The Center for Black Educator Development has received a $74,000 grant from NBC10, Telemundo62, and Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation as a part of Project Innovation. This funding will go towards their Freedom Schools Literacy Academy.
The Freedom Literacy Schools Academy (FLSA) is a 5-week program for aspiring Black high school and college students to teach literacy skills and Project Based Learning to rising 1st through 3rd grade students. They are provided with mentorship, professional development, and in-classroom teaching experience. They have in-person sites in Philadelphia, Camden, and Detroit, as well as virtual sites. The funding from the Project Innovation grant will go towards expanding this program and being able to engage more high school and college youth in teaching.
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Center for Black Educator Development was launched in June 2019 with the mission of rebuilding the national black teacher pipeline. By dramatically increasing the number of Black educators, low-income Black and minority students will greatly benefit from having educators that they share a cultural background and the same socio-political interests with. As stated on their site, having at least one Black teacher early on reduces a Black student’s likelihood of dropping out of school by up to 39 percent. The Center recruits talented young men and women of high school and college age, as well as people seeking career changes.
