FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kansas City, November 16, 2022 — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given away nearly $2 billion over the last 7 months, and a Kansas City nonprofit just became the latest recipient of her generosity. The Educator Academy (The Educator Academy) is pleased to announce the acceptance of a $5 million donation. This award will be utilized to support The Educator Academy’s ongoing work and secure the organization’s future for the long term. These funds will allow The Educator Academy to recruit, cultivate, and retain more diverse teachers in the communities we are serving and in turn provide equitable classrooms for all students.
“We are so thankful for this transformative gift”, says CEO, President & Founder, Charles King. “Teacher recruitment and retention continues to be a challenge across the country. With this gift, The Educator Academy will be positioned to meet the needs within our current network of school partners, and can broaden to work with more school systems in the Kansas City metro and beyond. The donation not only allows us to expand the teacher residency programmatic model, it also provides an opportunity for innovation to further teacher recruitment and retention.”
The Educator Academy has been preparing and developing teachers in the Kansas City, MO metropolitan area since 2016. Through the residency model, individuals complete a 1 year certification and training program followed by a 3 year commitment to teach in a partner school. This approach involves hands-on experience in the classroom with a Mentor Teacher, along with coaching, professional development, financial support, and teacher certification. To date The Educator Academy has prepared over 200 individuals to become fully certified teachers within 86 Kansas City area public schools.
These funds will support The Educator Academy’s mission towards creating a more equitable education system, by supporting the continual work in recruiting diverse teachers, and retaining teachers in the classroom. For the 2022-23 school year, The Educator Academy has over 100 program participants and alumni who are teaching in classrooms across the Kansas City metro. Among current program participants, over 50% identify as a teacher of color. This outpaces the national average, where only 21% identify as a teacher of color. Their programming also focuses on retaining people in the classroom. After 3 years of teaching, 71% of program participants are still in education, compared to only 55.6% in Missouri statewide. Focusing on cultivating diverse teachers and retaining them in the classroom positively impacts student outcomes. “We are grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her donation and for her recognition of the great work that we have been able to accomplish to date and will continue to do in the years to come”, says CEO Charles King.
News Highlights:
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
KSHB
Kansas City Business Journal
Media Contact
Andrea Bright Harrell
Operations Manager: People + Branding
816-363-9849 | andrea@educator-academy.org