Lawrence school district teachers participate in a professional development seminar at Langston Hughes elementary school in this file photo from Oct. 17, 2012.

A new report, to be heard Monday by the Lawrence school board, reveals a 25 percent increase in the number of people of color employed by the district from the 2014-2015 school year to the 2016-2017 school year. That’s cause for district leaders such as Anna Stubblefield, assistant superintendent of education support, to celebrate.

But in a district that, not unlike public school systems across the country, remains overwhelmingly white, district officials “still have a ways to go” before achieving a racially diverse workforce that better represents the students it serves, Stubblefield said.

“Having a background and understanding of the national statistics, I’m pleased with the progress, but we absolutely will continue to try to increase the numbers,” said Stubblefield, who co-authored the report with Danica Moore, a teacher on special assignment for equity.

In August 2014, the U.S. Department of Education projected that children of color would make up more than 50 percent of public-school enrollment nationwide by that fall, outnumbering whites in classrooms for the first time. That same year, the National Education Association reported that educators of color accounted for just 18 percent of the country’s public-school teachers, slipping from 26 percent two decades before.

In Lawrence public schools, nonwhite students count for roughly 30 percent of the district’s total enrollment, according to the Kansas State Department of Education. Staff of color, according to Stubblefield’s report, make up roughly 15 percent of the district workforce.

It’s important to note, however, that the updated demographics are not teacher-specific, but include both certified (i.e., teachers and administrators) and classified staff, which could range from custodians and food-service workers to para-educators and IT professionals.

Although teacher-specific numbers won’t likely be available until next week, Stubblefield expects classified staffers of color to “probably” outnumber their certified peers.

“There’s not a huge pool out there to pull from. It’s a challenge for Lawrence, and that’s my primary concern, but it’s a challenge across the nation with teachers in general,” Stubblefield said. “A lot of people are not choosing to major in education.”

Monday’s report will also outline district partnerships and strategies already in the planning or development phase that work toward attracting and retaining more certified staff of color.

Over the last few years, the district has expanded its recruitment efforts to include universities with more racially diverse schools of education. Targeted programs have included those as near as Haskell Indian Nations University and University of Missouri-Kansas City to non-Midwestern institutions such as the University of New Mexico and Arizona State University.

There’s also, Stubblefield added, an effort to nurture and stay in touch with Lawrence students of color who have already expressed interest in the education field, the idea being that these Lawrence alumni will hopefully come back to teach in their hometown after earning their licenses.

At the administrative level, the superintendent’s leadership team of district officials went from all-white to counting 50 percent of its members as people of color, Stubblefield included, within the last year.

“There’s a lot of research to support that we all benefit from being exposed to diversity and offering those multiple perspectives for all our students, and also allowing our students to see individuals who look like them,” Stubblefield said. “All of us benefit in a diverse environment that reflects a more global society.”