Teach for America is an organization devoted mainly to placing recent college graduates in areas of the United States that are especially in need of teachers. These areas are of two types: inner-city schools in places such as New York City or Houston, and rural schools in places such as North Carolina. Both are types of place are usually low-income areas. The organization was founded by Wendy Kopp in her senior year at Princeton University in 1988 in order to help eliminate educational inequity in the United States.
Teach For America has 22 regional sites across the country including Las Vegas and South Dakota, which were added in the fall of 2004. Teachers in the program attend an intensive 5-week summer course meant to prepare them for the world of the classroom. They then serve for 2 years, and are usually placed in pairs. The goal of the organization is for corps members to not only make a short-term impact on their students but also to become lifelong leaders in pursuing educational equality. Teach for America relies on the teachers they recruit to carry out their mission: to insure that "One day, all children will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education."
Impact of Teach for America
Since the founding of the organization, there has been some question as to whether or not TFA teachers have brought about significant changes in the academic achievement of their students. 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.
The summer training course has been criticized as having "a college bull session, rather than professional, atmosphere"1. The young, idealistic teachers who go into the program often have a tough time with the realities of the classroom. However, the longevity of the program attests that it is something more than just a quick-fix program to the educational problems of the U.S.
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