Professional Staff Diversity and Student Outcomes: Extending Our Understanding of Race/Ethnicity-Matching Effects in Education

Studies consistently show that minoritized students benefit from having a teacher of the same race/ethnicity. We extend this literature by examining educational impacts of exposure to same-race/ethnicity professional staff, including administrators, instructional coaches, guidance counselors, and special education specialists. Students interact with these staff less frequently than teachers, yet staff of color may also serve as role models, support culturally relevant practices, and help prevent discrimination. Using within-student and within-school variation in statewide Maryland data, we find that higher shares of same-ethnicity staff improve test scores and modestly reduce suspensions for Hispanic students. For Black students, exposure to non-Black, non-White professionals of color is associated with higher English language arts performance, although these effects are smaller—about one-fifth the size of teacher effects.