ER RED EF I N INF E LU EN C
TWO-YEAR COMMITMENT. LIFELONG IMPACT.
REDEFINE THEIR FUTURE Too many children growing up in low-income communities attend schools not equipped to meet their needs. Teach For America is a diverse network of leaders who confront this inequity by teaching for at least two years and then working as alumni across all career fields to create a nation free from this injustice. As educators, advocates, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and community members, we’re committed to profound systemic change.
TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES Our research shows that significantly expanding opportunity for students in the classroom and beyond requires the following characteristics. Does this sound like you?
LEARN MORE : www.teachforamerica.org/tfa-you
⊲⊲ Strong achievement in academic, professional,
extracurricular, and/or volunteer settings
⊲⊲ Demonstrated leadership ability
across a variety of settings
⊲⊲ A deep belief in the potential of all kids, and
a commitment—often informed by experience
in low-income communities—to do whatever
it takes to expand opportunities for students
⊲⊲ Perseverance in the face of challenges, the
ability to adapt to changing environments, and
a strong desire to improve and develop as a leader
⊲⊲ Long-term commitment to setting and reaching goals
⊲⊲ Excellent organizational ability, including planning
well and managing responsibilities effectively
⊲⊲ Excellent interpersonal skills to motivate others
⊲⊲ Respect for individuals’ diverse experiences,
and the ability to work effectively with
people from a variety of backgrounds
GET STARTED WHILE STILL IN COLLEGE Teach For America offers paid internships and all-expenses-paid* experiences for undergraduates from all majors, colleges, and universities across the country. Each opportunity prepares you for a career of impact, while giving you the chance to explore social issues affecting our nation. As an undergrad, you can join a powerful network of civic innovators shaping the political, economic, and social future of our country. Get involved now to challenge inequity, elevate your leadership, and expand your network.
*These expenses include lodging, flights, and meals while on-site.
PAID INTERNSHIP Accelerate Fellowship: A paid summer fellowship for rising seniors interested in civic innovation and jump-starting a career of social impact. During this multiweek rotational experience, Fellows travel across the country to TFA partner communities, forge new relationships, and help solve meaningful issues alongside leaders in the social and private sectors. Summer 2020.
Operations Associate: OAs are summer interns at TFA’s training institutes. Gain on-the-ground experience, helping design and execute logistics while making an immediate difference for kids. Summer 2020.
On-Campus Opportunities: Campus-based interns who fuel the movement toward educational equity by building awareness across their campuses, representing TFA at events, and more. Work alongside the Teach For America recruitment team to identify leaders on your campus while building awareness of the opportunities TFA offers. Visit our website or contact your campus recruiter to learn more about these on-campus paid and unpaid opportunities. During 2019-2020 School Year.
EXPERIENCES Impact: Spring Break: Impact is an immersive weeklong spring break service trip for sophomores and juniors during which participants partner with TFA regions and local organizations engaging in meaningful work that intersects service with educational inequity. Spring 2020.
Rise Student Leadership Conference: Rise is a weekend experience for sophomores and juniors looking to develop a deeper understanding of how to become more effective and influential leaders on campus and within their communities. Participants have the chance to network with student leaders from around the country while discovering how to leverage their unique skills. Late Spring 2020. On-Campus Opportunities: Connect with your campus recruiter to engage in local events happening on your campus.
LEARN MORE: www.teachforamerica.org/join-tfa/internships-experiences
YOUR TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT As a corps member, you will join an extraordinary, diverse community and teach alongside some of the most remarkable and passionate advocates of your generation. You will have access to an unparalleled resource and support network that will help you go beyond traditional expectations to accelerate the academic and personal growth of your students. Through the corps, you will gain context, clarity, and conviction to lead a life of impact from any sector or field you choose.
YOUR TEACHER AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WILL INCLUDE:
PRE-TRAINING • School placement preparation • Learning about your region
SUMMER TRAINING • Teaching as leadership training • Student teaching • Cultural competence and diversity training
DURING THE CORPS • One-on-one coaching • Teacher certification and graduate coursework • Professional development • Access to network of corps members, teachers, and alumn
ONGOING CAREER AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AFTER THE CORPS
LEARN MORE : www.teachforamerica.org/training-and-support
WHERE YOU WILL TEACH You will have the opportunity to partner with students and families in one of the 51 regions across the nation where many principals and school district leaders rely on TFA teachers to fill open roles. Corps members teach a variety of subjects from pre-K through grade 12.
ALABAMA CAPITAL V INDIANA C DELAWAR GREATER GREATER INDIANAP MASSACH NASHVILL OKLAHOM SAN ANTO LOUISIAN ALABAMA CAPITAL V INDIANA C DELAWAR
A APPALACHIA BALTIMORE BAY AREA BUFFALO CALIF VALLEY CHARLOTTE-PIEDMONT TRIAD CHICAGO-NOR COLORADO CONNECTICUT D.C. REGION DALLAS-FORT RE DETROIT EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA GREATER CLE DELTA: MISSISSIPPI & ARKANSAS GREATER NEW OR PHILADELPHIA GREATER TULSA HAWAI’I HOUSTON ID POLIS JACKSONVILLE KANSAS CITY LAS VEGAS LOS A HUSETTS MEMPHIS METRO ATLANTA MIAMI-DADE M LE-CHATTANOOGA NEW JERSEY NEW MEXICO NEW Y MA CITY ORLANDO PHOENIX RHODE ISLAND RIO GRAN ONIO SAN DIEGO SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH DAKOTA S NA SOUTHWEST OHIO ST. LOUIS TWIN CITIES WASHIN A APPALACHIA BALTIMORE BAY AREA BUFFALO CALIF VALLEY CHARLOTTE-PIEDMONT TRIAD CHICAGO-NOR COLORADO CONNECTICUT D.C. REGION DALLAS-FORT : LEARN MORE RE DETROIT EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA GREATER CLE www.teachforamerica.org/where-we-work
TWO-YEAR COMMITMENT, LIFELONG IMPACT Leaders are shaped by the challenges they face, and this may be the hardest thing you’ll ever do. Your successes and failures, and the relationships you forge in TFA will shape you personally and professionally. You’ll find that your classroom leadership builds a foundation for your long-term leadership. After the corps, you will join a community of more than 56,000 TFA alumni who are shaping the future of our country. Whether your classroom leadership turns into leadership in education, politics, entrepreneurship, law, medicine, or any other field, TFA will accelerate your leadership trajectory to help bring about systemic change.
52
205
200
699
Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List
Social Entrepreneurs
Elected Officials
Policy, Advocacy, and Organizing Leaders
1,887 13,800 School and System Leaders
Alumni Teachers
Beyond the Corps As an alum, you will have access to a wide range of development and leadership opportunities designed to shape and drive your path to impact. As your career takes shape, you’ll have a diverse and ever-expanding network of colleagues ready to support, challenge, and lead alongside you in pursuit of expanded opportunity for all.
ALUMNI LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Social Innovation Award: This award brings alumni and corps member entrepreneurs together to compete for seed funding and receive professional coaching. Past winners include Louise Baigelman, founder of Story Shares, which seeks to expand literacy by publishing new, relevant books for teen readers, and Kalani Leifer, founder of COOP, which connects urban public college graduates to meaningful careers in tech, media, and design. Capitol Hill Fellows: This is a yearlong program that places TFA alumni in full-time, paid congressional staff positions on Capitol Hill. Peter Jennings Award for Civic Leadership: This award is presented to a TFA alum whose work has led to significant positive change in the past year. Prior winners include Brittany Packnett, a vice president at Teach For America and a co-founder of Campaign Zero; DeRay Mckesson, a civil rights activist; and Sophia Pappas, an early-childhood educator, advocate, and policymaker. School Leadership Opportunities: Schools To Learn From is a yearlong program through which school leaders visit two schools that each demonstrate excellence in a particular dimension. The Rural School Leadership Academy is a yearlong professional development experience for emerging and aspiring leaders in rural regions.
THE COLLECTIVE Grounded in the belief that alumni of color play a unique role in achieving educational equity and excellence, The Collective supports alumni of color in their development as transformational leaders and agents for change. National and regional Collectives promote leadership, learning, community-building, and community action.
LEARN MORE : www.teachforamerica.org/alumni
EMPLOYER AND GRADUATE SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS Teach For America is proud to work alongside employers and graduate schools across the country that value the unique talents, leadership, and commitment you’ll gain in the corps. These organizations support TFA’s mission by offering opportunities for you to build on your classroom leadership experience and develop a meaningful career impacting educational equity across a variety of sectors.* Employer Partnerships: More than 500 employers actively recruit our alumni for employment opportunities that help them continue to effect change from a range of sectors. Many employers, including Bain, Deloitte, Google, and McKinsey & Co., will offer benefits such as a two-year employment deferral for college graduates who join Teach For America after receiving an employment offer.
Graduate School Partnerships: We partner with more than 100 competitive graduate schools across five disciplines—business, education, law, medicine, and public policy—to provide corps members and alumni with opportunities to continue impacting educational equity from these sectors. Our graduate school partners provide a multitude of exclusive benefits to corps members and alumni, such as deferrals, fee waivers, and scholarships to help make grad school a viable option after the corps. The list of grad schools with which we partner includes: •
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
•
Duke University Medical School
•
Harvard University Business School
•
Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
•
University of Arizona School of Public Administration and Policy
•
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law
•
University of Michigan Medical School
•
University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
•
University of Virginia, Curry School of Education
•
Vanderbilt University Law School
LEARN MORE : www.teachforamerica.org/partnerships *Teach For America does not directly provide these benefits, but we are happy to help make them accessible.
“The corps was very much aligned with my beliefs about the world and my values already. It didn’t change them for me; it strengthened them and deepened them and gave me the language with which to talk about them.”
MARIANA AGUILAR From the classroom to Deloitte
2012 University of Southern California B.A., social science with an emphasis in psychology
Joined Los Angeles Corps ’12
2014 Loyola Marymount University M.S., urban education with a focus on digital learning
2014 Citizens of the World, Regional Development Manager I found myself really feeling like there is a massive need for resources in schools, and what I was doing part time on the side wasn’t anywhere close to what was really needed. Citizens of the World did not have a fundraising team or department, but my entrepreneurial bug from college said, ‘I can do this! I can start the whole fundraising department from scratch!’ I loved it!
2015 Murmuration, Manager of Partnerships, California Murmuration was a natural fit. I was really thinking about how to take on systems-level change, and I worked with peers to create an incredible pilot program.
2017–PRESENT Deloitte, Consultant I feel like my teaching skills are some of my most transferable skills. Number one is being able to facilitate a conversation with 25 other people—it doesn’t matter whether it’s kids or adults. People will often say, ‘Wow! You’re not even nervous talking to C-suite executives!’ And I think, ‘Have you ever tried to engage 25 8-year-olds?’
Inspired by students, communities, and each other, Teach For America alumni lead across sectors to make our country more equitable. Meet a few of them:
Hunter Pierson Vice President, Goldman Sachs Harvard University B.A., Social Science
Hunter co-founded an academic summer camp with a fellow corps member, raising $10,000 for reading
Harvard Business School Master of Business Administration
and writing workshops.
Brittany Collins
Brittany found that having consistently high expectations
Managing Director of Program, OneGoal
and giving her students a
Spelman College B.A., Psychology
voice were actions that led
Georgia State University M.Ed., Early Childhood Education
Joseph Lee
to the outcomes they were proud to achieve.
During the corps, Joseph’s work in the classroom (including
Pediatric Resident
launching a Saturday tutoring
Northwestern University, B.A., Psychology
program) was featured in the
Rush Medical College, M.D.
Chicago Tribune and on CNN.
University of Chicago, M.P.P. candidate
Rashid Williams
Rashid credits the corps
Manager of College Placement, KIPP Jacksonville Schools
with strengthening his
Florida State University B.A., Marketing and Real Estate
empathy, and investing
commitment to social justice, others in big goals.
Teachers College, Columbia University M.A., Public School Leadership, Educational Leadership and Administration, General
LEARN MORE : www.teachforamerica.org/lifelong-leaders
After serving as the executive director of TFA - Bay Area, Hunter became a vice president at Goldman Sachs, where he leads investment strategy for foundations and families across the southeast. He also serves as the board chair for
CORPS LEADERSHIP
New Schools for New Orleans.
“I have the autonomy in my current role to be able to spend time working with charter schools in New Orleans to improve how they operate and help kids in my hometown get a great education.”
“Although you may be joining the corps to fight for equity and even to be a voice for students and families, be prepared to be transformed yourself.”
Today, Brittany is a community
Joseph founded The Road Less
Today, Joseph is a pediatric
Traveled Fund, a nonprofit providing
resident. He serves on
vehicles to young people making an
the executive boards of
impact in their communities. He also
the American Academy of
development adviser at Purpose Built Communities, a nonprofit consulting firm dedicated to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty through holistic community revitalization.
continues to serve the community
Pediatrics, American Medical
where he taught, as a representative
Association, and Illinois State
for the local school council.
Medical Society.
“Being able to see the type of impact I can have on students is what’s kept me in this work beyond my two-year commitment.”
Rashid wanted to make an immediate impact on the lives of students who looked like him, while gaining ground-level experience in tackling systemic challenges. Since the corps, he has served in a variety of school leadership roles and is now the manager of college placement at KIPP Jacksonville.
Compensation and Benefits As a corps member, you will be employed by a school district and receive the same salary, vacation, and comprehensive health benefits as other beginning teachers. Additional financial benefits from TFA may be available to help you transition to your new role.
SNAPSHOT OF CORPS MEMBER COMPENSATION •
Salary
•
Health insurance
•
Retirement benefits
• AmeriCorps benefits (this may include federal loan forbearance, interest accrual payments, and education awards)* •
Need-based funding for relocation and transition
•
Educator discounts
• Access to scholarships and benefits from graduate schools and employers
*Teach For America is currently a member of AmeriCorps. Given the nature of the AmeriCorps competitive grant process and the dependence on congressional funding cycles, we cannot guarantee these benefits. Corps members must meet citizenship and service term requirements to be eligible for AmeriCorps membership and benefits. Per regulations, the AmeriCorps education award and interest accrual payments are taxable income for the year in which they are used.
LEARN MORE : www.teachforamerica.org/compensation
How to Apply You can apply online to Teach For America during one of five application deadlines. Throughout the rigorous interview process, you will have the opportunity to learn more about TFA’s unique impact and to network with fellow applicants, TFA staff members, and alumni. Applications are nonbinding.
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA At a minimum, you must meet the following requirements in order to apply: • Bachelor’s degree by June 2020 with a 2.5 minimum undergraduate GPA* • U.S. citizenship, national/permanent resident status, or recipient of DACA We partner with communities and school districts across the country to determine the number of corps members needed each year. Because these figures change every year, you must apply on or before January 31 to be eligible for all regions. We cannot guarantee the availability of all regions after that date. For more information on our regional placement and regional availability, visit www.teachforamerica.org. For more information on applying early to our 2021 corps, visit www.teachforamerica.org/early-admissions-deadline.
*The GPA requirement is mandated by our partner school districts and credentialing programs. Certain exceptions apply if you have a 3.5 graduate GPA. Please see our website for details.
LEARN MORE : www.teachforamerica.org/how-to-apply
2020 Corps Application Process Apply online
1ST DEADLINE
2ND DEADLINE
3RD DEADLINE
4TH DEADLINE
5TH DEADLINE
Sept. 13
Oct. 18
Dec. 6
Jan. 31
Feb. 28
Sept. 20
Oct. 25
Jan. 6
Feb. 7
Mar. 6
Sept. 27
Nov. 1
Jan. 13
Feb. 14
Mar. 13
Oct. 7-10
Nov. 11-14
Jan. 21-24
Feb. 24-27
Mar. 23-26
Oct. 28
Dec. 4
Feb. 10
Mar. 16
Apr. 13
Oct. 28-Nov. 6
Dec. 4-17
Feb. 10-20
Mar. 16-25
Apr. 13-22
Learn if you’re invited to an interview
Submit recommenders and schedule interview
If invited, attend an interview
Learn your admissions decision and regional and subject assignment
Accept or decline your offer
2021 Corps Early Application Process* * The early application process is for college students graduating by June 2021.
Apply online
1ST EARLY DEADLINE
2ND EARLY DEADLINE
3RD EARLY DEADLINE
Jan. 31
Feb. 28
Apr. 10
Feb. 7
Mar. 6
Apr. 17
Feb. 14
Mar. 13
Apr. 24
Feb. 24-27
Mar. 23-26
May 4-7
Mar. 16
Apr. 13
May 26
Learn if you’re invited to an interview
Submit recommenders and schedule interview
If invited, attend an interview
Learn your admissions decision and regional assignment
Accept or decline your offer
FALL 2020
TWO-YEAR COMMITMENT. LIFELONG IMPACT. Full salary and benefits. All majors welcome.
www.teachforamerica.org #TeachForAmerica