School of Urban Education

The School of Urban Education is home to several teaching licensure and degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels for diverse individuals who seek to make a positive difference in the lives of urban learners and their communities. You will find opportunities to work with diverse schools and districts throughout the Twin Cities metro area which partner with us to meet their needs for a more diverse teaching staff that reflects the students and families they serve with strong commitments, skills, knowledge and experiences to achieve education equity.

The School of Urban Education is located at our Minneapolis location, in Minneapolis College's Helland Center.

Interested in empowering the next generation of urban scholars in your community? Looking to be part of the solution to durable and systemic inequality in educational outcomes for urban students? The School of Urban Education proudly partners with you to succeed in urban educational settings with strong pedagogical instruction, an unparalleled commitment to equity and diversity, and critical urban field experiences needed to launch careers as well-prepared teachers.

• The School of Urban Education has the most diverse students of any teacher preparation institution in Minnesota in terms of overall numbers and percentages of teacher candidates who are of color or American Indian.
• We create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all as a majority of our faculty and staff are of color with a wide range of experiences in education and life.
• Issues and approaches to racial and social justice in classrooms and schools are integrated throughout our courses and programs.

The School of Urban Education is approved by the state Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) as a unit that can offer teacher licensing programs in Minnesota.

School of Urban Education Faculty

• Olson, John - Secondary Education Coordinator and Urban Ed Advisor for secondary English, Math and Science Licensure candidates
• RB-Banks, Yvonne - Department Chair and Elementary Education Coordinator, Graduate Programs Coordinator, Special Ed Coordinator
• Tanghe, Shannon - ESL
• Thapa, Sapna - Early Childhood Education
• Williams Johnson, Tameika – Special Education Coordinator/ Faculty

School of Urban Education Staff

• Alibadi, Zainab – Receptionist/ Office Admin. Specialist-Int.
• Cole, Victor - Director of Recruitment, Retention, and Induction
• Fotsch, Eric - Director of Field Experience
• Omboga, George - Coordinator of Accreditation, Assessment, and Reporting
• Wagner, Lavina - UED Office Manager
• Spies, Paul - Dean

College of Liberal Arts Faculty and Staff

• Filner, Matt- Social Studies for Teaching
• Parks, Daryl - English for Teaching

College of Sciences Faculty and Staff

• Asplen, Mark - Life Science Teaching
• Kaus, Cindy - Mathematics Teaching