Educators in Ethnoburbs: How Race and Place Shape Educator Narratives of a Latino-Majority Suburban School District

As suburbs racially change, they are increasingly a place where Latino students learn and Latino teachers teach. Latino-majority suburbs provide a strategic case to better understand how Latino and white educators make sense of race and place in the suburbs both when deciding where to teach and when engaging with Latino students and families. Drawing on interviews with 40 educators in a Latino-majority suburban school district in Texas, I demonstrate that narratives of choosing the district and narratives of Latino students and families varied by educator race and connection to place. Latino and white educators drew on their lived experiences as students, residents, and educators in the region to motivate their choice of district and inform distinct classroom practices.