Teach For America announced that it will bring 700 new Latino teachers to classrooms nationwide this fall, more than double the number the organization was providing just four years ago. These Latino teachers represent 13 percent of Teach For America’s incoming corps of 5,300, and are among the 50 percent who identify as people of color.

Teach For America is among the country’s largest providers of Latino teachers. Latinos make up 12 percent of Teach For America’s total first- and second-year corps of 10,600, who will reach 660,000 students in 50 regions across 35 states and the District of Columbia.

“Educational inequity is a solvable problem, but it’s clear that we don’t yet have all of the solutions in place to combat the effects of systemic issues like racism and poverty,” said Matt Kramer, co-chief executive officer of Teach For America. “A teaching force with a diverse set of backgrounds, perspectives, and paths into the classroom is more likely to develop innovative ideas and collaborative solutions in partnership with communities. That’s a big part of the Teach For America approach.”

“We’re proud that our incoming corps is more diverse than it’s ever been,” said Elisa Villanueva Beard, co-chief executive officer of Teach For America. “We know that teachers from all backgrounds can have a meaningful impact on their students’ trajectories, and we’re grateful that our new corps brings tremendous talent, along with a wider range of personal and professional experience than ever before.”

As part of its recruiting efforts, and in concert with its support of the DREAM Act, Teach For America partners with schools and districts to create a path to teaching for individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. Some 40 individuals with DACA status joined the 2014 corps and will be teaching across 10 regions. Teach For America believes that recruiting DACA recipients is a critical step in increasing the diversity and strength of the organization’s teaching corps, and more broadly, the strength of the country’s workforce and economy.