2024-2025 Connecticut Changemakers: Ashlyn Mallard
Connecticut schools have long had a diversity gap between the racial backgrounds of students and teachers. A report by Education Reform Now Connecticut found that students of color made up roughly 52.5% of the student population during the 2022-23 school year, while educators of color accounted for just 11.2% of the educator population.
Yet, research shows that all students benefit when they have the chance to be taught by Black and brown educators. Students of color who are taught by teachers of the same race are held to higher academic expectations and are less likely to face disciplinary interventions. The Annenberg Institute adds that white students also measurably benefit from having teachers of color, and teachers of color are more likely to bring certain positive attributes to the job that may explain why the benefit of having a teacher of color goes beyond a role model effect.
At Teach For America Connecticut (TFA CT), we believe that if Connecticut wants to establish a strong teacher-talent pipeline benefiting all school communities, it must build systems that encourage more educator diversity. That is why we are overjoyed by the news that 2024 TFA CT corps member Ashlyn Mallard is a recipient of Aspiring Educators Diversity Scholarship. Hailing from New Haven, Ashlyn is currently a Special Education teacher at Hillhouse High School. She attended Hampton University studying strategic communications and is now obtaining her master’s through Relay Graduate School of Education.
The AED Scholarship provides education students who qualify with a scholarship of $5,000 per semester. Students may be either undergraduate or graduate students pursuing educator preparation programs with initial teacher licensure.