Box Tops for Education advances equity in education

“Minnesota has some of the worst educational disparities in the nation,” says Markus Flynn, executive director, Black Men Teach.

Nationally, less than 2 percent of teachers are Black men. In Minnesota, it is less than 0.5 percent.

To address that gap, Box Tops for Education began partnering with Black Men Teach in 2021 and committed to donating $500,000 over four years to help increase the number of Black male elementary school teachers in Minnesota classrooms.

Black Men Teach

Black Men Teach (BMT) is a nonprofit organization located in Minneapolis with a mission to recruit, prepare, place and retain Black male teachers in elementary schools.

“When you have Black men in the classroom, Black children perform better, stay in school longer and go further in their education,” says Flynn.

Recent studies show that students with a Black male teacher are 29 percent less likely to drop out of school years later. That number increases to 39 percent for very low-income Black students.