According to the New York State Council of School Superintendents, as of June, there are 64 superintendents who are people of color, which makes up 8.8% of school districts and BOCES in the state.

Bo Wright, the superintendent of Geneva City School District and one of those 64 superintendents of color, says diversity in education is important.

“I was the son of two teachers, and so for me, I always knew that I wanted to be in education. I wanted to be a teacher from day one,” Wright said. “My father was actually the first black administrator that the district ever hired in 1986."

To return to Geneva, where his father taught and made history, brings Wright full circle, he said.

“I think it meant something for all kids in our community to see him in that role. I hope it meant something for my students to see me in that role as a teacher and as a principal, and now coming back here as a superintendent,” said Wright.

Wright says diversity matters.

“You know, it’s never been lost on me that most of the tables that I sit at, regardless of the region that I’m in at those BOCES meetings, I was usually the only superintendent of color or maybe there was one more sitting at the table with me,” said Wright.

Wright says there’s still work to be done to create those diverse spaces for not only leaders like himself, but for students and educators.

“When I was first hired as a superintendent in 2013, I want to say there were less than 30 superintendents of color out of more than 700 in New York State,” said Wright.

Being a member of the New York State Council of School Superintendents' commission on diversity and inclusivity, Wright says he's encouraged by efforts to increase the number of superintendents of color.

Wright says the district is focused on workforce diversity and cultivating a plan for recruitment.

“[We are] making sure that we’re looking in places that have historically been underserved, making sure that those pools from a gender perspective, from a cultural perspective, from an experienced perspective, more closely mirrors the diversity that we see in the community,” said Wright.

“We should be proud of the progress made, recognizing that we still have a lot of work to do."