The Center for Urban Education (CUE) is an alliance of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Birmingham City Schools, other school districts in the Birmingham metropolitan area, and local and national partners.  It was approved by the Board of Trustees in the fall of 2008.  The mission of the CUE is to promote quality education for socially and economically disenfranchised groups residing in urban areas.  Specifically, the CUE prepares high-quality teachers and administrators to work in urban school districts.  The CUE supports UAB’s instructional, research, and service programs by:

• Designing, implementing, and evaluating responsive, collaborative models of urban teacher development and retention.
• Integrating knowledge and involvement of family and community in the education of urban students, their teachers, administrators, and other community members.
• Promoting the recruitment, development, and retention of leaders for urban school environments.
• Facilitating the professional learning and development of the educational community around issues of race, class, and culture.
• Engaging in systematic research related to the training, recruitment, retention, and advancement of urban teachers and school administrators.
• Engaging in research related to factors that promote academic success of students in urban environments.