Dr. Julie Rose Kotler Snider

CHRONICLING THE STORIES OF BLACK TEACHERS WHO ARE “THE ONLY ONE” IN PREDOMINANTLY WHITE, K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOLS: A CRITICAL NARRATIVE INQUIRY

The demographics of the United States are increasingly diverse, resulting in racially diverse K-12 schools, yet the K-12 education field continues to be dominated by White teachers. Black teachers are underrepresented and Black teacher retention is a documented problem. The purpose of this critical narrative inquiry was to chronicle the experiences of Black teachers who are “the only one” in predominantly White, K-12 public schools. With Critical Race Theory as the theoretical lens and narrative inquiry as the methodological approach, this study amplified the voices of Black teachers, through semistructured interviews and explored ways Black teachers navigate their White schools. The findings of the study identified four themes with several subthemes that encapsulated the Black teacher experience in predominantly White schools: (1) They faced systemic racism via slights, microaggressions, slurs, and tokenization from colleagues, White parents and supervisors. (2) They experienced a psychological toll due to performance pressures, isolation, silencing, and a sense of responsibility to serve students of color and do the diversity, equity and inclusion work. (3) Yet they also engaged in activism and felt empowered to be change agents and role models. (4) Finally, participants discussed how systems of support through leadership, colleagues and the overall school community are essential to make the experience of being the only Black teacher in a predominantly White school just, fair and successful.

Julie Kotler Snider is currently the Director of Special Education and Support Services in the Harrison CSD. Her life has been devoted to serving students with disabilities and their families. She is the recipient of Manhattanville’s Ethel Kennedy Award for Human Rights Leadership as well as the 2021 Cornell/Human Ecology Pandemic Heroes Award. Julie was born and raised in The Bronx. She lived in Co-Op City from birth to 14 years old and attended the public schools there, receiving a stellar and outstanding education. She then moved and attended Mamaroneck HS. She received her BS from Cornell University. She entered the teaching profession after graduating college, working as a TA at the Churchill School while getting her MA in special education from Fordham. She was a special education teacher in Somers CSD. Soon thereafter, she started a doctoral program at TC, Columbia University. In 2005, Julie became a special ed administrator in the Bedford CSD. In 2015, she became the Director in Harrison. The loss of her mother in 2019, the pandemic and the country’s racial reckoning were the impetus for Julie returning to school to complete her doctorate Julie lives with her two teenagers, Emily and Eli, her husband, Jordan, her cat, Sunset and her dog, Rocky, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. She is an avid reader, walker, lover of Broadway and a “retired” nationally ranked junior tennis player.