Education
Providing educational opportunities for the next generation of leaders
Our Strategy
For over 50 years, we’ve developed innovative programs that enhance academic achievement and promote civic engagement and holistic development. Our comprehensive approach, including parental education and engagement, is designed to ensure that every American child is ready for college, work, and life by 2025.
At the National Urban League, we believe empowering our youth is essential to uplifting our community. We are working towards an equitable American education system in which every child is prepared for college, work, and life.
Our programming and advocacy efforts are centered around:
- Building more inclusive agency, advocacy, and engagement efforts that center youth and generate additional and more resounding support for educational equity, opportunity, and excellence.
- Strengthening the ability of the civil rights community and those we serve to effectively advocate for equity and excellence at scale to ensure the equitable and high-quality implementation of critical education reforms and investments.
- Improving a range of educational and developmental outcomes for underserved students.
- Highlighting the investments, policies, practices, reforms, and innovations that explicitly confront historic inequality and to create new paths for urban children and historically underserved and excluded children and youth to succeed.
- Innovating via enhanced strategic investments, reform, content, policy change, and educational practice.
- Upending inequity by providing additional access to and investment in expanded opportunities to promote better youth outcomes, including academic, health, and social-emotional well-being.
the annual funding gap between majority-white & majority-nonwhite school districts
African American/Black students would enroll in an after-school or out-of-school (OST) program if one was available and/or accessible
of our nation’s African American/Black 4th grade students are not reading at grade level
Policy & Advocacy
"The Urban League Movement has specifically designed our approach to identify partners willing to collaborate on a shared and actionable education agenda that explicitly disrupts inequity via the elevation of community stakeholder voices and the identification of opportunities for collective work that improves education outcomes for the students, families, and communities that we serve."
- Hal Smith, Senior Vice President, Education, Youth Development and Health, National Urban League
All too often, communities of color are left outside of education reform efforts, and our children are left behind in the classroom. The National Urban League has intensified its policy and advocacy efforts by positioning itself as a critical convener of educators, caregivers, academics, and advocacy organizations to drive equitable education policy across America. Our latest initiatives include addressing state assessments and accountability systems, ensuring they reflect the needs and realities of communities of color. By enhancing grassroots advocacy and empowering local leaders, we aim to elevate the conversation around educational equity, focusing on crucial issues such as accountability, college attainment, and early childhood education. With our civil rights partners and stakeholders, we are committed to ensuring that the voices of those most impacted by education policy are heard and prioritized.
Some of our recent work includes:
Support Our Work
Join us in our mission to uplift communities by empowering our youth. At the National Urban League, we’re dedicated to creating equitable educational opportunities for every child, ensuring they’re prepared for success in college, work, and life. Your support is crucial to making this vision a reality.
Here’s how you can make a difference:
Donate: Your gift to the National Urban League fuels our programs and expands our impact, empowering communities nationwide. Make a difference today.
Volunteer: Connect with our affiliates to get involved. Whether you mentor students or advocate for educational reform, your skills can inspire and uplift the next generation.
Together, we can create a brighter future. Donate today and explore volunteer opportunities! Your involvement can transform lives and strengthen our communities.
