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BROTHERS EMPOWERED TO TEACH 10 YEAR GALA NOVEMBER 1ST 2024
OUR STORY
Larry Irvin & Kristyna Jones founded Brothers Empowered to Teach in 2014 with a 7 fellow pilot cohort in New Orleans, LA. Brothers Empowered to Teach envisions a world where every child can see themselves in and through the eyes of their teacher. Black students who are exposed to Black teachers by third grade are 13% more likely to enroll in college and if students have two Black teachers by third grade, the likelihood of college enrollments jumps to 32%, referred to as The Role Model Effect¹. We aim to generate a pipeline of well-rounded, culturally-responsive teachers who mirror success for their students by recruiting men of color, predominantly Black men, into classroom-based careers in education.
At the core, BE2T is a teacher recruitment, development and placement program that exposes young men and women to working with kids through a methodical and intentional fellowship program that allows them to be fully developed as professionals not merely educators.
Through early and steady exposure to teaching, BE2T fellows experience a wide range of educational, in classroom and enrichment activities to help them fully develop into great educators.
BE2T fellowship program offers a paid pre-teaching apprenticeship that exposes them to pathways to education, real time in classroom training and professional development all in one space.
Since 2014, BE2T had placed over 175 fellows through the program. 90 percent of our fellows finish the program and graduate within 5 years. In addition, 80 percent of our fellows teach for at least 3 years.
OUR MISSION
We provide mentorship, apprenticeship and pathways to careers in education through early exposure to teaching and targeted experiences cultivating an organic love of teaching children.
OUR VISION
Brothers Empowered to Teach envisions a world where every child can see themselves in and through the eyes of their teacher.
OUR CORE VALUES
REMAIN RELEVANT
It is important that our fellows understand the language, likes, dislikes and social issues affecting the students in their classrooms. It is equally important that BE2T understands the issues and the trends that affect our fellows. From our vantage point, having the ability to create pathways to open dialogue is the key to building cultural competency in a holistic way.
BE COMFORTABLE WITH BEING UNCOMFORTABLE
Growth requires one to stretch beyond comfort zones. We challenge ourselves throughout the entire program to look for ways to improve how we do our work. In order to achieve our goals, we may reach places which require us to learn from the struggle and embrace it.
ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR GAME DAY
Ninety (90) percent of success is preparation. We want to be ready to seize opportunities for others. Preparation plus the ability to relate, communicate and present our best selves widens our access and ability to grow.
HUSTLE WITH GRIT
TAKE CARE (SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SELF CARE
DEFY CONVENTION
Nothing beats failure but a try. In that, there is no failure…only lessons. Developing BE2T has not come without its share of losses. These losses have helped us gain clarity on what we want to accomplish. We are accessible examples of how to continue to climb even in challenging times for those who participate in our program.
BE2T wants to support the development of each of our participants in a holistic way. The foundation to this development is taking care of one’s self emotionally. By promoting social and emotional awareness, our participants will have the foundation to better manage the stressors as a teacher and as simply a human being.
Popular opinion says Black men don’t teach, and the statistics support that. Only two (2) percent of all teachers nationally are Black men. We want our fellows to turn the profession on its head by entering the classroom and using their ability to communicate and relate to the students they teach every day. We meet teachers every day who demonstrate that Black men can and do teach. We have to show more Black men that regardless of what the masses say, they have the ability to reach at-risk students that defies the current demographic in front of the classroom and the vision of what success looks like to students.
