Only 1.5 percent of the school teachers in the state of Colorado are Black. In an effort to encourage more African Americans to become teachers in the state, the Sachs Foundation in conjunction with Colorado College is offering African Americans who graduate from the college $10,000 for each of their first three years in the classroom if they become teachers in Colorado.
In addition to the annual $10,000 stipend to supplement the income of new Black teachers in Colorado, the foundation will give participating teachers a classroom budget and provide professional development opportunities.
“The Sachs Foundation has been around for 90 years supporting the education of Black students in Colorado and one of the things that we have been talking about as a board for several years is the issue of the lack of Black teachers in Colorado classrooms,” said Sachs Foundation President Ben Ralston. “There’s research out there that shows that all students benefit from a diverse teaching corps. Black students, in particular, have lower dropout rates, higher test scores, higher college attendance, all from having just one or two Black teachers in their lifetime.”.
Henry Sachs first found business success as a stockbroker in Boston when his friend and business partner, King Gillette was seeking investors to help build his scalpel and razorblade business into a larger enterprise. Sachs subsequently became one of the first investors in the Gillette Safety Razor Company. Upon moving to Colorado Springs for his health, Sachs focused his business on real estate development. In 1931, he founded the Sachs Foundation with the goal of supporting the higher education of African Americans in Colorado.
Since that time. the foundation has supported over 5,000 students in pursuit of their education. Currently, 182 undergraduate students and 15 graduate students are receiving financial support for their higher education from the foundation at 67 colleges and universities around the world.
This is an excellent incentive to offer graduating education majors. Perhaps extending the program to others outside the state of Colorado may draw a diverse population as well.