I grew up in New Orleans, went to a private school and have since been acutely aware of how, in almost every American city, there is a two-tiered education system: one for the poor and one for the well-off. That’s why I joined the board of Teach For America.
In addition to creating a corps of young teachers, Teach For America has become, in its 17 years, a wellspring of leadership talent. Its alumni go on to become education entrepreneurs, administrators, and activists.
- Walter Isaacson
President & CEO, The Aspen Institute
Chair, Teach For America National Board of Directors
This year, a corps of the nation’s most promising future leaders are teaching in our region’s lowest-income classrooms as a part of Teach For America • Greater New Orleans. They are working to ensure their students have the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are a leadership force, working from within education and every professional sector to effect broader change. Together they are helping us make educational equity a reality in Greater New Orleans. Learn about living and teaching in Greater New Orleans.
 |
Press | |
Corps Impact | |
Alumni Impact | |
Financial Sustainability | |
Regional Supporters | |
Contact Us | |
Executive Director |
Recent press releases
Recent press coverage
During the 2007-08 school year, 126 corps members are directly impacting the lives of more than 11,000 students in Greater New Orleans. Towana Pierre-Floyd is one example of the tremendous difference our corps members are making.
Towana Pierre-Floyd (Greater New Orleans Corps '05) |
Towana, a New Orleans native, teaches seventh grade language arts at KIPP McDonogh 15 School for the Creative Arts. After diagnosing the reading levels of her students at the beginning of the year, she found that on average they were over two grade levels behind. She invested her students in ambitious goals and developed instructional plans to accelerate their learning. By the end of the year, Towana led her students to grow the equivalent of 1.7 grade levels in reading. Towana’s school, of which Teach For America teachers comprise almost half of the faculty, posted similarly impressive results, demonstrating the impact effectiveness of large clusters of our teachers. For example, McDonogh 15’s performance on the state standardized tests exceeded the state average and nearly doubled the district average, with 91 percent of the fourth graders and 92 percent of eighth graders passing the high stakes test.
Greater New Orleans: Our Impact on Students and Schools Today
| School Year | Corps Members | Students Reached |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 94 | 7,990 |
| 2006-07 | 57 | 4,845 |
| 2007-08 | 126 | 10,710 |
| 2008-09 | 350* | 29,750* |
| 2009-10 | 500* | 42,500* |
* projected |
Principal Satisfaction
*"Teach For America 2007 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2007.
Impact on Student Achievement
According to a highly-regarded study by Mathematica Policy Research, corps members outpaced fully certified and veteran teachers in their schools in moving their students ahead academically. Read national results.
Student Profile
Greater New Orleans : Corps Member Placement
| Assignment | # of Corps Members | % of Corps |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 28 | 22% |
| Science | 25 | 20% |
| Special Education | 15 | 12% |
| Social Studies | 9 | 7% |
| English | 27 | 21% |
| Elementary | 22 | 17% |
| Total | 126 | 100% |
*Percentages are rounded and may not add up to 100 percent.
Characteristics of the 2007 Corps
| Corps Profile | Top alma maters by market share* |
|---|---|
| Average GPA: 3.6 | Duke University, Spelman College, University of Chicago: 10% |
| Average SAT: 1321 | University of Notre Dame, Rhodes College: 9% |
| Held leadership roles on campus: 95% | Princeton University, Yale University, Rice University: 7% |
| People of color: 28% | Georgetown University, Stanford University, Morehouse College : 6% |
*Percentage of senior classes who applied to Teach For America
Fostering Alumni Leadership for Systemic Change
As the number of corps members grows, so does our alumni base. By 2010, we will have more than 1250 Teach For America • Greater New Orleans alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.
Mark Bailey (Greater New Orleans Corps '01) |
Sarada Peri (Greater New Orleans Corps '01) |
Sarada Peri and Mark Bailey taught at Abramson High School in New Orleans East as Teach For America corps members. After completing her two-year teaching commitment, Sarada received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and is now Legislative Assistant to Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) on issues of education, healthcare and welfare. Mark continued to teach in New Orleans and was selected to the University of New Orleans’ first cohort of the Urban Leaders Academy. Mark is now an assistant principal at O. Perry Walker Charter High School in New Orleans and is also a member of the state’s Special Education Advisory Council.
back to top
Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2007-2010
Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in Greater New Orleans, and another talented leader with the insight and commitment necessary to sustain the reform efforts underway, which is critical to the ongoing vitality of our region.
| Year | Corps Size | Revenue Needs |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 126 | $5.5 million* |
| 2008-09 | 350 | $7.8 million* |
| 2009-10 | 500 | $9 million* |
* projected |
||
We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Greater New Orleans. The foundations, corporations and individuals listed below have made it possible for Teach For America to continue to recruit, select, train, and support teachers who are working to eliminate educational inequity in our city.
| Advisory Board |
|---|
| Joseph Aluise (Chair) Senior Counsel Entergy Corporation |
| Wendy Beron Partner The Apollo Group |
| Emanuel Blessey Vice-President Merrill Lynch |
| Shaun Clarke Shareholder Liskow & Lewis |
| William Hines Managing Partner Jones, Walker |
| Diana Lewis Civic Leader |
| Hon. Nickie Monica Representative Louisiana House of Representatives |
| R. Hunter Pierson, Jr. Pierson Investments |
| Dr. Anthony Recasner Director Green Charter School |
| Robert Reily President The Reily Foundation |
| Hon. Steve Scalise Senator Louisiana State Senate |
| Jane Sizeler Civic Leader |
| William Sizeler Founder and Principal Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects |
| Liz Sloss Civic Leader |
| Sarah Usdin President & Founder New Schools for New Orleans |
| David Voelker Frantzen, Voelker & Conway Investments |
| Andrew B. Wisdom Turbo Squid, Inc. |
To support Teach For America • Greater New Orleans with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:
Teach For America • Greater New Orleans
Kira Orange Jones, Executive Director
Andrea Smith Bailey, Development Director
313 Carondelet Street
11th Floor
New Orleans, LA 70130
p 504-533-7768, f 504-533-7765
kira.jones@teachforamerica.org
andrea.bailey@teachforamerica.org
Kira Orange Jones was appointed executive director of Teach For America • Greater New Orleans from her post as Teach For America’s vice president of new site development. In this role, she spearheaded the organization’s expansion to three additional regions in one year. Prior to working at Teach For America, Jones founded and served as executive director of Right Quick Productions, a nonprofit media organization in Baton Rouge, La., dedicated to amplifying community voices through documentary filmmaking and media education. In this capacity, she oversaw the development, production, and distribution of three feature films intended for classroom and general audiences. Jones also served for four summers as a school director at Teach For America’s Houston and Philadelphia institutes. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University with a concentration in filmmaking and political theory and an M.Ed. focused in school leadership from Harvard University. Jones was a 2000 South Louisiana corps member and taught fourth grade at Eden Park Elementary in Baton Rouge.
History
Regions
Corps and Alumni