The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, in collaboration with the AIAE, Association of Italian American Educators, will publish a study on the growth and impact of Italian American educators on American education. The Calandra Institute is seeking Italian American educators from all regions of the United States who have taught and administrated over the last seventy years, from the 1950s to the present, to participate in the study.

Today there are approximately 700,000 Italian American educators across all academic disciplines from pre-K to postsecondary education in the United States. Research using U.S. Census data from 1980 to 2017 demonstrates how the descendants of Italian immigrants recognized the value of education in order to succeed in the educational system.

Since 1980 the number of Italian American educators has more than doubled, from 275,500 to 699,448 in 2017. Italian American educators represented 5.3 percent of all educators in 1980, equal to the overall Italian American population (5.3 percent) but increased to 7.3 percent of all the educators in 2017, more than 2 percentage points above the population of Italian Americans in the United States (5.1 percent).

The increase in Italian American educators throughout the United States is more geographically diverse than the overall Italian American population. The number of educators from preschool to postsecondary increased significantly, especially among women. Italian American educators held a larger proficiency in the Italian language than the general Italian American population.

The Calandra Institute and the AIAE,invite all Italian American educators to participate in this study. If you also have a written description of your experience, you may forward it for possible inclusion. In addition, if you know an educator who should be included, forward this information to them with your recommendation for their participation in the survey. Respondents can directly submit survey responses online at: http://calandrainstitute.org/educator-survey/. 

The case studies will highlight the obstacles and successes of individual educators. For further information, contact principal investigator Vincenzo Milione at 212-642-2094 or email [email protected].