Urban Teachers
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (PRWEB) April 25, 2016
Urban Teachers, a rigorous alternative certification program focused on preparing high-quality career teachers for high-need schools, announced today approval from the Texas Education Agency to expand its innovative teacher preparation program into Dallas/Fort Worth. The expansion will bring Urban Teachers into its third city, following Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, to prepare more performance-oriented, highly skilled teachers to significantly improve student learning across the region.
“Ensuring every child in Dallas/Fort Worth has access to a quality education begins with placing a great, well-prepared teacher in every classroom,” said Todd Williams, the founding executive director of The Commit! Partnership, a coalition of more than 183 organizations working to raise student achievement in Dallas County. “There are many factors in education that we can’t control, but we can and should guarantee that all our teachers have the experience, skills and support to equip every student to succeed. The new partnership with Urban Teachers will help us do just that.”
Urban Teachers is part of a strategic effort to meet the widespread need for more quality teachers, particularly addressing the region’s shortage of teacher pipelines providing extensive clinical experience and new teacher support. With only 30% of new teachers coming from traditional higher education preparation programs, the region is intensely focused on growing new and existing high-quality teacher pipelines to meet its 5,700+ educator gap between regional supply and district hiring demand.
To help meet this need, the program will begin working with public and charter school partners, Dallas Independent School District*, KIPP DFW and Uplift Education. In collaboration with other local leaders and organizations, like Stand for Children-Dallas, Urban Teachers will help build a strong, steady pipeline of effective teachers who are committed to teaching for the long haul and who will transform learning for Dallas/Fort Worth’s most underserved student populations.
“This school year, Urban Teachers will impact more than 15,000 students across Baltimore and DC and we know that’s not enough,” said Jennifer Green, Chief Executive Officer of Urban Teachers. “Too many urban students are still missing out on an excellent education. We are thrilled to partner with Dallas ISD, KIPP DFW, and Uplift Education, to adapt our innovative teacher preparation model to meet the needs of their students.”
Urban Teachers plans to recruit over 100 aspiring teachers to start their training in Dallas/Fort Worth during the 2016-2017 school year. Similar to the medical school model, candidates who train through its four-year program receive extensive real life experience (14 month residency working in urban schools prior to becoming a lead classroom teacher); relevant clinically based graduate coursework (training in general and special education); and 3 years of coaching and mentoring (targeted support to ensure improvement).
- Partnership approved by Dallas ISD Board
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About Urban Teachers
Urban Teachers improves teacher quality in city schools by preparing a pipeline of high-performing career teachers and holding them accountable for student success. Founded in 2009, Urban Teachers is a nationally recognized leader of urban school reform because it links teacher effectiveness to certification eligibility. Urban Teachers is currently serving urban youth in Baltimore City and the District of Columbia and now expanding to Dallas/Forth Worth in 2016. Apply to join their Cohort 2016 at http://www.urbanteachers.org/apply.
About The Commit! Partnership
The Commit! Partnership helps drive student achievement in Dallas County from cradle to career by leveraging data, community expertise and collaboration to measure what matters, identify effective practices and spread what works. For more information, please visit http://www.commit2dallas.org.