Diversifying the Education and Mental Health Workforce
By Tammy Ellis-Robinson, Jessie Tobin, & Kristen C. Wilcox
In a recent blog, NYKids discussed the topic of diversity within the education and mental health counseling workforces and highlighted the positive impacts teachers and counselors of color have within K-12 school systems. Although emerging research points to the benefits that educators of color have for students of color in particular, there continues to be a lack of diversity among the education and counseling workforce even as student populations become increasingly diverse. In response to this disparity, initiatives aimed to recruit diverse undergraduate students into the fields of education and mental health counseling have been gaining momentum within post-secondary institutions. The Touhey Family Fellows Program, a University at Albany, School of Education initiative was started with the goal of diversifying the mental health counseling and teacher workforces in Albany area public schools.
Introducing the Touhey Family Fellows Program
The Touhey Family Fellows program was initiated in 2019 and is headed by Dr. Tammy Ellis-Robinson—an Assistant Professor in Special Education at the University at Albany. As the program’s faculty director, Dr. Ellis-Robinson seeks to increase educator diversity as a means to strengthen the pipeline from high school to college and increase high school graduation rates among students of color.
Program Description – Written by Dr. Tammy Ellis-Robinson
Motivated by a charge to increase socio-cultural diversity with greater representation of BIPOC educators and recognizing that lasting effects of otherizing within the education system must be acknowledge and addressed, the Touhey Family Fellows Program provides mentorship, scholarship support, and career and leadership development for future education and mental health professionals.
Professional preparation and orientation to the education field begin long before formal choices have been made to pursue a credential such as teacher certification. Young people observe and sometimes even apprentice in the field informally before they set foot in school.
At every step within and along the educational pipeline, perceptions of practice and pedagogy are formed, and identities are shaped. Young people representing marginalized (BIPOC) identities report experiences of a disconnection between and among racialized identities and their forming educator identities. This can steer them away from the education field and affect their sense of belongingness within the profession.
To develop as educators and leaders within the field, an integration of each of these identities requires addressing systemic barriers in the education system and the broader social world.
Our work in the Touhey program includes layers of intentional connections. Our fellows represent diverse intersections of identity that include BIPOC, gender, ability and sexual orientation and varied socio-economic backgrounds. Each fellow in the program receives a scholarship and financial support along their path to certification, pairing with a graduate student mentor for monthly meetings, and engagement opportunities with faculty and professionals in the field including practicing BIPOC professionals throughout the region. We address issues of racism, navigating systems for credentialing and work with communities and students, applying, financing and navigating graduate studies and more.
Our mentors have joined teacher professional development workshops with the Capital District Writing Project, joined NYSUT’s Take a Look at Teaching efforts, engaged in research with faculty and the community, and are preparing to engage with future teacher clubs in the Schenectady City school district to share a message of social justice advocacy and inspire the future.
All of these opportunities have been possible through virtual media opportunities even amidst the pandemic. Within our beloved community we work together to responsively attend to needs, concerns and passions and promote the development of mentor networks of support that can sustain and inspire aspiring educators and mental health providers throughout their careers.
Touhey Family Fellows Virtual Engagement with Dr. Jason E. Lane
On Friday, March 5th, NYKids’ team members virtually attended the Touhey Family Fellows monthly engagement session and met the program’s mentees and mentors. Along with Dr. Ellis-Robinson, a prominent speaker at the session was Dr. Jason E. Lane, the Dean of the School of Education. Dr. Lane spent time introducing his background in the field of education, his growing interests in educational policies throughout his career, and strategies to get involved in organizational leadership.
The Dean also provided his insights about his experience transitioning from an education faculty member into higher education leadership. Additionally, Dr. Lane gave valuable advice to the group of emerging leaders about ways to lead an initiative. His advice included:
- Start trying many new and different activities (such as joining student organizations)
- Be curious, learn from others, and ask questions
- Try to get experience in business and data analytics to better understand organizations and how they work
Virtual “Meet and Greet” with Faculty Researchers
Later in the session, mentees and mentors had the opportunity to introduce themselves. Students shared their current areas of study as well as their career aspirations with other members of the group. Fellows had many diverse career interests in the field of education that ranged from non-profit organizations to mental health counseling for underserved communities. In the final part of the session, faculty members from the School of Education shared their backgrounds with students in smaller break-out rooms.
To learn more on this topic:
- Check out the Touhey Family Fellows Program webpage
- See Dr. Lane’s latest blog on attracting diverse students to graduate programs in education
- Reach out to any of the UAlbany’s faculty researchers focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Tap into NYKids’ latest research focused on how positive outlier schools encourage diversity in the education workforce at our research results page
As always, thank you for your interest in NYKids and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or by email at nykids@albany.edu.
