Ashley Dawson was one of only a few Black students when she was in first grade at Walnut Street Elementary School in Darby.

By fifth grade, a teacher, principal and assistant principal at the school were all Black women.

It inspired Dawson to pursue an education career, writes Sojourner Ahebee for whyy.org.

 “There was something about them … I wanted to do what they did,” said Dawson.

Half a decade out of high school, Dawson noticed the students at William Penn were predominantly Black.

But the same wasn’t true for the faculty.

William Penn has one of the widest gaps in the state between its students of color and teachers of color.

Only about 4% of students are white. So are 80 percent of the teachers.

William Penn School District families say that’s a disservice to the students’ education.

Students of color struggle more when they don’t have teachers of color to interact with.

Several teachers have noticed increased attention to issues of racial equity since Eric Becoats, Ed.D took over as superintendent in May. That includes a racial equity forum that is  now part of the formal professional development for teachers.

Read more about the statewide issue of teacher diversity at whyy.org.