
Urban Teachers
Model & Strategy
Built on a foundation of accountability, rigor and practical application, Urban Teachers seeks to close the achievement gap by preparing and placing highly effective teachers in our nation’s neediest urban classrooms. Candidates chosen through a competitive selection process commit to a 4-year training program developed by education experts from across the nation. They emerge with hands-on classroom experience, certification, and a dual masters degree in general and special education.
Coursework and practicums mentored by partner classroom teachers are relevant and highly applicable. There is emphasis on effective delivery of literacy and math curriculum. Training also covers assessment and diagnosis of learning challenges and methods to address them. Urban Teachers maintains its high standards through detailed achievement metrics and bases teacher success on measurable student progress. By cultivating dedicated, expert teachers, Urban Teachers is transforming learning and expanding possibilities for America’s most underserved students.



Christina Hall started her work as an advocate for disadvantaged youth as an attorney in the Boston Juvenile Court and at the Department of Social Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Motivated by a desire to intervene earlier in the lives of the youth she advocated for, Christina earned a masters degree in education and began to focus her practice on inequities in urban public schools. Christina has served as a public high school teacher and as a program officer in Boston and Baltimore. Prior to launching Urban Teachers, Christina focused on policy and practice inequities and improving instructional practice in the Baltimore City Public Schools as the chief of staff for the Chief Academic Officer. In this role she oversaw 200 schools and an $800M operating budget.
Prior to launching Urban Teachers, Jennifer Green was the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Baltimore City’s public high schools; in this role she observed first-hand the disparity in the quality of teaching from classroom to classroom. Jennifer served as the Director for High School Reform for the Fund for Educational Excellence, where she managed a $21 million budget financed by The Gates Foundation and other local foundations. In 2004 Jennifer was named by the Baltimore Business Journal as one of Baltimore City’s “Top 40 under 40.”
IMPACT
Since 2009, Urban Teachers has welcomed nearly 1,550 residents to Baltimore City, Washington, DC, and Dallas/Fort Worth, reaching 175,000 students in those cities.
Urban Teachers is now the single largest provider in Washington, DC, and Baltimore of novice elementary, secondary math, and secondary English teachers. In those sites, their resident class for 2019 is more than double the size of the 2016 cohort.
Urban Teachers is bringing much-needed diversity to urban classrooms— 67% of their most recent cohort identifies as people of color. Through the recently launched $25M Black Educators Initiative, Urban Teachers will place 1,000 Black educators in high-need schools in our partnering school districts by 2023.
Urban Teachers News
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Hospitals Want to Reduce Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in HealthThe COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have shed light on the enormous disparities in health and social well-being in this country, particularly those…Aug 2020
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Urban Teachers Gets $1.5 Million GrantUrban Teachers recently received a $1.5 million grant from the Caruth Foundation, the largest amount it has received from a single donor in the Dallas area.…Jan 2017
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Urban Teachers Featured in The Atlantic for Their Innovative Teacher Residency ProgramThe Urban Teachers residency program in D.C. is one of many new alternative routes to becoming a teacher that have sprung up as education schools…Apr 2016
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Urban Teachers and Blue Engine in WSJ Supporting Coalition of Teacher-Preparation GroupsUrban Teachers and Blue Engine joined Teach for America and six additional alternative-certification programs to propose rules by the U.S. Education Department, intended to weed…Feb 2015
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Congratulations to Urban Teachers educator Kamil Simms who was just named 2021-2022 New Teacher of the Year at Elsi… https://t.co/lTG3IGPJLX
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This #TeacherAppreciationWeek we say thank you to educators like Brenda Biffi, who incorporates social emotional le… https://t.co/gE4SULUAJ1
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Great teachers are a vital part of our community! #ThankYouTeachers for all you do to support students and their f… https://t.co/goJzbfYGqj
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This #TeacherAppreciationWeek, we celebrate educators like Ajaysie Gipson in Dallas who help students realize their… https://t.co/fHdMMX5JJg
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ATTENTION! ATTENTION! 📣📣 It’s your LAST CHANCE to apply to Urban Teachers in 2022! Applications are due FRIDAY, A… https://t.co/T0oABXk25m
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There’s just 1 WEEK left to apply to Urban Teachers! Finish your application by Friday, April 22 to join us this… https://t.co/u4lNzDBhYT
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April is #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth! In honor of the culture and contributions of Arab Americans, check out our sug… https://t.co/LZOdLXf2cD
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Guess what?!?! #UrbanTeachers has extended our application deadline to April 22! There’s still time to apply to j… https://t.co/aNVTxO7cjY
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Start your teacher training this summer! Our next application deadline is tomorrow, April 1! Accepted applicants r… https://t.co/dak4uphJRZ
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Dr. Ramona Edelin dedicated her career to supporting urban school students. She is known for bringing term African… https://t.co/KWUnucT0wG
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This #AmeriCorpsWeek, #UrbanTeachers is thrilled to thank the @AmeriCorps members, volunteers & alumni who step up… https://t.co/8NKThVUiwJ
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Happy Pi Day! Math is the universal language, and having a rich understanding of it opens doors for students in the… https://t.co/2A40vPWgwe
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Equitable education is a fundamental right! Several states are considering laws that would harm and disenfranchise… https://t.co/kYgXk7ObRx
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March is #NationalReadingMonth! Urban Teachers prepares our educators to teach reading and language arts at all gr… https://t.co/v2SdnhgjuN
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We salute the extraordinary women who are cultivating the next generation of leaders and changemakers!… https://t.co/sQCd1AeiJe
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Know an aspiring teacher who is passionate about education + equity? ONE REFERRAL can create INFINITE IMPACT. When… https://t.co/ZfGgoZ7HUK
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Over 75% of teachers in America are women! This #WomensHistoryMonth, Urban Teachers salutes the exceptional and tra… https://t.co/ZOlVZoyX2f
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Black history is filled with ingenuity, protest, and perseverance. Opportunities to showcase Black voices, stories,… https://t.co/8DvQgIKG5y
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Called the “Mother of the Movement” Septima Poinsette Clark taught Black adults to read in the 1950s and ’60s, lead… https://t.co/1x2m6O4yo7
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Doctor. Veterinarian. Administrator. Founder. Frederick D. Patterson taught us all that a “mind is a terrible thing… https://t.co/M7b6B1IlZj