Black Men Teach partners with 100 elementary schools

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Several studies suggest students perform better in school when they "see themselves" in classroom materials.

"Black Men Teach" is a nonprofit organization based in Minnesota that was launched back in 2018. On Tuesday, it's celebrating the launch of a coalition that aims to increase the number of Black male teachers by 2034.

With this big push over the course of 10 years, the organization is hoping to see Black men make up 20% of the teaching staff in elementary schools that have 40% or more Black students.

Currently, roughly 12% of elementary school students in Minnesota are Black but less than half of one percent of all teachers are Black men. In fact, according to state records, during the 2019-20 school year, the number of Black men teaching in elementary schools was 32. That number only rose to 35 just two years later. A 2019 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis also shows Minnesota has one of the worst achievement gaps in the country.

This new coalition is now partnering with roughly 100 elementary schools in the state to make classrooms more diverse while working to close that gap. It’ll start focusing on recruitment, preparation, placement and retention of over 400 black male educators.

A kick-off breakfast event is planned at 8 a.m. on Tuesday at Cityview Elementary School in Minneapolis.