CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina has one of the largest school systems in the country with a very diverse student body, but the state’s teachers don’t reflect the demographics of its students.

Christopher Troutman is a sixth grade social studies teacher. He has been in the field for two years after making a career switch. African-American teachers that are males are hard to come by.

“I didn’t have a Black teacher until fifth grade and of course it was a female. I didn’t have my first Black male teacher until ninth grade,” Troutman says.

It’s a problem educators across the state are recognizing as the student body grows more diverse. Last school year, 52% of the state’s students were minorities, but only 20% of teachers were minorities.

“Particularly with our Latino families, Middle Eastern descent, and our Black families and that diversity hasn’t quite translated to the teaching population,” Tamika Walker Kelly with the North Carolina Association of Educators says.

A legislative report released late last year shows that 25% of the state’s K-12 students are African American while less than 15% of the state’s teachers are African American. The gap is a motivating factor for teachers like Troutman.

Jason Terrell is another African American male teaching in the Charlotte area. He’s the co-founder of Profound Gentleman, a peer mentor group focused on the recruitment and retention of minority teachers.

“If you have folks who come from the communities that represent the communities that tare kids are in the change is overwhelming,” Terrell says.  

He says finances and representation are just two reasons some minorities avoid the teaching field. North Carolina lawmakers have put forth initiatives that encourage the hiring of more minorities to teach the next generation like Teacher Cadet programs.

Studies show having Black teachers in elementary schools decrease the drop out rate for Black high school students.

It’s a difference Terrell and Troutman hope will attract other Black men to the education field.

“Every day I wake up is a day to change. It’s a day to help somebody become successful, so why not do that,” Troutman says.