Urban Ed Academy was founded to inspire excitement for learning in young boys of color by matching them with mentors who looked like them.
Every child deserves to see themselves in the classroom.
From 2010 to 2016, SMART+ Saturdays introduced over 800 young men in San Francisco to STEM project-based learning experiences led by Black and Brown men. The strategy worked on Saturdays but students deserve more — we need Black men working full-time as educators.
In 2018, we launched the Man the Bay initiative to bring Black men into classrooms – which has evolved into our 4-year Educator Fellowship program. This program addresses the intertwining challenges of the educator shortage, the lack of culturally responsive training, and the housing crisis.
Urban Ed has been investing in solutions that innovatively tackle these challenges since 2018.
4-year program that recruits Black male college graduates to the teaching profession. Fellows receive culturally relevant training, support throughout the educator credentialing process, housing in the communities they teach, and mentorship.
The program helps communities by assisting with the current teacher shortage crisis, and by providing a more diverse educator pipeline because representation matters in narrowing the opportunity gap.
Finding affordable housing can be tough, especially in the Bay Area and on an educator salary.
We work with folks in the community to offer free housing to our Fellows.
We partner with other community-based organizations to secure housing that ensures educators can live in the communities where they work.
The success of our programs are intertwined with the health, well-being, and experiences of our communities.
We host several annual community events to celebrate Black educators, entrepreneurs, and community members.
In the 2024/2025 school year, we’re revisiting our program offerings that engage both Fellows and our broader education community.
This program isn’t just good for the educators – it’s good for the communities, too. Right now, there aren’t enough teachers, and that’s a big problem. By bringing in new, diverse teachers, we’re helping address the teacher shortage. We know that having teachers who look like the students they teach is important. It helps students do better in school.
Cohort 1 - Alumni
Newark, NJ
Cohort 2 - Alumni
Benton Harbor, MI
Cohort 4
Cohort 4
Chesapeake, VA
Cohort 4
Montgomery, AL
Cohort 5
Cohort 5
Cohort 5
Decatur, GA
Cohort 5
Cohort 5
Cohort 6
Lansing, MI
Cohort 6
Cohort 6
Mayer, MN
Cohort 6
Cohort 6
Sliver Spring, MD
Cohort 6
Fresno, CA
Cohort 6
Los Angeles, CA
Cohort 6
Mobile, AL
Cohort 6
Detroit, MI
Cohort 6
Henderson, NC
Cohort 6
Cohort 6
Oakland, CA
Cohort 6
Cohort 7
Cohort 7
Cohort 7
Cohort 7
Columbus, OH
Cohort 7
Cohort 7
Sacramento, CA
Cohort 7
Henrico, VA
Cohort 7
Cohort 7
Tuscaloosa, AL
Cohort 7
Sacramento, CA
Join Cohort 8
Click Link Below to Apply
Looking to understand our impact over the years? Take a look at any of our impact reports or email us with questions at contact@urbanedacademy.org. The impact reports below are available for download.
Looking to understand our financials? We’re proud to share that we have a strong Charity Navigator rating and pride ourselves on maintaining financial transparency to our community. Please find our 990s below or email us with questions at contact@urbanedacademy.org.
Urban Ed Academy supports and encourages research efforts around teacher representation. Please contact us at contact@urbanedacademy.org if you are interested in exploring Urban Ed’s work in an academic or research setting. The research reports below are available for download.
Office
1485 Bayshore Blvd.
Suite 317, MB 187
San Francisco, CA 94124
(415) 330–1015
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