Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, Minneapolis students experienced a series of compounding crisis with significant and lasting consequences. From the massive learning loss associated with distance learning, the murder and fallout of George Floyd, to the mental health realities of extended isolation, students re-entering school buildings are bringing the trauma of the pandemic along with them.
At the same time, schools have never less equipped to meet the challenge of providing an excellent education in the urban context. The twin realities of a national teacher shortage and of an ongoing “cultural gap” in the ratio of non-white teachers to non-white students has created a context in which the challenge has never been greater.
The Hope Academy Summer Teacher Residency was created to meet the challenges facing urban schools directly by training, hiring, and retaining a teacher staff that continually grows to reflect the diversity of our Minneapolis student body.