How are school districts able to hire
corps members?
In all Teach For America regions, corps members are eligible to obtain state-issued teaching certificates, licenses, or permits, which enable school districts to hire them. Corps members must possess a bachelor's degree and demonstrate subject area mastery by completing undergraduate coursework and/or passing certain tests, and typically corps members must enroll in state-approved coursework. The tests and coursework vary in each region and for each position and, while it is ultimately each corps member's responsibility to ensure that he/she is on track to meet the requirements in his/her region, Teach For America works with school districts, states, and schools of education to ensure that corps members have access to coursework, test information, and preparation tools to meet these requirements.
How are corps members considered to be "highly
qualified teachers" as defined by No Child Left Behind?
The No Child Left Behind Act defines a highly qualified teacher as one who holds a bachelor’s degree, has full state certification, and has demonstrated subject area competence in each subject taught (typically by passing a test or completing undergraduate coursework). For the purposes of No Child Left Behind, teachers who are participating in an alternative route program to teacher certification (such as Teach For America) may be considered to meet the "full state certification" requirements for highly qualified teacher status if they are permitted by the state to assume functions as a regular classroom teacher and demonstrate satisfactory progress toward full certification in their programs. The requirements for alternative teaching certification programs vary in each region. Read more about certification in each of our regions.
Will I be certified after my two years?
In many cases, the ongoing coursework that corps members take as part of their region’s alternative teaching program leads to full certification by the end of the two years. In other cases, corps members choose to take additional coursework beyond their two-year commitment to become fully certified. Most Teach For America regional offices have established partnerships with universities to facilitate corps members’ work toward certification and in many regions corps members are also able to earn master’s degrees within the two years. Learn about certification in each of our regions.
How is Teach For America
different from other alternative teacher certification programs?
Many other programs aim to address the teacher shortage that certain school districts face and provide interested individuals with a route into the teaching profession. While Teach For America does provide school districts facing teacher shortages with high-quality teachers, the explicit mission of our organization is to close the achievement gap that exists between children growing up in low-income areas and their peers in higher-income areas. Teach For America has developed a selection process, training program, and ongoing support network for corps members and alumni that is geared to accomplish this particular mission. Read more about Teach For America’s Theory of Change.
We operate rigorous five-week summer preparation institutes in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Through opportunities for practice, observation, coaching, and study – as well as careful planning and thoughtful reflection – corps members develop the foundational knowledge, skills, and mindsets needed to be highly effective beginning teachers. Corps members typically describe the institute as intense, challenging, and rewarding. Five weeks is a short time to prepare corps members for the rigors of the classroom, so we work hard to take full advantage of every day. In the mornings and early afternoons, corps members teach in a district summer school program, under the close supervision of veteran educators from the hosting school district and Teach For America instructional staff. In the late afternoons and evenings, corps members participate in interactive courses and clinics to build knowledge, deepen skills, and apply learning to upcoming teaching. Click here for the institute schedule.
During their first and second years of teaching, corps members establish a vision for their students' achievement. They work relentlessly and utilize their leadership skills to invest their students and those who influence them in working hard to achieve these goals. We provide training and resources at the regional level to ensure that corps members can access a variety of resources to make gains in their students' achievement. Some of these support networks include program director visits, all-corps days, and learning teams.
Further, we believe that to truly eliminate educational inequity, we need leaders working from within education and from every sector to impact the broader challenges facing children in low-income communities. As such, our alumni bring the perspective they've gained during their two years in the classroom to many different sectors—education, law, medicine, business, journalism, etc.—to effect the fundamental changes necessary to expand educational opportunities for low-income families. Additionally, the Alumni Affairs team works to promote and accelerate our alumni leadership, strengthen connections, and keep them engaged in Teach For America. By providing pathways to leadership, specific tools, resources, information about career and civic opportunities, and by offering meaningful ways to network and support each other and Teach For America, we work to help alumni maximize their individual impact and that of out collective movement for educational equity.
Read more about being part of our alumni network.
Learn more about our hundreds of graduate school partnerships.
Learn more about our corporate partnerships with top employers.
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Corps and Alumni