MEET Thetis White, a career changer, teaching 5th grade at Monroe Elementary in Brooklyn Park, MN

Recruiting and retaining Black male educators, indeed all teachers of color, has been a challenge for our community, as is reflected by their limited numbers.  And although the reasons for this are well known within the education community, success has been elusive due to the many stakeholders in the teacher development pipeline, each with its own mission and measure of success.  It is imperative that all stakeholders – colleges and universities, alternative teacher preparation programs, government policy makers, funders, community-based organizations, K-12 school systems, and corporate and foundation leaders – work toward the common goal in a  seamless fashion.

Black Men Teach addresses all of the challenges faced by Black male teacher candidates;

• Recruitment
• Training options and cost
• Induction
• School culture
• Meaningful career paths
• Adequate compensation

From recruitment, to helping select the appropriate training program, to securing resources to assist in paying for that training, to placement in schools that have strong induction programs, career growth opportunities and supportive cultures, Black Men Teach supports the growth of Black male educators in Twin Cities schools.  From the moment a man indicates that he wants to be a teacher, we will help him navigate the process and show him a pathway to success.

Theory of Action

By employing our Theory of Action, our goal is for each of our 8 partner schools to have 20% of their teaching staff be Black men within 6 years, by which time we will have built a pipeline that will provide 100 Black male teachers within 10 years.

Our goal is to create the conditions where Black men thrive in education.