Despite increasing diversity in U.S. schools, the topic of teacher effectiveness remains to be dominated by a universal narrative. This study applies critical theory, critical race theory, and culturally responsive pedagogy to position teacher effectiveness as contextual to urban schools and relational to the asset-based view of the learner. This study employs a phenomenological design to gather the shared experiences of nine teacher educators with teaching and service experiences in urban schools. The findings produce typologies of effective and ineffective teachers, identifies characteristics of effective urban teachers, and details the style responsiveness of effective teachers in urban schools. This study concludes with recommendations for school leaders and teacher educators to use the findings to impact the effectiveness of in-service and pre-service teachers for urban schools.