Desiree Carver-Thomas

Researcher and Policy Analyst

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650.562.6147

Desiree Carver-Thomas is a member of LPI’s Educator Quality Team. She is the author of Diversifying the Teaching Profession: How to Recruit and Retain Teachers of Color and the lead author of Addressing California’s Growing Teacher Shortage: 2017 Update.

Previously, Carver-Thomas taught in New York City public schools for five years. As a graduate student, she consulted with the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department on strategies for diverting recidivism and with West Contra Costa Unified School District on implementing a full-service community schools’ initiative. She also conducted similar work with the City of Richmond.

Carver-Thomas received an M.P.P. from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, an M.S. in Teaching from Fordham University, and a B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies with a concentration in Anthropology from Columbia University.

For more about Desiree Carver-Thomas' work, see list below.

Desiree Carver-Thomas

Featured Resources

Addressing California’s Growing Teacher Shortage: 2017 Update
Report

Addressing California’s Growing Teacher Shortage: 2017 Update

Feb 08 2017
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California’s teacher shortage is worsening as demand continues to outpace the supply of new teachers. The shortage of special education, mathematics, and science teachers is especially severe, prompting an increase in the number of underprepared teachers. Low-income and minority students are disproportionately impacted by shortages, which threaten to undermine academic progress. This report details findings from LPI’s 2017 Update on California’s teacher shortage and offers policy recommendations to address this pressing problem.
A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S.
Report

A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S.

Sep 15 2016
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Widespread media reports of local teacher shortages have become a hot topic in education since the summer of 2015. After years of teacher layoffs, districts began hiring again as the economy recovered from the Great Recession. This report analyzes evidence of teacher shortages, looks at national and regional trends in teacher supply and demand, and investigates policy strategies that might mitigate these effects based on research about effective approaches to recruitment and retention.
Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It
Report

Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It

Aug 16 2017
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As students return to school this year, many will be in one of the more than 100,000 classrooms across the country staffed by an instructor not fully qualified to teach. This shortage of qualified teachers is almost entirely due to teachers leaving the profession and about 2/3 of teachers who leave do so for reasons other than retirement. This study looks at who is leaving, why, who is impacted, and policy considerations.