Each day we see the realities of educational inequity juxtaposed against the concrete evidencethat when students in low-income communitiesare given opportunities they deserve, they excel.

Kansas City

 

"The District is thrilled and excited about the opportunity to work with Teach for America. The teachers provided by the program will give us an infusion of great ideas and enthusiasm to benefit our students."

- Dr. John Martin, Interim Superintendent, Kansas City, Missouri School District

"Kansas City is fortunate to have a huge cadre of new teachers coming here as part of the Teach For America program."

- Carl Schramm, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation President and CEO

This year, a corps of 50 of the nation’s most promising future leaders are teaching in our city’s lowest-income classrooms as a part of Teach For America • Kansas City. They are working to ensure their students have the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are a leadership force, working from within education and every professional sector to effect broader change. Together they are helping us make educational equity a reality in Kansas City. Learn about living and teaching in Kansas City.

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Press

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Corps Impact

During the 2008-09 school year, 50 corps members are directly impacting the lives of more than 4,250 students in Kansas City.

Kansas City: Our Impact on Students and Schools Today

School Year Corps Members Students Reached
2007-08 Opening in Fall 2008 Opening in Fall 2008
2008-09 50* 4,250*
2009-10 100* 8,500*
*projected

Principal Satisfaction

  • 90 percent of recently-surveyed principals (in schools with Teach For America corps members) reported that they would hire another Teach For America teacher.*
  • 91 percent of principals surveyed regard Teach For America teachers as effective as, if not more effective than, other beginning teachers in terms of overall performance and impact on student achievement.*

*"Teach For America 2007 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2007.

Impact on Student Achievement
According to a highly regarded study by Mathematica Policy Research, corps members outpaced fully certified and veteran teachers in their schools in moving their students ahead academically. Read national results.

Student Profile

  • Students served who are eligible for free/reduced lunch: 79.5%
  • Students served who are African-American and/or Latino: 84.1%

Kansas City: Corps Member Placement

Assignment # of Corps Members % of Corps
Mathematics 9 18%
Science 7 14%
Special Education 1 2%
Social Studies 1 2%
English 4 8%
Elementary 28 56%
Total 50 100%

Characteristics of the 2008 Corps

Corps Profile Top alma maters by marketshare*
Average GPA: 3.6 Duke University, Spelman College, University of Chicago: 10%
Average SAT: 1320 University of Notre Dame, Rhodes College: 9%
Held leadership roles on campus: 95% Princeton University: 7%
People of color: 29% Georgetown University, Stanford: 6%

*Percentage of senior classes who applied to Teach For America

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Alumni Impact

Fostering Alumni Leadership for Systemic Change
As the number of corps members grows, so does our alumni base. By 2010, we will have over 75 Teach For America alumni in Kansas City pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.

  • Nationally, more than 60 percent of corps members continue to work in education,
    including more than 300 who are school leaders.
  • 93 percent of all alumni report they are supporting Teach For America’s mission
    through their career, volunteer activity or graduate study.

Aaron North (Eastern North Carolina Corps '00)
Undergraduate University: University of Kansas
Major: English
Current profession: Director, Missouri Charter Public School Association

Shane Knight (Rio Grande Valley Corps '97)
Undergraduate University: University of San Diego
Major: Liberal Studies
Current Profession: Principal

Aaron North and Shane Knight are two of the many alumni continuing to work toward our vision in Kansas City. Through his work with the Missouri Charter Public School Association, Aaron serves as a resource and representative voice of the state’s charter school sector. Shane is the principal at Derek Thomas Elementary Academy, a charter school in Kansas City.

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An Efficient Program: Cost Breakdown

An Efficient Program: Cost per Corps Member

Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2008-2010

Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in Kansas City, and another talented leader with the insight and commitment necessary to sustain the reform efforts underway, which is critical to the ongoing vitality of our region.

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Regional Supporters

We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Kansas City. The foundations, corporations and individuals listed below have made it possible for Teach For America to continue to recruit, select, train, and support teachers who are working to eliminate educational inequity in our city.

Corporate, Foundation and Public Support

$500,000 and above
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
 

$200,000 - $499,999
Hall Family Foundation

$50,000 - $99,999
William T. Kemper Foundation
  

$20,000 - $49,999
The H&R Block Foundation
  

In-Kind Supporters
Ten Ten Foundation

Individuals
Individuals and families support Teach For America by attending a special event or by participating in our Sponsor A Teacher program. Sponsors provide critical annual leadership support of $5,000 or more to help us recruit, select, train and support corps members in Kansas City schools profoundly affected by the achievement gap.

$100,000 and up
Todd Epsten
  

$10,000 - $24,999
Barnett Helzberg Trust
  


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Contact

To support Teach For America • Kansas City with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:

Teach For America • Kansas City
Alicia Herald, Executive Director

The Penntower Office Center

3100 Broadway, Suite 1114

Kansas City, Missouri 64111

p 816.820.4445 f 816-753-0764
alicia.herald@teachforamerica.org

For press related inquiries regarding Teach For America • Kansas City please contact:

Rhonda Stewart
Director, Regional Communications
1413 K Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
202.408.7806
Rhonda.stewart@teachforamerica.org

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Executive Director

Alicia HeraldA Kansas City native, Alicia Herald is the founding executive director of Teach For America • Kansas City. Alicia joined Teach For America staff in 2007 as a recruitment director in St. Louis, where she increased applications from her portfolio of universities by more than 200 percent. A 2005 Los Angeles corps member, she led her fourth graders to make significant academic progress, raising their scores on the Los Angeles Unified School District examinations in math from an average of the 17th percentile to above the 82nd percentile. She earned a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.back to top