Celebrating Gary Andersen: Game On Teacher Named Finalist for NC CTE Teacher of the Year
As we finish up the 2025-26 school year, we are proud to celebrate our outstanding Game On by Urban Arts teachers. One of those incredible teachers is Gary Andersen, Computer Science teacher at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, NC, who was named a finalist for the NCCAT 2026 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Career & Technical Education Teacher of the Year Award. Gary was one of 23 exceptional educators selected from across North Carolina for this distinction, and he joined his fellow finalists for a week of professional development before being honored at a special ceremony this past December.
Urban Arts Color Ball 2026: A Million Dollar Night
At Urban Arts’ Color Ball April 30th, four extraordinary young people took the stage—and owned it. Their powerful stories and remarkable achievements received a rousing response from a room filled with nearly 500 guests. It was a night that celebrated not only their success, but the limitless potential of every Urban Arts student.
Because of you—our incredible supporters, champions, and dance-floor legends—Color Ball 2026 raised $1.1 Milliom in a single night! That’s right, you made it rain (philanthropically speaking), and our Urban Arts students are the real winners! Rafael Martos, our inspiring Nagler Scholar, deserves a standing ovation. His story reminds us why we do this work—because talent deserves opportunity, and every student deserves a chance to create their future.
“Urban Arts became a second home. It didn’t carry the same pressure as high school. I made close friends and we’ve shared and nurtured our passions with each other, from photography, art, to narrative and programming. It was at Urban Arts I became inspired to take the first step in producing my own music. At Urban Arts I realized I can create anything.” —Rafael Martos 2026 Nagler Scholar
A huge thank you to our honorees, Phil Wiser, CTO of Paramount, and Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, for their leadership and unwavering partnership. We couldn’t ask for better collaborators in this mission to fuel access and opportunity.
How Urban Arts is Using Video Games to Open Doors to College and Careers
Game On by Urban Arts is a year-long AP Computer Science course that teaches students to code by designing their own video games, combining industry tools like Unity with project-based learning. Developed through a multi-year, research-driven process with WestEd, the program was continuously refined using real classroom feedback from teachers and students across diverse schools. Findings consistently show strong student engagement, high-quality teacher support, and growing evidence that students build core computer science skills through game design. While challenges like school technology infrastructure remain, the curriculum, training, and materials are now considered ready for broader implementation. With a large-scale impact study underway, Game On By Urban Arts is positioned as a scalable, engaging approach to expanding access to high-quality computer science education.
A Brand New Partnership is the _______ of Our Eye
Urban Arts is proud to receive support from @Apple to expand its work and impact across New York. In celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth, Apple is working with organizations around the world to expand access to educational and creative opportunities to young people in under-resourced communities—and we are honored to be among them. “This support from #Apple […]