Urban Arts has earned its third highly competitive $4M Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

New York, NY—Urban Arts, an arts and technology nonprofit serving underrepresented students nationally, has earned its third highly competitive $4M Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

This third grant launches Creative Coders, a rigorous middle school curriculum in partnership with Minecraft Education, a division of Microsoft. Urban Arts will partner with 70+ schools and 3,450 students over the next four years, encouraging confidence—and futures—in STEAM for diverse students from low-income communities.

Annually, the USDOE receives hundreds of applications and only a fraction of these get funded. Urban Arts’s EIR grants support research on STEAM education for low-income schools and underrepresented communities. “I love how Urban Arts is leveraging EIR funding to test how game design can be used to expand access to and participation in quality computer science education for all students.” Dr. Sonji Jones-Manson, Management and Program Analyst, US DOE. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, careers in computer and information technology are projected to grow 11% from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations. Still, women and people of color are grossly underrepresented in the tech workforce and in tech leadership. Urban Arts generates a new diverse talent pipeline, ensuring diversity in the future economy and economic mobility for our students, by offering foundational courses in middle and high school that create assurance, stamina and expertise in students from low-income communities. Also,

• Many under-resourced schools do not have adequate support to produce STEAM programming. Urban Arts supplies the curricula and paid teacher training, as well as hardware—even MetroCards—at its Learning Lab in NYC.
• Urban Art students can get credentialed in many design engines.
• Many under-resourced schools do not have budget support for college and financial aid counseling. Urban Arts students create digital portfolios for college applications and join our robust college-access program. 100% of our Advanced students matriculate and they’ve earned $16M in scholarships since 2017.
• Urban Arts offers students mentorships and internships with its powerful partners, granting exposure and access to the world of work, as well as growing a network.

States are beginning to introduce mandatory CS programming in schools. Yet effective STEAM initiatives are not widely available, accessible, or engaging, and are particularly limited for underrepresented students from low income backgrounds. A recent study stressed the importance of expanding CS instruction to  middle schoolers before traditionally underserved populations begin to self-select out. Urban Arts bridges that opportunity gap.

Minecraft isn’t just a game—it’s a classroom in disguise. Game on.