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Hector Rodriguez knew a return to in-person instruction would come with some challenges for many students, especially after 18 months of remote learning.

Before students walked into his class in late August, the James Ward Elementary physical education teacher made it his mission to create a safe and comforting environment after an extended period of uncertainty.

It's a role that is typically led by a female. Fewer than 3% of pre-school and kindergarten teachers are men, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Jeremy Walton is working to break the stereotype as the only male early childhood teacher at Next Door Milwaukee.

Walk into any child care or preschool center and what are you going to see other than small kids, toys, blocks and books?

Well, female teachers. There's an absolute dearth of men in the field. Like, a big-time absence.

Estimates of men in early childhood teaching jobs range from 1% to 6%, with most guesses closer to the first number.

For many students, the reflection of the face staring back at them in the classroom can be indicative of success, according to California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. He supports Assembly Bill 520.

"The research has shown us for years that there are benefits to students of color when there’s at least just one educator of color on a campus," Thurmond said Tuesday.

AB 520, or California Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Grant Program, would set aside $15 million to recruit and retain male teachers of color.

According to preschool teacher and TikToker Tell Williams IV, "students say some crazy stuff."

On Feb. 23, the educator shared a hilarious story with his 599,000 followers about the shocking exchange he had with one of his students while they were playing "pretend restaurant."

"I've been teaching preschool now for, like, 8 years. Somehow I'm still shocked over some of the things that come out of these children's' mouths," he said.

Kennesaw State University has received a grant from the Georgia Power Foundation for an initiative to increase the number of African American male teachers.

Darrion Cockrell credits his teachers with saving his life when he was a young gang member in St. Louis, Missouri.

This year, the 34-year-old elementary school physical education teacher who works in Crestwood, Missouri, was named Missouri's 2021 Teacher of the Year.

As part of an initiative aimed at recruiting teachers who represent the students they serve, Dallas ISD has hired 13 Black male professionals and put them on the path toward becoming licensed teachers who will lead classrooms next semester.

The Adjunct Teacher Dallas Residency Program is designed to recruit Black male teachers to serve in high-priority campuses.

Diversity in the classroom matters. Alabama A&M is spending money to support that statement.

If you’re a man, identify as a minority race and want to be a teacher, you could get two years of your tuition paid for.

The program is called the Males for Alabama Education initiative. It’s all possible thanks to a grant from the state.

If you want a husband who shares housework more equitably, marry a nurse, a teacher or hair stylist--or someone who's in a female-focused career.

Men in predominantly female jobs will perform 25 percent more household chores than a partner who works in a male-dominated profession like an electrician or engineer, a study (PDF) of heterosexual couples from a Notre Dame professor shows.

When a global pandemic interrupted the school year in March, teachers had to trade in their classrooms for Zoom calls and teach students from behind a screen with little time to prepare.

While about 56 percent of students in New Jersey are nonwhite, only 16 percent of teachers are racial or ethnic minorities.

Seeking to diversify the educator workforce in New Jersey, Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union) introduced three bills to help schools recruit and retain teachers of color, as well as support culturally responsive teaching methods.

For July, there were 77 new hires, 23 resignations and 18 remaining vacancies for Jackson-Madison County School System, as of Monday.

But, the need for minority teachers – their recruitment and retention – is being discussed among the school board again because of the demographics of the new hires.

There's a new push to increase the number of men of color in the classroom. According to the nonprofit Early Learning Indiana, there's a major lack of ethnic and gender diversity in early childhood education.

Pre-K Teacher Zachary Ferguson loves his job. Everything from story time over Zoom calls, to his time back in the classroom.

For Black students in America, having a same-race social studies teacher is extremely rare. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), social studies teachers make up just 7% of the entire teacher workforce. And of all social studies teachers, roughly 94% are White (54% men and 40% women). Just 3% of America’s social studies teachers are Black men. And only 3% are Black women.