Building the Movement to Eliminate Educational Inequity

Alabama

December, 2008

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Agenda

I. Teach For America Introduction

II. The Problem, Causes of the Problem, and Our Theory of Change

III. Teach For America Program Continuum

IV. Teach For America’s Impact

V. New Site Development at Teach For America

VI. Questions and Answers

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in low-income communities and become life long leaders in education reform.

Introduction

Nashville

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The Problem

The educational inequity that persists along socioeconomic and racial lines is our nation’s greatest injustice.

*[Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2005]

**[Source: Mortenson, Tom. “Family Income and Higher Education Opportunity,”Postsecondary Education Opportunity, 2005]

*** [Source: National Center for Children in Poverty, 2006]

• 9 year olds living in low-income communities are 3 grade levels behind their high-income peers*

• About half won’t graduate from high school. Those who do will perform on average at an eighth-grade level*

• Only 1 in 10 students from low-income communities will graduate from college**

WHERE CHILDREN GROW UP DETERMINES THEIR LIFE PROSPECTS

For 13 million children growing up in poverty today, these disparities severely limit opportunities in life. Because African-American and Latino/Hispanic children are three times as likely to live in a low-income area***, children of color are disproportionately impacted by this inequity.

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Causes of the Problem

Children growing up in

low income communities face extra challenges

Schools & school systems lack sufficient

capacity to meet students’ extra needs

Prevailing ideology hasn’t

led to necessary

policies and investments

We believe 3 factors come together in a cycle that creates the problem.

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Our Theory of Change

We enlist our nation’s most promising future leaders in the movement to eliminate educational inequity.

Corps Members

(1) commit two years

to teach in public

schools and

(2) exceed traditional

expectations by

moving their students

forward more than

would be expected in

one year.

Corps members

(1) show that low-income

children can achieve at high

levels and

(2) gain added conviction that

educational inequity is a

problem we can and must

solve.

Insufficient school & system capacity

Extra challenges facing low-income children Prevailing ideology

Alumni work to

minimize the challenges

facing children in low-

income communities,

build capacity of schools

and systems, and

change prevailing

ideology about what is

possible .

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Teach For America Program Activities

Recruit the most highly sought-after graduates of all academic majors and career interests

Apply a rigorous model to identify demonstrated leaders who will excel and significantly impact their students’academic achievement

Cluster corps members in schools and districts with the greatest need, which hire them as regular beginning teachers

Provide intensive summer training program to equip corps members with foundational knowledge and skills to be highly effective teachers.

Foster ongoing leadership of our alumni working in education and in other sectors by connecting alumni with each other and with opportunities to grow their impact further

ALUMNINETWORK

ONGOINGSUPPORT

PRE-SERVICETRAINING

PLACEMENTSELECTIONRECRUITMENT

Hire program directors who do what good managers do: provide a cycle of ongoing support throughout the two-year commitment to ensure students achieve significant academic gains

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Who We Look For

Teach For America recruits talented candidates from 400 colleges across the country. Through the selection process Teach For America seeks to gain a holistic view of each candidate in order to find evidence of the following characteristics:

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Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated past achievement

• Perseverance in the face of challenges

• Strong critical thinking skills

• Ability to influence and motivate others

• Organizational ability

• Understanding of and desire to work relentlessly in pursuit of our vision

• Respect for students and families in low-income communities

Who We Select: Our Corps Members

In 2008, from a pool of 25,000 applicants, Teach For America selected less than 4,000.

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2008 Corps

• Average GPA: 3.6

• Average SAT score: 1320

• 95% held leadership role in college

• 29% people of color

• 26% low-income

Ongoing Support Training Institute

How We Train our Corps Members

Structured Sessions

Coursework

Observations

Rubric

Our goal is to increase student achievement through:

Curriculum Reading

Classroom Observations

Induction &Orientation

Independent Preparation

Familiarize

Set Goals

Plan

Program Directors

Formal Cycle

University Partner

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Corps Member Impact

All rigorous independent studies of Teach For America demonstrate that we are having a measurable impact on student achievement.

• Elementary Student Achievement (Mathematica Policy Research, 2004)

– Greater gains in reading and math than typically expected in a year

– The impact of a corps member is greater than impact of reducing class size

• High School Student Achievement (Urban Institute Study, 2008)

– Three times the incremental impact of a teacher with 3+ years of experience

• Principal Satisfaction (Principal Survey, 2007)

– 96% are satisfied with the Teach For America teacher (s) working in their schools

– 93% report that corps members’ training is at least as good as the training of other beginning teachers

– 63% rate the training as better than that of other beginning teachers.

• Channeling Our Nation’s Talent

– Less than 10% of corps members would have considered teaching before Teach For America

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Corps Member Impact: Math & Science Initiative

- Since 2004, we have seen a 76% growth in the number of applicants with math/science backgrounds.

- More than 1,700 corps members are in math or science placements teaching over 122,000 students nationally.

- The impact on a math class of having a Teach For America teacher exceeded the impact of reducing the class size by 8 students (Mathematica 2004).

- Nearly 50% of all math/science teachers went on to teach a third year. Of those that continued teaching, over 90% were teaching in low-income communities.

Only 46% of 4th graders in low-income communities can perform “basic” math, such as adding whole numbers.

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Corps Member Placements

• We are 10-30% of new teacher hires in districts and charter schools

• We place across the full range of subject areas and grade levels including Math, Science, English, and Social Studies

– 11 % of corps members teach in Math placements

– 15 % of corps members teach in Science placements

– 15 % of corps members teach in English placements

– 11 % of corps members teach in Special Education placements

– 6 % of corps members teach in Social Studies placements

• We cluster corps members in groups of 2 or more

• We place corps members in schools where 80% of the student population is considered low-income

• School districts and charter schools pay the salary of our corps members

• Our corps members earn the same salary as any other entry level teacher

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Even though less than 10% of corps members would have taught before Teach For America, more than 60% are working or studying full-time in education.

*[Source: Self-reported to Teach For America (as of April 2007), reflecting data on 57% of alumni.]

Rachel Walker (Corps ’98) works at the University of Alabama as the e-Learning Instructional Developer for the College of Continuing Studies and Alabama Online High School.

14 alumni are working full time in education.

3 alumni are working in a legal profession.

Alabama natives Kristen Woody and Leigh Bonner (both Corps ’06) now work on Teach For America staff. Kristen works on the Training, Support, and Development team and Leigh on the recruitment team.

36 Teach For America Alumni currently live and work in Alabama.

Alumni Impact: Alabama

7 alumni are classroom teachers; one teaches science, and three are instructional or curriculum specialists.

Matthew Cregor (Corps ’00) graduated from Georgetown University’s Law School. He currently works for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama.

Amanda Wallace (Corps ’04) works as the Health Director for Girls, Inc., a national research, education, and direct advocacy organization that inspires girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

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Our Corps Members and Alumni Members Will…

• Teach in public schools (traditional districts and charter schools)

• Teach in K-12 placements, including special education, math, science, and ESL

• Work relentlessly to increase academic achievement

• Influence the prevailing ideology about what is possible within public education

• Earn the same salary and benefits as any other first-year teacher within the school system

• Become teachers of record before entering the classroom

• Be considered highly qualified pursuant to No Child Left Behind

• Participate in school-based support/development

• Receive support from Teach For America program staff

• Join the community as a powerful force for change

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New Site Development at Teach For America

We evaluate 15-20 potential sites each year and typically grant new site status to 3 to 5 sites. We consider the following 6 factors:

• Existence of a significant achievement gap that persists along socioeconomic and/or racial lines

• Region’s compelling vision for how our presence will help it close the academic achievement gap

• District commitment to placing a critical mass of corps members across the full range of subject areas and grade levels (including elementary and secondary social sciences positions)

• Ability to assign corps members to the site, given (a) applicant preferences, (b) the existence of a state-approved alternate route to certification, and if needed, (c) workable coursework requirements with a university partner

• Ability to fully fund the site at scale in a sustainable way via local and state support

• Extent to which opening the site is in alignment with our national priorities

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Currently, we place over 6,000 in 29 regions. Recently, we declared Nashville and Dallas as our newest regions. This year, we hope to open 3-5 new regions and are evaluating 15-20.

Points of Possibility

Eastern Kentucky/West Virginia

Nashville

Twin Cities Milwaukee Boston

Dallas

Puget Sound

Detroit

Ohio

Alabama

Georgia

Tulsa

Virginia

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Exploring the Possibilities in Alabama

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Poverty and Educational Attainment in Alabama:• 22% of children in Alabama live in poverty; 41% are considered low-income• Alabama ranks 45th of all states in the Nation for 8th grade math and reading scores • According to a recent study, the graduation rate in 2005 was 61.6%; the study projects that

at this rate, Alabama public schools will lose 139 students per day between 2004-2008. • Only 19% of Alabama residents over age 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher; in five

Black Belt counties, 10% or fewer residents over age 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher

*National Center for Children in Poverty *National Assessment of Educational Progress*US Census Bureau *Education Week

By 2010: we could have 50 corps members living and working in Alabama to improve the educational outcomes for children

By 2015: we could reverse the brain drain and attract even more talented leaders to move to and remain in Alabama to effect systemic changes. Consider the following:

• 400 Alumni in Eastern N. Carolina, 165 from other corps regions

• 192 Alumni in the Mississippi Delta, 20 from other corps regions

• 95 Alumni in South Louisiana, 12 from other corps regions

Question & Answer

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One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

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