Teach For America • St. Louis brings hundreds of the top college graduates to our community, effecting enormous change in our schools. Ultimately, their presence puts thousands of our region’s neediest children on the path to stay in school, go to college and become the next generation of leaders in St. Louis
- Maxine Clark, President and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop
This year, a corps of 150 of the nation’s most promising future leaders are teaching in our city’s lowest-income classrooms as a part of Teach For America • St. Louis. 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 St. Louis. Learn about living and teaching in St. Louis.
 |
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, 150 corps members are directly impacting the lives of nearly 13,000 students in St. Louis. Adrian Larbi-Cherif is one example of the tremendous differences our corps members are making.
 |
Adrian Larbi-Cherif
(St. Louis Corps '07) |
Adrian Larbi-Cherif teaches high school physics at Cleveland NJROTC. From day one, Adrian repeatedly told his skeptical students that they could excel in his rigorous physics course with dedication and hard work. At the end of the first quarter, his students demonstrated they had internalized this message by progressing from indecipherable answers on their initial tests to scoring an average of 71 percent, surpassing the district-wide average of 59 percent, on this year’s first round of benchmark tests. Adrian and his students are thrilled that the class is on track to make huge academic strides this year.
St. Louis : Our Impact on Students and Schools Today
| School Year | Corps Members | Students Reached |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 81 | 6,885 |
| 2006-07 | 127 | 10,795 |
| 2009-10 | 200* | 17,000* |
*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
St. Louis : Corps Member Placement
| Assignment | # of Corps Members | % of Corps |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 17 | 12.1% |
| Science | 16 | 11.3% |
| Special Education | 32 | 22.7% |
| Social Studies | 8 | 5.7% |
| English | 32 | 22.7% |
| Foreign Language | 5 | 3.5% |
| Elementary | 31 | 21.9% |
| Total | 141 | 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 | University of Chicago, Spelman College, DePauw University and Duke University: 10% |
| Average SAT: 1321 | University of Notre Dame: 9% |
| Held leadership
roles on campus: 95% |
Washington University in St. Louis and Yale University: 7% |
| People of color: 28% | Northwestern University and Stanford University: 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 nearly 300 Teach For America • St. Louis alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.
*Self-reported data as of April 2007. Represents 57% of our alumni network.
 |
Nathalie Means (St. Louis Corps '03) |
 |
David Hunn (Los Angeles Corps '00) |
David Hunn and Nathalie Means are two of the many alumni continuing to work toward our vision in St. Louis. David is an education reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Nathalie serves as an assistant principal in the St. Louis Public School District.
Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2007-2010
Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in St. Louis, 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 | 141 | $2.8 million |
| 2008-09 | 181* | $3.47 million* |
| 2009-10 | 200* | $3.7 million* |
* projected |
||
We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in St. Louis. 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 |
|---|
| Cindy Brinkley President AT&T Missouri |
| Maxine Clark (Chair) Founder & President Build-A-Bear Workshop |
| Donald Danforth, III Founder & President City Academy |
| Steven Fox Managing Director Harbour Group |
| Ward Klein (Vice Chair) CEO Energizer Holdings, Inc. |
| Jim Murphy CEO Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors |
| Ron Rubin CEO The Republic of Tea |
| Ellen Sherberg Publisher St. Louis Business Journal |
| Anthony Thompson President & CEO Kwame Building Group, Inc. |
| Corporation, Foundation and Public Support Show more + |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
We thank the following lead corporate supporters for their extraordinary support of our work:
|
|||||
$100,000 and up |
|||||
| Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. Bank of America** |
Emerson** Monsanto Fund |
||||
To support Teach For America • St. Louis with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:
Teach For America • St. Louis
Dustin Odham, Executive Director
Amy Rosenblum, Development Director
815 Olive Street
Suite 14
St. Louis, MO 63101
p 314-621-9100, f 314-621-9127
dustin.odham@teachforamerica.org
amy.rosenblum@teachforamerica.org
Dustin Odham graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) with a degree in finance. While at SMU, Dustin served in a number of campus leadership roles including Student Body President. As a corps member, Dustin taught Geometry and Trigonometry at Beaumont High School in St. Louis' north side where his students scored some of the highest classroom averages in the district-wide, standardized benchmark exams. He also coached the varsity girls' basketball team and started a successful Saturday tutoring program. In recognition of the significant impact he made in his students' lives and community, Dustin was named Beaumont High School's Most Influential Teacher and was the regional finalist for the national Sue Lehmann Award for Excellence in Teaching.
History
Regions
Corps and Alumni
