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.org

Teach For America (TFA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is "to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting our nation's most promising future leaders in the effort."[1]

TFA recruits recent college graduates to teach for two years in schools in low-income communities throughout the United States. 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. 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.[2] 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 two 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

[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 2007, the organization received applications from "11 percent of the senior classes at Amherst and Spelman; 10 percent of those at University of Chicago and Duke; and more than eight percent of the graduating seniors at Notre Dame, Princeton and Wellesley." Additionally, close to 18,000 individuals applied for an incoming corps of 2,900.[3]

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

As part of its ongoing expansion plans, Teach For America is seeking to expand to Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Kansas City for the 2008-2009 school year.[4]

[edit] Organizational Growth

Teach For America has witnessed sustained growth over the course of the past two decades. The chart below reflects this growth by highlighting the changes in various performance indicators.[5][6]

Year # of Applicants
 # of Incoming Corps Members
  % Acceptance Rate # of Regions
 Operating Budget
2000 4,068 900 22.1% 13 $10.3M
2001 4,946 951 19.2% 16 $17.0M
2002 13,877 1,731 12.5% 18 $23.9M
2003 15,698 1,719 11.0% 20 $29.4M
2004 13,378 1,661 12.4% 22 $34.0M
2005 17,350 2,226 12.8%  ? $39.5M
2006 18,966 2,503 13.2% 25 $57.0M
2007 18,172 3,026 16.7% 26 $70.2M
2008 ~24,700 ~3,700 ~15.0% 29 $110M

[edit] Educational Impact

Since the founding of the organization, several independent studies have been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members relative to teachers who entered the teaching profession via other channels.

In a study published by the Urban Institute and the Calder Center in March 2008, the authors found "that TFA teachers tend to have a positive effect on high school student test scores relative to non-TFA teachers, including those who are certified in-field. Such effects exceed the impact of additional years of experience and are particularly strong in math and science." [7]

Mathematica Policy Research also addressed this question in a study published in June 2004. The study compared the gains in reading and math achievement made by students randomly assigned to TFA teachers or other teachers in the same school. The results showed that, on average, students with TFA teachers raised their mathematics test scores 0.15 standard deviations more than the gains made by other students. This is equivalent to students having received one extra month of instruction. In reading, students with TFA teachers performed similarly to students with other teachers.[8]

In the spring of 2005, a study published by Stanford researchers, including educational researcher Linda Darling-Hammond, concluded that TFA teachers in Houston who had not completed certification programs were less effective than traditionally credentialed teachers. "In a series of regression analyses looking at 4th and 5th grade student achievement gains on six different reading and mathematics tests over a six-year period, we find that certified teachers consistently produce significantly stronger student achievement gains than do uncertified teachers. Alternatively certified teachers are also generally less effective than certified teachers. These findings hold for TFA recruits as well as others. Controlling for teacher experience, degrees, and student characteristics, uncertified TFA recruits are less effective than certified teachers, and perform about as well as other uncertified teachers."[9] "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."[10] 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. The study's statistical models used a large number of variables (17) and produced moderate R-Squared statistics (0.43 to 0.68). Unlike the Mathematica study, the Darling-Hammond was not a randomized experiment.

According to an independent study by Kane, Parsons and Associates Inc., the great majority of principals who work with Teach For America teachers contend that Teach For America corps members make a significant and positive impact in their classrooms. 90% of principals expressed that TFA teachers are as well-prepared to teach as other beginning teachers. 66% believed that Teach For America's training is "better than average."[11]

Alternatively, in another independent and peer-reviewed study by the College of Education at Arizona State University, Teach For America was decidedly ineffective at producing equivalent or superior results to traditional teachers, although the study cites the bulk of the problem arising not from a lack of supply of teachers, but from a lack of demand. [12] The study claims that "In reading, mathematics, and language, the students of certified teachers outperformed students of under-certified teachers, including the students of the TFA teachers, by about 2 months on a grade equivalent scale. Students of under-certified teachers make about 20% less academic growth per year than do students of teachers with regular certification."

[edit] Retention

It is reported that between 10 and 15 percent of each Teach For America corps class leaves before completing their two-year commitment.[13] Many reasons for drop out have been postulated, including the stress of meeting the high goals set by the Teach For America mission and challenging school conditions.

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[14] -- but not necessarily as classroom teachers, which has raised some criticisms of the organization.[9]

[edit] Alumni

Notable TFA alumni include:

  • Jessica Coen - Deputy Online Editor for New York magazine
  • Mike Feinberg - Co-founder of KIPP
  • Smokey Fontaine - An American writer, music critic and editor
  • Peter Hermann - An American actor and writer
  • Jason Kamras - 2005 National Teacher of the Year
  • Dave Levin - Co-founder of KIPP
  • Michelle Rhee - Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools system and founder of The New Teacher Project
  • Josh Kaplowitz - TFA Teacher sued for $20 million based on erroneous claims of corporal punishment; later wrote article for City Journal about ordeal.

[edit] Similar programs

  • Teach For All - Teach For All was founded in September 2007 by Wendy Kopp, Teach For America's CEO and Founder. Its goal is to replicate the Teach For America model internationally by supporting local entrepreneurs who wish to start independent, locally-governed organizations.
  • 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 an 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

  1. ^ Teach For America (2008). http://www.teachforamerica.org/about/index.htm Retrieved 18 March 2008
  2. ^ TFA (2006). Summer Institute. TFA. Retrieved on 29 August 2006.
  3. ^ Teach For America (2007). TEACH FOR AMERICA PLACES LARGEST-EVER CORPS, EXPANDING ITS IMPACT TO 26 REGIONS NATIONWIDE. TFA. Retrieved on 14 August 2007.
  4. ^ Teach For America Coming To Jacksonville
  5. ^ Childress, Stacey; President and Fellows of Harvard College (2005). Teach For America 2005.
  6. ^ BusinessWeek (2005). Teach for America Profile For Young Professionals.
  7. ^ Urban Institute http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411642
  8. ^ Decker, Paul; Mayer, Daniel; Glazerman, Steven: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2004). The Effects of Teach For America on Students: Findings from a National Evaluation. MPR. Retrieved on 29 August 2006.
  9. ^ a b Darling-Hammond, Linda; Holtzman, Deborah; Gatlin, Su Jin; Vasquez Heilig, Julian (2005). Does Teacher Preparation Matter?. Stanford University. Retrieved on 23 September 2007.
  10. ^ Toppo, Greg (2005). Study stirs teaching controversy. TFA. Retrieved on 29 August 2006.
  11. ^ TFA (2003). Teach For America Announces Results of Nationwide Principal Satisfaction Survey.
  12. ^ College of Education: Arizona State University (2002). EPAA Vol. 10 No. 37 Laczko-Kerr & Berliner: The Effectiveness of "Teach for America".
  13. ^ Gillers, Gillian: Current Magazine (2006). Learning Curve. MSNBC. Retrieved on 29 August 2006.
  14. ^ TFA (2006). Program. TFA. Retrieved on 29 August 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links