Interesting article on the growing popularity of Teach for America.
It’s the strongest job market in years for new college graduates, with salaries and perks rising accordingly. But one of the country’s hottest recruiters this spring promised low wages, exhausting labor and just a brief break before work begins.
Teach for America is surging in popularity. At sites around the country, the 17-year-old nonprofit has begun training about 2,400 recent graduates for two-year teaching stints in disadvantaged schools, nearly triple the figure in 2000.
Nearly 19,000 college seniors applied; more than four in five were turned down. At the University of Notre Dame, Spelman College, Dartmouth College and Yale University, more than 10 percent of seniors applied.
But TFA definitely appears to have goals well beyond the classroom:
Some critics note less than one-third stay in the classroom after their two-year stints. But Teach for America says about two-thirds have remained involved in education, if not as teachers, then in research and policy. In many cases, some start charter schools, Teach for America said. The organization counts 10 alumni in elective office, including Natasha Kamrani, recently elected to Houston’s school board. The goal is 100 alumni in public office by 2010.
It’s worth pointing out that TFA has some far-reaching goals that extend beyond the classroom. As alternative education spreads by way of charters and other forms of school choice, is it possible we’ll see something along these lines from other organizations? Assuming this hasn’t already happened, what if KIPP decides to get some of their people into policy positions? That might be a good thing.