Our History

In 1998, our Founder and Executive Director Jai Nanda was a coach and a teacher looking to extend his influence beyond the court and a single team of players. Noting the positive impact athletics had on his students both inside and outside the classroom, he founded Urban Dove to create programs using sports as a way to teach at-risk teens the critical life skills needed to succeed.

In 2012, we opened the doors to the Urban Dove Team Charter School (UD Team) in Brooklyn, to meet the needs of a growing population of over-aged, under-credited youth. In 2018, we opened a second UD Team Charter School (UD Team II) in the South Bronx. In 2024, we opened our third and fourth schools- UD Team Charter School Queens (UD Team III) in Astoria, and UD Team Charter School Manhattan (UD Team IV) in East Harlem.

UD Team Charter Schools are the first alternative high school of their kind. Through our comprehensive curriculum and programming, Urban Dove is expanding its reach to energize, educate, and empower youth.