Urban Dove Team Charter Schools

Urban Dove believes that all students have the potential to excel in the classroom, graduate high school, and move forward with the skills and confidence to be successful. The core principle behind this belief is that many younger OA/UC students are in need of not only academic interventions, but also extreme developmental interventions. Without addressing students’ social and emotional health, we cannot comprehensively and consistently address their academic outcomes.

At UD Team, we recognize that our students enter our program with a variety of academic struggles rooted in both skill level and social-emotional deficiencies. Whereas many schools try to combat credit deficiencies with increased academic course loads, UD takes the opposite approach. UD Team prioritizes engagement and youth development skills over academic credits early on, and our trimester model provides ample opportunity for students to earn the credits and Regents they need to graduate in their later years.

Our pedagogical structure is based in a Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD) framework that supports and informs every aspect of our students’ daily experience. When students enter a UD Team school, they are placed on a same-gender team with a dedicated, full-time coach. This team and its coach moves as a unit throughout the school, so a student is never lost. Each day the coach leads the team in 2 hours of sports and fitness activities, and accompanies the team to every academic class.

This daily experience allows the coach to engage each UD Team student in critical life-skills development that build social and emotional strength. The coach is in a strong position to deal with any problem that arises – including issues with attendance, grades, or behavior. Coaches and their team of students stay together throughout their entire time at UD Team, allowing coaches to develop strong, trusting relationships with each student and their families.

Over the past six years, 236 Urban Dove students have graduated high school. Our graduation rate of 60.3% is double the NYC Department of Education’s 30% graduation rate for similar, OA/UC students. In addition, our college enrollment rate is 43.5%, compared to 18% for similar students throughout the DOE