Minnesota: Whites need not apply

AUSTIN — Forty-eight percent of Austin Public Schools' students are students of color, but more than 90 percent of the district's employees are white.
The district hires 30 to 60 teachers every year, but finding qualified non-white teachers has proven difficult, Austin Superintendent of Schools David Krenz said.

"Minnesota has struggled to find teachers of diversity mainly because as a state we did not have a lot of diversity," he said.

To address the disparity, the Austin school district plans to grow its own teachers.

Austin's initiative has two main goals: Find diverse teachers to fill open positions, and provide educational opportunities for students of different backgrounds who are potential first-generation college students.