King had a nightmare that came to pass. Students of color fill most of the seats in today’s public school classrooms but are taught by a 79 percent–White teaching force, which often has, however unconsciously, lower expectations for students of color. When Black and White teachers look at the same Black student, White teachers are about 40 percent less likely to believe the student will finish high school. Low-income Black students who have at least one Black teacher in elementary school are 29 percent less likely to drop out of school, 39 percent less likely among very low-income Black boys.
