Black Men Teach

BLACK MEN TEACH (BMT) RECRUITS, PREPARES, PLACES, AND RETAINS BLACK MALE TEACHERS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS BY BUILDING A ROBUST PATHWAY TO THE TEACHING PROFESSION, BEGINNING IN HIGH SCHOOL AND CONTINUING TO SUPPORT MEN THROUGH COLLEGE AND INTO THEIR TEACHING CAREER. BMT BEGAN IN 2018 BASED ON RESEARCH THAT TOLD US THAT A DIVERSE TEACHER CORPS IMPROVES STUDENT OUTCOMES FOR ALL CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN OF COLOR. BLACK STUDENTS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WHO HAVE AT LEAST ONE BLACK MALE TEACHER ARE 29% LESS LIKELY TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL. THOSE WHO HAVE TWO BLACK MALE TEACHERS ARE 32% MORE LIKELY TO ENROLL IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION. SINCE ITS START IN 2018, BMT HAS GONE FROM A START-UP, TO SERVING 12 BLACK MEN IN 2020, 42 IN 2021 AND 63 IN 2022. TO SUPPORT OUR RAPID RAMP UP IN PROGRAMMING, OUR STAFFING AND BUDGETED SPEND ARE RAMPING UP. WE ARE DEVELOPING A COALITION OF SCHOOLS, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TEACHER TRAINING AND SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO ACHIEVE THIS OBJECTIVE.

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (SLRP). MOST TEACHERS GRADUATE SCHOOL WITH STUDENT LOAN DEBT, AND BLACK MEN HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DEBT THAN THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS. THIS BURDEN OFTEN LEADS MEN TO LEAVE THE PROFESSION. SLRP PAYS OFF THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF STUDENT DEBT HELD BY PRACTICING TEACHERS OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD. FOR FISCAL 2023 FIFTEEN MEN WERE DIRECTLY SUPPORTED BY THIS PROGRAM AND APPROXIMATELY 390 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS BENEFITED FROM THEM REMAINING IN THE CLASSROOM.

THIS BEING THE THIRD FULL YEAR OF BLACK MEN TEACH WITH AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PAID STAFF, MUCH OF OUR PROGRAM EXPENSE WAS FOCUSED ON STAFF TIME ACQUIRING PARTNERSHIPS WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS AND TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS ON-CAMPUS MEETINGS WITH POTENTIAL TEACHER CANDIDATES, TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES INTRODUCING SENIORS TO TEACHING AS A CAREER, AND MUCH MORE. IN ADDITION TO GRANTS IN THE THREE PRIMARY SERVICE AREAS, OTHER GRANTS INCLUDED FOR MEN OBTAINING THEIR TEACHER LICENSE THROUGH AN ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND TO LEADERSHIP/INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES.

STUDENT TEACHING STIPEND - STUDENT TEACHING, REQUIRED TO EARN A DEGREE AND BECOME A LICENSED TEACHER, IS A SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL BURDEN FOR STUDENTS. BECAUSE THIS ACTIVITY IS FULL TIME, FOR A PERIOD OF 12 TO 16 WEEKS, IT PRECLUDES THE STUDENT FROM EARNING OUTSIDE INCOME FROM A FULL OR PART TIME JOB. THEREFORE, MANY STUDENTS LEAVE THE TEACHING TRACK AT THIS LATE STAGE BECAUSE OF THIS BURDEN. BMT ASSISTS ITS TEACHING CANDIDATES BY PROVIDING A STIPEND DURING THIS PART OF THEIR EDUCATION. IN FISCAL 2023, FIVE STUDENT TEACHERS BENEFITED FROM THIS PROGRAM AS DID APPROXIMATELY 100 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO WERE EXPOSED TO A BLACK MALE TEACHER.

SCHOLARSHIPS-IN AN EFFORT TO OFFSET THE FINANCIAL BURDEN THEIR EDUCATION, BLACK MEN TEACH OFFERS UP TO $20,000 SCHOLARSHIPS TO ITS PARTICIPANTS. THESE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE PROVIDED TO MEN WHO ARE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN OUR PROGRAM AND ARE PAID AT AN ACCELERATED RATE OVER FOUR YEARS. THE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE $2,000 DURING THE FRESHMAN YEAR, $4,000 DURING THE SOPHOMORE YEAR, $6,000 DURING THE JUNIOR YEAR AND $8,000 DURING THE SENIOR YEAR. TO QUALIFY, STUDENTS PROVIDE BMT WITH TRANSCRIPTS, CONFIRMING THEIR CLASS STATUS, CURRENT COURSE SCHEDULES, ACADEMIC CREDITS AND FEE STATEMENTS. BMT OFFERS THESE AS "LAST DOLLAR" SCHOLARSHIPS. IN THE FISCAL 2023, FIFTEEN RECEIVED SCHOLARSHIPS.