Word: tfa
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...impoverished areas certainly face an extremely tough job, it is difficult to believe that only 12 percent of TFA’s applicants would be able to successfully teach when there is such a dramatic demand for educators. Judging from the qualifications and experience of two Harvard seniors who TFA turned down this past fall, it is easy to see the vast potential being squandered...
...thousands of other excellent applicants who want to teach for two years, like these seniors, are being spurned in spite of the massive need for teachers. There are no broad nationwide programs that seek to match all qualified recent college graduates with school districts starving for teachers; TFA is the closest thing, along with five cities that have very selective programs aimed at young and mid-career professionals. Those who are rejected could theoretically go through the arduous process of applying for individual job openings in different school districts hoping to land a position—extremely difficult without teaching...
...credit, Teach For America has been expanding dramatically as its applicant pool has skyrocketed. Last year, TFA increased its presence in existing districts by an average of 51 percent; it plans continued expansion in New York and two new areas this year. But it hasn’t managed to keep up with the demand. Teach For America Vice President of Site Development Aimee Eubanks says that “many of our districts always want more Teach for America teachers,” and there are several other districts and individual schools that have approached TFA over the last...
...notably a lack of alternative certification programs that permit teachers without educational backgrounds to enter the classroom. To facilitate TFA’s growth and maintain the quality of its programs as it expands, more federal funding is necessary, and of course states must ensure that their regulations allow TFA teachers...
...there were a national program with the broader goal of training qualified college graduates to teach in districts that need them, TFA’s mission of placing only the very best applicants in the most disadvantaged areas would be a superb complement to it. But as it is, TFA is pretty much the only way for seniors who do not plan to teach as a career, and who have no formal teaching credentials, to make an immediate impact in the classroom. There is a massive teacher shortage, and TFA cannot ignore the fact that almost every applicant it turns...