Teach For America

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Teach For America, Inc.
Type	Non-profit organization
Founded	1990
Headquarters	New York, NY
Key people	Wendy Kopp, Founder
Website	teachforamerica.com

Teach For America (TFA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to close the academic achievement gap between children from different socio-economic backgrounds.

Teach For America relies on the teachers they recruit to carry out their mission: to ensure that "One day, all children will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education." The goal of TFA is for its "corps members" not only to make a short-term impact on their students, but also to become lifelong leaders in pursuing educational equality.

TFA recruits recent college graduates to teach for two years in schools in low-income communities throughout the United States. Corps members do not have to be certified teachers, although certified teachers may apply. Uncertified corps members receive alternative certification through coursework taken while completing the program. Corps members attend an intensive 5-week summer institute to prepare for their commitment ^[1]. TFA teachers are placed in schools in urban areas such as New York City and Houston, as well as in rural places like eastern North Carolina and the Mississippi Delta. They then serve for 2 years, and are usually placed in schools with other Teach For America corps members. TFA teachers are full-fledged faculty members at their schools, receiving the normal school district salary and benefits as well as a modest AmeriCorps "education voucher" (which can be used to pay for credentialing courses, cover previous student loans, or fund further education after the two-year commitment).

Contents 1 History 2 Impact of Teach For America 3 Retention and alumni 4 Similar programs 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The organization was founded by Wendy Kopp, after she developed the idea to help eliminate educational inequity in the United States for her senior thesis at Princeton University in 1989. Since its beginning in 1990, more than 14,000 corps members have completed their commitment to TFA. The history of the organization is chronicled in her book "One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach for America and What I Learned Along the Way"

Applying to Teach For America has become very popular among seniors at some of America's elite colleges. In its first year, TFA placed only 500 teachers. In 2005, The New York Times reported Teach For America received applications from "12 percent of Yale's graduates, 11 percent of Dartmouth's and 8 percent of Harvard's and Princeton's." In 2006, close to 19,000 individuals applied for an incoming corps of 2,400.^[2]

Teach for America's geographical impact has also grown. Originally serving only 6 regions, TFA is now active in 26 communities:

Atlanta Baltimore Bay Area Camden, New Jersey Charlotte Chicago Connecticut Eastern North Carolina Greater New Orleans Hawaii

Houston Las Vegas Valley Los Angeles Memphis Miami-Dade Mississippi Delta New Haven New Mexico New York City Newark, New Jersey

Philadelphia Phoenix Rio Grande Valley St. Louis South Dakota South Louisiana Washington D.C.

[edit] Impact of Teach For America

Since the founding of the organization, there has been some question as to whether or not Teach For America teachers have brought about significant changes in the academic achievement of their students.^[3] A study done in June 2004 by Mathematica Policy Research investigated this question and found that students of TFA teachers score higher on average in math than those in a control group. There was no such statistically significant difference found in reading, however.

In the spring of 2005, a study published by Stanford researchers, including educational theorist Linda Darling-Hammond concluded that TFA teachers in Houston who had not completed certification programs were less effective than traditionally credentialed teachers.^[4] "Our study doesn't say you shouldn't hire Teach for America teachers," said Hammond, "Our study says everyone benefits from preparation, including Teach for America teachers — that they became more effective when they became certified." ^[5] Teach For America has disputed the methodology of that study, which compared first and second year TFA teachers with more experienced teachers at other schools and studied only a very small group of teachers. Furthermore, the study's statitical models used a large number of variables (17) and produced low R-Squared statistics (0.43 to 0.68). The study also stirred controversy in the field of educational research since it was published via press release, rather than through a peer-reviewed journal.

[edit] Retention and alumni

It is reported that between 10 and 15 percent of each Teach For America corps class leaves before completing their two-year commitment.^[6] Many reasons for drop out have been postulated, including the stress of meeting the high goals set by the Teach For America mission. In 2001, Josh Kaplowitz left the organization after being sued for corporal punishment. He later wrote about the incident, claiming that the child involved fabricated the story and his mother pursued legal action out of greed.^[7] Kaplowitz' article highlighted some of the challenges faced by Teach For America teachers, but his is not considered the typical experience of a corps member.^{[citation needed]}

In the past much of the organization's efforts have been tightly focused on recruitment, but are now shifting to boost the retention rate. TFA also reports that 34 percent of alumni teach at their placement schools for a third year. Many others go on to teach elsewhere, especially at KIPP charter schools and other schools founded by TFA alumni. Still others train for administrative positions, and TFA now reports that 63 percent of its alumni are working or studying in education.^[8]

In April of 2005, President George W. Bush announced the 2005 National Teacher of the Year was Teach For America alumnus Jason Kamras, who became the first teacher from the District of Columbia's public school system to be given this honor. Teach For America placed him at John Philip Sousa Middle School in 1997, where he has remained as a math teacher. The majority of principals have gone on record saying that Teach For America corps members are just as effective, if not more effective, than other first year teachers.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Similar programs

• Teach Kentucky - Teach Kentucky recruits select grads to teach in Kentucky public schools - participants receive full salary, benefits, credentialing, and subsidized masters degree. A program founded by Yale alumni concentrated in greater Louisville area with great peer and community support.
• NYC Teaching Fellows - A program that recruits, selects, and trains mid-career professionals and recent college graduates from all majors and backgrounds to become teachers in NYC public schools. It is responsible for up to 1/3 of the teaching staff in the city. While teaching, Fellows earn full salary, benefits, and a subsidized Master's Degree in education.
• Mississippi Teacher Corps - A two-year teaching program based in the Mississippi Delta. The Teacher Corps selects about 10% of all applicants. Participants receive teacher certification and a full scholarship for a MA in Education.
• Teach First - A UK program based on Teach For America. It places graduate students in inner city teaching positions. The scheme also gives participants the opportunity to gain a management and business qualification, through the form of a 'mini' MBA at Tanaka Business School.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Teach For America
• A study done in June 2004 by Mathematica Policy Research (pdf)
• Stanford Study
• Teach For America's response to the 2005 Stanford study
• Boston Globe Editorial on Teach For America
• Miami Herald feature on Teach For America