TOPEKA — A three-year, $3.9 million federal grant will enable Kansas State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln to collaborate on a project to diversify the teacher workforce in the Dodge City, Kansas, school district and five school districts in Nebraska.

The initiative to increase the number of teachers of color serving culturally and linguistically diverse students is part of Project RAÍCES, which is Spanish for roots. It’s the acronym for Reenvisioning Action and Innovation Through Community Collaborations for Equity Across Systems.

“Not only is the concept behind Project RAÍCES powerful, but it’s the combined richness of the intent of all of our vested partners — and what this means for students and these communities — that truly reveals the potential impact,” said Debbie Mercer, dean of the College of Education at K-State.

Participating districts in Nebraska are Columbus, Lincoln, Schuyler, South Sioux City and Wakefield. Those districts have minority enrollments ranging from 39% in Lincoln to 80% in Schuyler and South Sioux City.

The student body in Dodge City is 79.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% white, 1.8% Black, 0.9% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native.

In addition to recruitment, retention and graduation of teacher candidates, Project RAÍCES would expand K-State’s alternative pathway to teacher licensure. Partner school districts would benefit from professional development focused on culturally responsive instruction.

“Building a promising future in diverse contexts is possible when we take a systems approach to improving equitable educational opportunities for the students we serve,” said Socorro Herrera, executive director of the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy at K-State.

This article first appeared in the Kansas Reflector, a sister site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom network. Find more at nebraskaexaminer.com.