Urban Teachers was founded on the core belief that every child deserves a great teacher, every year, regardless of where they live. Yet students in urban districts often receive the least effective and least experienced teachers available. To change this, Urban Teachers is rebuilding the urban teacher workforce with a pipeline of game-changing teachers that stay in the profession. By holding its teachers accountable for student success, Urban Teachers ensures all students get the quality education they deserve. Urban Teachers’ model ensures every teacher is highly qualified, well prepared and ready for the challenges of an urban classroom by providing intensive training and support and linking classroom performance to academic performance.

Urban Teachers is one of the most thorough teacher preparation programs in the nation, providing its participants a year-long residency, two-year Master of Science in Education degree from top-ranked Johns Hopkins University School of Education, three years of one-on-one coaching and four years of experience working in high-need urban classrooms. Urban Teachers seeks candidates who demonstrate a growth mindset, are achievement orientation, have the right mix of professional and soft skills, and are results-oriented individuals who are ready and committed to make a difference in urban schools. Participants that complete the four-year program graduate with the tools and skills needed to be an effective urban teacher and an affordable Master’s degree for a top-ranked university through generous Segal Awards and TEACH grants.

Urban Teachers is an investment that pays off for our teachers and their students. Urban Teachers' financial package includes a $20,000 stipend and health care in year one and a full-time teacher salary and benefits in years two, three and four. Urban Teachers participants also have access to federal loan forgiveness programs if they remain teaching in a high poverty public school for five years (two additional years beyond the Urban Teachers commitment). Participants are eligible for a variety of federal loan programs, including the TEACH grant and the Direct Loan program, and can apply for scholarships offered by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education.