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FAQ - Assignment and placement

Where do you place teachers?
Teach For America currently places corps members in 26 regions across the country. Urban sites include Atlanta, Baltimore, the Bay Area, Charlotte, Chicago, Connecticut, Denver, Greater Philadelphia-Camden, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, Metro D.C., Newark, New York City, Phoenix, and St. Louis. Rural sites include Eastern North Carolina, Hawai'i, the Mississippi Delta (in Arkansas and Mississippi), New Mexico, the Rio Grande Valley, South Dakota, and South Louisiana. Three of our sites have both urban and rural placements: Greater New Orleans, the Las Vegas Valley, and Miami-Dade. In addition, in 2008 we are excited to expand to additional communities, including Jacksonville (urban), Kansas City (urban), and Indianapolis (urban). Find out more about each region.

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Can I choose my teaching site?
Applicant preferences are one of three factors we consider when determining regional assignment. We also consider state and district hiring requirements and the needs of our partner school districts. In 2007, we were able to place 95 percent of accepted applicants in one of their highly preferred sites.

Applicants invited to an interview day submit their regional preferences in one of two ways:

  • Individuals who are flexible can choose options such as “send me to any region,” “send me to any urban region,” or “send me to any expansion region.” We encourage individuals to evaluate their personal level of flexibility and to consider choosing one of these options, which allow us to assign them where they are most needed.
  • Individuals with more specific regional preferences can rank each region separately as highly preferred, preferred, or less preferred and can numerically rank regions in order of their preferences. They also can indicate any special circumstances they would like us to consider, such as being placed in a region with a spouse. We ask all applicants who rank regions separately to give special consideration to Greater New Orleans, which has a particularly urgent need for corps members. We also encourage applicants to consider joining Teach For America in a 2008 expansion site: check out Jacksonville.

Applicants receive their regional assignment once they are accepted to Teach For America.

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Can I choose the grade level and subject I will teach?
Before we assign you to a position, we will ask you to tell us what you prefer to teach. When possible, we will assign you to one of your preferred subjects/grade levels.

Most often we are able to assign applicants to one of the subjects/grade levels that they prefer. Sometimes it is not possible to do so because, in addition to applicants’ preferences, we also consider applicants' ability to meet state and district hiring requirements (largely based on undergraduate coursework credits) and each region’s grade-level and subject needs. In some cases we may assign applicants to a less preferred grade level and subject in order to assign them to one of their most highly preferred regions. If your grade level and subject preferences are more important to you than your regional assignment, you will able to tell us that when you submit your preferences, which will increase the likelihood that you will receive your preferred subject/grade level assignment.

If accepted, you will receive a tentative subject/grade level assignment along with your regional assignment.

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What am I qualified to teach?
It depends. Each of our regions has a separate set of hiring requirements for their teachers. Teach For America determines what you are eligible to teach based on these requirements, which are typically established at the school district or state level. Requirements often include various combinations of undergraduate coursework credits for each teaching position. For example, a district in a given region might require that middle school English teachers have a certain number of upper-level English literature credits and/or a major in English. Requirements for a given position may also include a minimum GPA above Teach For America’s 2.50 minimum.

To determine what you are eligible to teach, we compare your transcript information to the requirements for each position. Without exception, we must assign you to a region and position for which you qualify. Because requirements are complex and subject to change, and because we must thoroughly evaluate your transcript to determine your eligibility, we are not able to tell you in advance what you will qualify to teach.

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Will I need to pass certain tests in order to be hired by a school district?
Yes, (with limited exceptions) our corps members must pass a certification test to be eligible to teach. This will require some preparation, and corps members who don’t pass their test will need to repeat the test in time for the start of the school year. Teach For America is not responsible for finding alternative placements or any placement at all for corps members that do not pass the required tests for a particular region.

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When will I know my actual teaching placement?
Due to external factors that can affect and/or delay districts’ hiring processes, timelines vary significantly in each region. Last year, school districts hired the vast majority of corps members (99 percent) between late spring and late summer. Those corps members who were not hired by the beginning of the school year were either on district payroll or were supported financially by Teach For America provided that they met the district’s hiring requirements including passing required tests. You will learn more about your region’s timelines and processes once you are accepted and assigned to a region.

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