The Martinez Foundation Information

Established in 2008, The Martinez Foundation is a public nonprofit whose mission is to improve teacher diversity and the retention of teachers of color in Washington State. The Foundation works with students and teachers of color from all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, with special consideration for those impacted by poverty. The Martinez Foundation is not a granting Foundation. The focus of The Martinez Foundation programming is to provide professional development and a community of support to the most underrepresented employment force in Washington State- teachers of color, in an effort to recruit, support and retain them in the teaching profession. We seek to accomplish this through: • Providing professional development seminars (six times a year). Including opportunities for clock-hours towards renewal of teaching license and National Board Certification. • Collaborating with established education leaders at both the school district and university level. • Providing an annual conference to help cultivate Martinez Fellows into the next wave of teacher leaders and build long standing professional relationships among teachers of color. • Mentor teachers through the first three years of their career, which is the most important in terms of retention in the profession. The Martinez Foundation now partners with nine universities and has 102 Martinez Fellows teaching in 24 public school districts, positively influencing more than 7,000 students in some of Washington’s most poverty impacted and underrepresented schools. We are proud to be the only organization in the country with a focus on improving teacher diversity and retaining teachers of color in our public schools.