Ventures

Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) launched in 2016 with a multi-pronged approach to improving outcomes for opportunity youth in their community and across New Jersey. To execute this mission, their network is comprised of four key elements: Education, Workforce Development, Policy Advocacy, and Systems Building. Every city and region is unique, but when this approach is localized to a particular community’s needs, only then, can large-scale, sustainable impact for opportunity youth become possible. NOYN looks to address the underrepresentation of male educators of color and the broader teacher shortage by increasing high school seniors’ and pre-service teachers’ interest in teaching and supporting male educators of color through their My Brother’s Keeper Newark initiative.

The Sims-Fayola Foundation was launched in 2014 as a 501(c)(3) to help change this narrative. We boldly accept the challenge to improve the lives of young men and boys of color by addressing the obstacles (educational and societal) that directly affect their life outcomes. We use original programming and awareness campaigns, partner with established community foundations and organizations, and individual schools and districts to address these stubbornly persistent issues for urban males. Our programs, services, mission, and values are driven by three pillars: 1. Building Awareness, 2. Building Equity by Design 3. Building Capacity. Our desired outcome is to provide direction, education, guidance, resources, direct support, and ultimately relief in these areas so the futures of these young men look like their dreams. The Sims-Fayola Foundation seeks to achieve their mission by launching a new fellowship designed to equip male teachers of color with equity-centered and gender-specific tools, resources, and support systems needed to increase their pedagogical knowledge and confidence.

The Southern Nevada Black Educators Initiative (SNBEI) addresses ongoing teacher recruitment and retention issues in Nevada by exposing the community to the uplifting impact of teachers of color and investing in human capital. SNBEI provides a continuum of support and advocacy to Black preservice and in-service educators through professional development services, critical mentorship, intentional recruitment and retention strategies and legislative advocacy in their Amplifying Black Voices Community Outreach initiative.

TEECH stands for Teaching for Equity, Empowerment and Community Healing. Unlike most existing teacher-training programs that do not prepare culturally responsive or justice-oriented teachers, TEECH aims to address the disconnect between school and students’ lives and their communities by training teachers as community workers and advocates, and by increasing their capacity to effectively serve the communities in which they teach. By drawing on their lived experiences and connections to community, TEECHers will be able to center their curriculum, practices, and relationships around culturally responsive practices—including the trajectory of leadership, policies and priorities of schools.

The mission of the Center for Urban Education and Advocacy (CUEA) is to provide a transformative impact on urban communities through education. One of the most pressing needs in urban communities is finding effective teachers of color to teach in urban schools. CUEA seeks to address this issue by inspiring high school students of color to become teachers, providing wrap-around support to aspiring teachers of color, and amplifying the voices of current teachers of color in order to drive change in urban schools, school systems, and teacher preparation programs.