Teach For America is a unique organization that brings new teachers and fresh insights into our inner-city schools. It represents a crucial source of talented leaders at all levels who work tirelessly for education equality in our city.
- Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
Teach For America • Los Angeles is playing a critical role in improving schools and communities. This year, a corps of 350 of the nation’s top recent college graduates is working in underserved schools across Los Angeles to ensure that students facing the challenges of poverty are given the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are leaders in the classroom, in education more broadly, and across all sectors. Together, they are making educational equity a reality in Los Angeles. Learn about living and teaching in Los Angeles.
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During the 2008-09 school year, 350 corps members are directly impacting the lives of more than 25,000 students in Los Angeles. Jonathan Soleimani is one example of the tremendous difference our corps members are making.
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Jonathan Soleimani (Los Angeles Corps '07) |
Upon entering the classroom at Dorsey High School, Jonathan Soleimani found that most of his biology students were performing below grade level. Undeterred, he set high expectations for his students and invested them in their success. Jonathan worked throughout the year to develop his students’ vocabulary, note-taking, and testing skills. By year’s end, more students scored on or above grade-level on the state’s biology test than in the previous four years combined. The biology department, previously one of the lowest-performing at Dorsey, became the highest-performing department at the school. Corps members like Jonathan are working in schools throughout Baldwin Park, Compton, Los Angeles, Lynwood, and Pasadena to ensure students succeed.
Principal Satisfaction
*"Teach For America 2007 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2007
Impact on Student Achievement
A growing body of research shows that corps members have a positive impact on their students' achievement. Read more about our impact.
Student Profile
*Percentages vary depending on school district
Los Angeles : Corps Member Placement
| Assignment | % of Corps* |
|---|---|
| Pre-K, Kindergarten | 8% |
| Elementary School, Lower (1-2) | 1% |
| Elementary School, Upper (3-5) | 5% |
| Secondary Math | 15% |
| Secondary English | 29% |
| Secondary Science | 21% |
| Secondary Social Studies | 4% |
| Secondary Foreign Language | 5% |
| Secondary Other | 12% |
| ESL | 3% |
| Special Education | 13% |
*Percentages are rounded and do not add up to 100 percent; corps members who teach bilingual, ESL, or special education are also accounted for in the grade-level/subject placement percentages
Characteristics of the 2008 Corps
| Corps Profile | Top alma maters by market share* |
|---|---|
| Average GPA: 3.6 | Spelman College: 16% |
| Average SAT: 1320 | Morehouse College, Williams College, Yale University: 11% |
| Held leadership roles on campus: 95% | Duke University, Georgetown University, University of Chicago, Wake Forest University, Wesleyan University: 10% |
| People of color: 29% |
Amherst College, Harvard University, Haverford University, Notre Dame University, Princeton University, Rice University: 9% |
*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 over 1,600 Teach For America • Los Angeles alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.
Chad Soleo (Los Angeles Corps '01) |
Chad Soleo began his career teaching English at Locke High School in South Los Angeles. In 2005, he became an assistant principal and coordinated the effort to reorganize the school into seven small learning communities. Currently, Chad serves as principal of Green Dot’s Animo Pat Brown Charter High School, where he leads a group of talented teachers and dedicated community stakeholders in their work to transform education in Los Angeles. Chad is just one of 42 Teach For America alumni leading schools throughout Los Angeles this year.
Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2007-2010
Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in Los Angeles, 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 | Fundraising Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 386 | $7.85 million |
| 2008-09 | 404* | $8.68 million* |
| 2009-10 | 475* | $9.63 million* |
*projected |
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We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Los Angeles. 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 |
|---|
| Melanie Lundquist Board Chair |
| Greg Laetsch Executive Vice President and Regional Director of the Southern California Region Smith Barney |
| Ruth Bloom Vice President California State Board of Education |
| Dr. Jose A. Gomez Assistant Vice President for Administration and Finance California State University, Los Angeles |
| Rand Harbert Senior Vice President State Farm Insurance |
| Doug Herzog MTV Networks Entertainment Group |
| Dr. Shane Martin Dean, School of Education Loyola Marymount University |
| Michael Rotenberg 3 Arts Entertainment |
| David Unanue Vice President of Personal Investment Management Capital Guardian Trust Company |
| Emeritus Board |
|---|
| Daniel H. Adler Grace Fritzinger Harriet Gold Carol Henry Babs Sobel Fred Stern |
To learn more about the corps member experience in Los Angeles, please click here.
To learn more about staff opportunities at Teach For America • Los Angeles, please view our resources for potential staff.
To support Teach For America • Los Angeles with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:
Teach For America • Los Angeles
Brian C. Johnson, Executive Director
Krupa Desai, Senior Managing Director, Development
606 South Olive Street
Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90014
p 213.489.9272, f 213.489.9383
brian.johnson@teachforamerica.org
krupa.desai@teachforamerica.org
To learn more about corps member placement and certification, please contact:
Allison Bajracharya
Managing Director, District Strategy
p 213.489.9272 x6008
allison.bajracharya@teachforamerica.org
To learn more about alumni affairs and school leadership, please contact:
Kate Farrar
Managing Director, Alumni Affairs
p 213.489.9272 x6043
kate.farrar@teachforamerica.org
For all other inquires, please contact Marvin Rocha at marvin.rocha@teachforamerica.org or 213.489.9272 x6013.
Brian C. Johnson has served as the Executive Director of Teach For America • Los Angeles since 2005. Brian first became involved with Teach For America as a 1999 corps member teaching first grade in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Following his commitment in the classroom, he worked in a variety of areas including microfinance in Tanzania and as a summer associate with McKinsey & Company. During his time as Executive Director, Brian has roughly doubled the size of the corps to nearly 400 corps members teaching almost 30,000 students in 120 schools throughout greater Los Angeles. To enable this growth, he has more than doubled local fundraising, as Teach For America raised $5.4 million in Los Angeles last year. Brian graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and holds a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from Stanford Business School, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. He served on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University from 1999 to 2003. Brian currently serves as the Vice President of the Quality & Productivity Commission for the City of Los Angeles, as a board member of ExED, and as a member of the Loyola Marymount University School of Education Board of Visitors.
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