Teach For America

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Teach For America, Inc.
Teach For America Logo
Founders Wendy Kopp, Founder
Type Public charity
Founded 1990
Headquarters New York, NY
Staff Wendy Kopp, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Matthew Kramer, President & Chief Program Officer
Elisa Villanueva Beard, Chief Operating Officer
Aimee Eubanks Davis, Chief People Officer
Kevin Huffman, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs
Miguel Rossy, Chief Finance and Infrastructure Officer
Gillian Smith, Chief Marketing Officer
Tracy-Elizabeth Clay, General Counsel
Angela Cobb, Chief Diversity Officer
Focus Eliminate Educational Inequity
Employees ~1,000
Slogan One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
Website teachforamerica.org

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

Contents

[edit] History

Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach for America.

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 more than 18,000 applications resulting in 2,900 new corps members. These applicants included "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." [2].

In 2008, a record 35,000 applications were received for approximately 3,700 positions across the country.

[edit] What it does

Three TFA corps members at the 2008 Houston institute.

TFA recruits recent college graduates and professionals to teach for two years 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 five-week summer institute to prepare for their commitment.[3] 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).

[edit] Geographical reach

Teach For America's geographical impact has also grown. Originally serving only 6 regions, TFA is now active in 29 communities:

As part of its ongoing expansion plans, Teach For America has announced plans to expand to Nashville and Milwaukee for the 2009-2010 school year and is considering expanding to Greater Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis/St. Paul and/or Oklahoma.

[edit] Educational Impact

Classroom of TFA corps members during the 2008 Houston institute.

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." [4]

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.[5]

According to an independent study by Kane, Parsons and Associates Inc. in 2003, 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."[6]

However an earlier study in 2002 by Berliner and Laczko-Kerr, concluded that "1) that students of TFA teachers did not perform significantly different from students of other under-certified teachers, and 2) that students of certified teachers out-performed students of teachers who were under-certified."[7]

[edit] Retention

Between 10 and 15 percent of each Teach For America corps class leaves before completing their two-year commitment.[8] Nationally, 16.8 percent of teachers leave their positions each year. In the urban areas where most Teach for America corps members serve the teacher turnover rate is above 20 percent.[9]

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.[10]

[edit] Alumni

Notable TFA alumni include:

[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.[11][12]

Year # of Applicants
 # of Incoming Corps Members
 # of Regions
 Operating Budget
2000 4,068 900 13 $10.3M
2001 4,946 951 16 $17.0M
2002 13,877 1,731 18 $23.9M
2003 15,698 1,719 20 $29.4M
2004 13,378 1,661 22 $34M
2005 17,350 2,226 23 (est) $39.5M
2006 18,966 2,503 24 (est) $57.0M
2007 18,172 3,026 26 $70.2M
2008 24,718 ~3,700 29 $73.5M (est)
2009 ~35,000 TBD 31

[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.
  • DC Teaching Fellows DC Teaching Fellows is an alternative certification program designed to address the teacher shortage in DC Public Schools
  • Phoenix Teaching Fellows - The Phoenix Teaching Fellows is a highly-selective program designed to recruit and train socially-driven individuals who want to give back to the community by becoming teachers in high-need elementary and K-8 public schools in Murphy Elementary School District and Phoenix Elementary School District. Fellows benefit from an accelerated route into teaching, earning a Master’s degree and certification while teaching full time.
  • 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 - An affiliate of Teach For All, Teach First is 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. Teach First is now the largest trainer of teachers in the United Kingdom.
  • Noored Kooli - An affiliate of Teach For All, Noored Kooli is an Estonian program started in 2007 and based on Teach For America and Teach First. It places graduate students in teaching positions in Estonian Schools.
  • Lespējamā Misija (Mission Impossible) - An affiliate of Teach For All, Lespējamā Misija is a Latvian program started in 2008 and based on Teach For America and Teach First. It places graduate students in teaching positions in Latvian Schools.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Teach For America (2008). http://www.teachforamerica.org/about/index.htm Retrieved 15 December 2008
  2. ^ Teach For America (2007). "TEACH FOR AMERICA PLACES LARGEST-EVER CORPS, EXPANDING ITS IMPACT TO 26 REGIONS NATIONWIDE". TFA. http://www.teachforamerica.org/newsroom/documents/081507_Largestcorps.htm. Retrieved on 14 August 2007. 
  3. ^ TFA (2006). "Summer Institute". TFA. http://www.teachforamerica.org/institute.html. Retrieved on 29 August 2006. 
  4. ^ Urban Institute http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411642
  5. ^ Decker, Paul; Mayer, Daniel; Glazerman, Steven: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2004). "The Effects of Teach For America on Students: Findings from a National Evaluation" (PDF). MPR. http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/teach.pdf. Retrieved on 29 August 2006. 
  6. ^ TFA (2003). "Teach For America Announces Results of Nationwide Principal Satisfaction Survey". http://www.teachforamerica.org/newsroom/documents/TeachForAmerica_News_20030812_2.html. 
  7. ^ College of Education: Arizona State University (2002). "EPAA Vol. 10 No. 37 Laczko-Kerr & Berliner: The Effectiveness of "Teach for America"". http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n37/. 
  8. ^ Gillers, Gillian: Current Magazine (2006). "Learning Curve". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12206029/site/newsweek/. Retrieved on 29 August 2006. 
  9. ^ National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (2007). "High Cost of Teacher Turnover" (PDF). http://www.nctaf.org/resources/demonstration_projects/turnover/documents/CTTPolicyBrief6-19.pdf. Retrieved on 2008. 
  10. ^ TFA (2006). "Program". TFA. http://www.teachforamerica.org/program.html. Retrieved on 29 August 2006. 
  11. ^ Childress, Stacey; President and Fellows of Harvard College (2005). "Teach For America 2005". http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=GGJG3OHWN4N42AKRGWDSELQBKE0YIISW?id=805094&referral=2340. Retrieved on 2008. 
  12. ^ BusinessWeek (2005). "Teach for America Profile For Young Professionals". http://www.businessweek.com/careers/bplc/2007/10.htm. Retrieved on 2008. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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