Reach: Since our work began in Dallas in 2016, City Teaching Alliance, formerly Urban Teachers, has welcomed over 600 aspiring teachers to Dallas who have served nearly 52,000 students. During School Year 2021-2022, City Teaching Alliance supported 278 active participants and 120 alumni still teaching in Dallas. Our teachers and alumni are impacting the lives of 17,000 students in 89 schools. Among the students in our partner schools, approximately 84% are economically disadvantaged, 31% are English Language Learners, 8% are receiving special education services, and 95% identify as Black or Hispanic/Latinx. For the first time ever, during this last school year we were able to welcome mission-aligned DACA recipients (i.e., those with protected immigration status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or "DACA" federal act) into our program. We were also able to expand our geographic reach for SY2021-22, adding Lancaster ISD to Dallas ISD and Uplift Education as a local education agency partners. In addition, to our general education, special education and English as a Second Language certifications, City Teaching Alliance is now pleased to offer a Bilingual certification to our third-year teachers and alumni to meet the needs of our partner districts.
Recruitment Outcomes: In SY2021-2022, City Teaching Alliance welcomed 97 residents for our 6th class, our second-largest cohort ever. The group includes 55% who identify as Black or Latinx and 6% as multiracial. 38% are first generation college graduates. 54% of our participants were recipients of Pell grants (a common indicator of low-income background) during their undergraduate studies. The group boasts a 3.2 average undergraduate grade point average, significantly higher than the average minimum GPA requirement (2.6) for entry into American teacher preparation programs (Center for American Progress, 2017).
Teacher Effectiveness Outcomes: We seek to ensure that participants demonstrate effective teaching practice before certification. In accordance with City Teaching Alliance's rigorous performance evaluation, 97% of our participants active at the end of the year met our teaching practice expectations. In addition, our Spring 2021 survey data indicate that 88% of our participants agreed or strongly agreed with the following statement: "[City Teaching Alliance] training gave me the knowledge and skills needed to be an effective classroom teacher." In contrast, almost two-thirds of teachers nationwide report that their teacher preparation program left them unprepared for the realities of the classroom (White House Office of the Press Secretary, 2014).
Retention Outcomes: In Dallas, 91% of fall residents successfully completed the residency and began their first year of teaching. In Dallas, 70% of first-year teachers in our first class returned for their third teaching year, creating stability for students, schools and districts. Retention of excellent teachers saves the district money (which is spent on recruiting, hiring, on-boarding, and inducing new teachers). Instead, these funds can be re-purposed toward much-needed materials and interventions for students.
City Teaching Alliance will utilize the funding raised through North Texas Giving Day to recruit, prepare, support, and retain diverse educators committed to a career teaching in high-need schools in Dallas.
Teachers are the most important school-based factor in a student's K-12 schooling experience, influencing everything from test scores to lifetime earnings. Yet too often, our urban public schools have struggled to consistently recruit and retain well-prepared educators, resulting in inequitable educational opportunities and outcomes for historically underserved students. At City Teaching Alliance, we are driven by the conviction that access to a high-quality education is a key lever for equity in our communities. As such, our mission is to improve educational and life outcomes of children in urban schools by preparing culturally competent, effective career teachers who accelerate student achievement and disrupt systems of racial and socioeconomic inequity.
We accomplish our mission by recruiting exceptional, equity-minded college graduates and equipping them with intensive, culturally relevant coursework, three years of coaching and ample practical experience in the classroom. We implement a four-year model with a 14-month residency to develop teachers who are deeply invested in the communities they serve and who stay in the classroom for the long term. City Teaching Alliance is recognized as a high-quality teacher preparation provider and an essential talent pipeline because we deliver teachers who empower students through learning and who help students become change agents in their communities.
City Teaching Alliance's mission is to improve educational and life outcomes of students in urban schools by preparing culturally competent, effective career teachers who deliver expert instruction and disrupt systems of racial and socioeconomic inequity.
Organization name
City Teaching Alliance
Operating Budget
$10,000,000 or more
Counties Served
Dallas, Tarrant
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latinx
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
1825 Market Center Blvd. Suite 320