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Leaders of tomorrow; Teach for America training future educators

By Jason Lee, Tribune Media Services, Source: Tribune Media Services

Teach for America has placed more than 3,600 new teachers this school year in low-income communities across the country – one of the largest incoming corps in the organization's 18-year history.

This year's group of new teachers – who agree to commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools – includes graduates from some of the nation’s top universities and colleges.

In low-income communities nationwide, public schools have a need for enterprising teachers and leaders committed to providing a quality education for students. The Teach for America program recruits on more than 400 college campuses, seeking applicants from all academic majors, career interests and backgrounds who demonstrate a record of outstanding achievement, persistence in the face of challenges and a strong focus on achieving results as a teacher.

"It is heartening that so many of our country's future leaders are investing their skills and energy in improving education in the communities where they are most needed," says Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach for America. "Thousands of talented young people see the potential to solve the problem of educational inequity and the role they can play in the effort."

While the number of Teach for America participants continues to rise, a national survey shows that interest in public school teaching among college students has declined significantly in recent years. As reported in the 2008 Panetta Institute survey, "the percentage of students interested in teaching in a public school … has declined from previous Panetta surveys – from 45 percent in 2006, to 36 percent in 2007, to just 31 percent this year."

The program works to reverse this trend by recruiting top college graduates who share the same racial and/or socioeconomic backgrounds of the communities its teachers serve. Some 28 percent of this year's teachers are minorities, including 10 percent who are African-American.

"Teach for America is bringing a new and vibrant generation of teachers to schools serving low-income black and Latino kids. Teachers who have a powerful command of content and the relentless commitment to help kids learn are central to giving these kids a chance to break out of poverty and develop themselves fully," said Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund. "This extraordinarily talented and diverse corps are among the nation's best colleges graduates and they are now doing our nation's most important work."

Teach for America is in the midst of a five-year growth plan, which calls for an expansion from the current 5,000 corps members at 26 sites to 8,000 at least 33 regions by 2010. This school year, the program placed it members in 29 urban and rural regions in more then 100 school districts in 23 states and Washington D.C.

The program also recently announced the appointment of 50 new Amgen Fellows, selected from Teach for America's corps of teachers who hold a degree in science, math and/or engineering and who've demonstrated high levels of achievement, perseverance and critical thinking. Funded by the Amgen Foundation, the fellows program provides a $2,000 signing bonus to the graduates for joining Teach for America.

For more information about Teach for America, visit www.teachforamerica.org online.

© 2009, Tribune Media Services