schools, while Latinx teachers represent only 4.2%. This disparity in representation underscores the importance of addressing the barriers faced by Latinx educators.

Lucia Lozano Robledo, Curriculum and Program Specialist at LatinxEd, emphasized the widening gap in representation and the need to overcome barriers to recruitment and retention of Latinx educators.

Motivations for Latinx Educators

Despite the challenges, Latinx educators also shared their motivations for joining the education field. Some of these motivations included their origin stories, a desire to support the next generation of learners and leaders, and a commitment to serving their communities.

Impact of the Report

The Nuestra Esperanza report has been shared with lawmakers and school districts in an effort to raise awareness about the obstacles faced by Latinx educators and to advocate for supportive policies and practices.

Wendolyn Fernandez expressed hope that the report would prompt leaders to reassess the workload placed on Latinx teachers and consider alternative resources to support them.

As efforts continue to increase the representation of Latinx educators in the education system, initiatives like the Nuestra Esperanza report play a crucial role in highlighting the voices and experiences of Latinx education leaders.