SUPPORTING STUDENTS OF COLOR IN TEACHER EDUCATION: RESULTS FROM AN URBAN TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM JENNIFER WADDELL University of Missouri, Kansas City ABSTRACT This article describes an urban teacher education program on a predominantly White campus, in which 71% of the students in the program were students of color. This article details a qualitative study and highlights the structures of support most influential in the retention of students within the program. Findings suggest that a multifaceted approach to student support is most influential in retaining students of color. Influential support structures emerging from the data were: (1) cohort model; (2) focus on diversity; (3) high expectations; and (4) close interaction with faculty. The author makes the case that results can inform and be replicated in all teacher education and/or post-secondary education programs. INTRODUCTION Student populations in schools across the United States are increasingly diverse (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2011; Villegas & Lucas, 2002). Yet, the majority of teachers in these schools will continue to be pre- dominantly White, middle class, Christian, and heterosexual females from English-only backgrounds (Amatea, 2009; Carpenter-LaGattuta, 2004; NCES, 2011). Given this dissonance, it becomes critical to provide future teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to build connections with students and increase student achievement. This becomes especially significant in 261 Ó 2014, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/CS.16.2.f http://baywood.com J. COLLEGE STUDENT RETENTION, Vol. 16(2) 261-275, 2014-2015