Our innovative programs recruit, place, and train Kansas City’s rising leaders and teachers of color so all Black students can thrive in their education.
Modeled after the NFL Draft to allow our community members to step into leadership roles, the Charter School Board Draft is a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to recruit, train, and place passionate community leaders onto charter school boards across Kansas City.
This program is a two-year community for newly placed charter school board members, built on three pillars: build collective power, govern with clarity, and sustain the joy of the role. Through six curated sessions, members grow alongside their peers and tackle real governance challenges, together.
Teach KC is a coalition-driven initiative focused on recruiting people of color into the teaching profession and building a stronger, more diverse educator pipeline across Kansas City. Through three pathways (high school, traditional, and alternative certification), Teach KC meets aspiring educators where they are and supports them into the classroom.
A summer literacy initiative to close the literacy gap for elementary school students. Six weeks of affirming, innovative instruction inspire the joy of reading and ensure no learning is lost between school years.
Freedom School is not running in 2026.
Learn about upcoming programs, highlights, and ongoing opportunities to get involved with BLAQUE Kansas City. Our newsletter is delivered quarterly.
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Behind every statistic is a better-performing classroom, a supported educator, or a community leader championing Kansas City’s students.
BLAQUE Kansas City runs a variety of programs, which can vary from year to year. All of our programs are designed around our central mission of increasing educational equity in Kansas City, including training community members to become school board leaders, strengthening our teacher pipeline, and closing summer literacy and reading gaps for students.
The Charter School Board Draft is open to any Kansas City community member who is passionate about improving educational outcomes for students. You don't need a background in education or prior board experience. Kansas City's charter schools come to the Draft with specific gaps they're looking to fill on their boards, from finance and real estate to law, entrepreneurship, and community development, and BLAQUE Kansas City works to match the right people to the right schools. If you have a skill set and a commitment to Kansas City's kids, there's likely a board that needs what you bring to the table.
Because that's where lasting change lives. Who sits on a school board determines how a school is funded, led, and held accountable. Who stands at the front of a classroom shapes what a child believes is possible for themselves. By investing in governance and teachers simultaneously, BLAQUE Kansas City is addressing two of the most powerful levers for improving educational outcomes and making sure both reflect the communities they serve.
Whether you're interested in joining the Charter School Board Draft, learning more about Teach KC, or simply staying connected to the work, there's a place for you here. Visit our Get Involved page to find the right entry point, or subscribe to our Substack to stay up to date on upcoming opportunities, events, and announcements.
Freedom School, our summer literacy initiative, is one of our most beloved programs and a cornerstone of our work with Kansas City's students. While we are not hosting Freedom School this year as we focus our energy on expanding Teach KC and our governance work, we remain deeply committed to the program and its future. Stay connected through our Substack and newsletter for updates.
Stay informed about our work and upcoming opportunities in Kansas City.