Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion

At Urban Teachers, we prioritize dismantling racial and socioeconomic barriers in urban education. The curriculum at Urban Teachers is purposefully designed to prompt future teachers to tackle issues of race and equity both inside and outside of their classrooms.

Not only do we want to equitably teach all children, but we also want to ensure that we are presenting equitable opportunities to all aspiring teachers. Nationally, only 12% of public school teachers are Black (2% Black males), but nearly 40% of Urban Teachers residents and teachers identify as Black. However, this is still not fully representative of the 70% of students who identify as Black in our Baltimore, Dallas and DC schools. Historical and contemporary qualitative and quantitative research highlights that teachers of color improve learning as well as social and emotional development for their students of color (Bristol & Martin-Fernandez, 2019). Urban Teachers is striving to ensure that students are being represented by their teachers and is actively working to recruit more aspiring Black teachers through our Black Educators Initiative (BEI). In addition to providing financial supports, BEI will provide programmatic support that will assist Black teachers in the unique challenges they face.

Learn More about Urban Teachers’ Mission, Vision, and Values and our Black Educators Initiative.

Students
Come First

We believe that access to high-quality education is a civil right. Every child deserves a great education to prepare them for a full, productive life. At Urban Teachers, we are creating a pipeline of highly-effective, career teachers who give students the skills they need to excel, and are committed to the communities they serve. Our teachers bring their own diverse experiences and backgrounds to the classroom. More than half of our Residents are people of color and nearly one-third are the first in their family to complete college.