Providing opportunity to all, regardless of color, et. al., should be the goal of our society. Frankly, it should go without saying. Cape’s recent effort to hire a more diverse workforce is a worthy and necessary action. However, tying this to a lowering of the qualification standards for teachers is both offensive and reflective of flawed logic. First, it supports a notion that a lowering of standards is a necessary cost of achieving diversity - effectively saying that a diverse talent pool cannot achieve existing high standards.
At the same time, lowering qualification standards, for whatever reason, is not in the best interest of our children and their education. Instead Cape should challenge itself to develop a program to encourage and support all new hires in achieving high standards. I suspect there are many teachers capable of dual certification, but who simply have not had the opportunity to do so. Cape should hire those teachers, keep a high standard and support staff to achieve those required standards within a specified timeline. That’s the kind of sustainable diversity that benefits all.
Chris Weeks
Rehoboth Beach
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