Our Story

Jennifer Green, Co-founder

Christina Hall, Co-founder

Our Story

Urban Teachers was founded with the idea that talented, highly-prepared, career teachers can open the doors to future success for city school children. As longtime employees of the Baltimore City Public Schools system, Jennifer Green and Christina Hall saw too many teachers arrive at urban schools without the skills they needed for the classroom. Too often, these new teachers burned out before they had a chance to reach their potential in the classroom. This constant turnover contributed to school instability and prevented parents and students from forming lasting bonds with teachers. Green and Hall devised a new kind of teacher training program. They would recruit the most talented and motivated candidates, seek teachers who mirrored the demographics of the communities they would serve and prepare highly effective career educators dedicated to their students.These candidates would complete a master’s program from a high caliber university, learning from a curriculum designed specifically for urban teachers while earning certification in a content area and special education. They would spend a full year immersed in an urban school classroom under a host teacher’s instruction before becoming a teacher of record, while developing an understanding of the school’s culture, community, strengths and needs. But the program would not end there. Urban Teachers would continue to provide education, and support during the crucial first three years of teaching, helping new teachers refine and polish their skills, from classroom management to the highest quality instruction. New teachers who met the demanding criteria to advance in the program would be guaranteed a job and high-needs school districts would develop a talent pipeline of highly-prepared and committed teachers who stay.