Black male teachers are a rarity in preschools. This pioneering program wants to change that

BALTIMORE — Before 19-year-old Davontez Johnson found himself in a preschool classroom at Dorothy I. Heights Elementary, he was a senior at a nearby high school who, like many students his age, was unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. Not in his wildest dreams could he have imagined himself standing on a colorful carpet, leading a gaggle of 4-year-olds in a chant and dance about phonics.

“Words have parts — that’s syl-a-bles,” he said, enunciating for effect. The preschoolers craned their heads up at Johnson and echoed him. “Clap your hands now, syl-a-bles! Stomp your feet now, syl-a-bles!”

Johnson is part of the Leading Men Fellowship, which trains young Black and Latino men to become early literacy instructors in preschool classrooms across the country. It’s a program that aims to tackle several problems at once: a shortage of early educators, a dearth of Black and Latino male teachers and the acute challenges boys of color face in schools because of their race and gender.

“We’re not only affecting change in the classroom with these school students, but (we’re) also developing these young future educators,” said Ivan Douglas of the Literacy Lab, which runs the Leading Men Fellowship.

Many fellows, like Johnson, are recruited right out of high school. After an interview process and intensive summer training, they go to work in schools where they may be among the only male educators. Fellows make between $16.50 and $18 an hour.

A former high school offensive lineman, Johnson knows some parents would say he looks out of place in a preschool classroom. And the statistics back him up: Less than 1% of elementary and early education public school teachers are Black men, according to federal data. But that’s part of the reason he wanted to do it.

“I really thought it was a great opportunity. Because I know if I saw someone like me, you know, in pre-K, I’d be pretty excited,” Johnson said. “You don’t see a lot of young Black males.”

Researchers have shown that Black male students encounter discrimination before they even set foot in a kindergarten classroom, facing higher rates of expulsion and suspension from preschool even though evidence suggests they do not misbehave more than their white peers. Boys also are far more likely than girls to be expelled.

But there’s a growing body of evidence that Black teachers can make a difference for Black students — and for Black boys in particular. In the years since the Leading Men…