When retired Erie school teacher Johnny Johnson heard that only 2% of teachers in Erie County were people of color, he called it a "disgrace."

Ken Nickson Jr., coordinator of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for the Erie School District said hearing that number is not a shock to him.

"I have been immersed in this work so when you look at the national average for teachers of color in public schools it is 7%," Nickson Jr. said.

Increasing that number is something Nickson Jr. has been focused on and he showed us data to prove it.

In 2016, Erie Education Association diversity comparison which accounts for teachers, behavioral and mental health specialists was at 2.9%.

In 2024, that number is 6.1%.

Nickson Jr. said a large part of that is because of a three step employee diversity action, which he refers to the first step as the homegrown approach.

"We want our students to become teachers, who better? They come from the same neighborhoods, schools, they understand the system and then they are back in front of the same students that they were," Nickson Jr. said.

Matthew Lane is the superintendent of the General McLane School District.

Lane said the homegrown approach is also a way they look to recruit teachers.

"All of the students in our building, our diverse population needs that exposure and then there are other things districts can do depending on the resources they have to reach beyond our traditional borders or regions to expose ourselves to other really fantastic candidates that are out there," Lane said.

Nickson Jr. said the district understands the importance of this work and he feels strongly that what they are doing will help fix this disparity gap.

"This will bring more numbers in, it will move us to fruition where we will start to see more teachers of color throughout our buildings and not just in pockets where you are only getting two or three per building, so I am very confident about that," Nickson Jr. said.