• Why does Teach For America have a waitlist?
• When will I know if I have been admitted off the waitlist?
• Where do you place teachers?
• Can I choose my teaching site?
• Can I choose the grade level and subject I will teach?
• Can I teach a specialized subject such as art, music or physical education?
• What am I qualified to teach?
• Will I need to pass certain tests in order to be hired by a school district?
• When will I know my actual teaching placement?
• Am I guaranteed a placement?
• How will I secure housing in my regional placement?

Why does Teach For America have a waitlist?
Due to fluctuating factors that can impact the number of available teacher placements from year to year, we maintain a waitlist to ensure that we will have a position for anyone who is offered admission. For the 2010 corps, we used a waitlist in response to the significant growth in our applicant pool and the economic downturn that limited our district partners’ budgets and hiring needs. We will periodically update waitlisted applicants to let them know if they have a placement, remain on the waitlist, or will not have a placement in the corps. In some cases, we will make offers to select waitlisted applicants as positions become available. Most offers will likely occur in the late spring when our district partners are more certain of the number of teachers they are able to hire.

When will I know if I have been admitted off the waitlist?
We will update all waitlisted applicants if they have a placement, remain on the waitlist, or will not have a placement in the 2011 corps on the next notification date via the Applicant Center and e-mail. Although we will make offers to waitlisted applicants as positions become available, a majority of decisions will likely occur in the late spring when our district partners are more certain of the number of teachers they are able to hire.

Where do you place teachers?
We currently place corps members in 39 urban and rural regions across the country.

Visit our map to see where we place teachers.

Can I choose my teaching site?
You will have the opportunity to provide your preferences for our regions if invited to a final interview. Your preferences do not impact admissions decisions. When placing corps members, we consider applicant preferences along with applicants’ ability to meet state and district hiring standards (largely based on undergraduate coursework credits) and each region’s grade-level and subject needs.

Learn more about choosing a teaching location and assignment.

Can I choose the grade level and subject I will teach?
You will have the opportunity to provide your grade-level and subject-area preferences, as well as your regional preferences, if invited to a final interview. Your preferences have no bearing on our admissions decision. When placing corps members, we consider applicant preferences along with applicants’ ability to meet state and district hiring standards (largely based on undergraduate coursework credits) and each region’s grade-level and subject needs.

Learn more about choosing a teaching location and assignment.

Can I teach a specialized subject such as art, music, or physical education?
A small number of corps members are placed in specialized positions, such as art or music. The availability of these positions is limited and subject to change on an annual basis. We do not place teachers in non-teaching roles, such as counseling or other support services.

Accepted applicants’ assignments depend on the school district needs, school district requirements, and applicant preferences. One of our primary goals in the placement process is to provide school districts with teachers in the highest-need subject areas. As a result, the majority of our teachers are placed in the following positions: 

• Elementary: general elementary, bilingual, or special education
• Secondary (middle school/high school): math, science, English, or social studies

What am I qualified to teach?
Each of our regions has a separate set of hiring requirements for their teachers, which are established at the school-district or state level. Requirements often include combinations of undergraduate coursework credits for each teaching position. For example, a district might require that middle school English teachers have a certain number of upper-level English literature credits and/or a major in English. Requirements may also include a minimum GPA above Teach For America’s 2.50 minimum. To determine what you are eligible to teach, we compare your transcript information to the requirements for each position. Without exception, we must assign you to a region and position for which you qualify. Because requirements are complex and subject to change, and because we must thoroughly evaluate your transcript to determine your eligibility, we are not able to tell you in advance what you will qualify to teach.

Will I need to pass certain tests in order to be hired by a school district?
Yes, (with extremely limited exceptions) our corps members must pass a certification test to be eligible to teach. This will require some preparation, and corps members who don’t pass their test will need to repeat the test in time for the start of the school year. Teach For America is not responsible for finding placements for corps members that do not take or pass the required tests for a particular region or assignment. Applicants are not required to take certification exams before applying for Teach For America.

Learn more about certification and testing in our placement regions.

When will I know my actual teaching placement?
Due to external factors that can affect and/or delay districts’ hiring processes, timelines vary significantly between regions and even within a region. In the vast majority of situations, corps members are hired throughout the summer and in the weeks prior to the start of school. You will learn more about your region’s timelines and processes once you are accepted and assigned to a region.

Am I guaranteed a placement?
Teach For America strives to guarantee every corps member an initial teaching placement, provided you meet all district and state requirements for teaching in your assigned site for the duration of your two-year commitment. It is possible that due to unanticipated factors such as layoffs or other budgetary constraints on our district partners, placement may be in a different grade level/subject matter, or in some instances, in a different region than originally assigned. Historically, regions have been able to place corps members who fulfilled regional requirements, though—rarely—placements have been delayed and begun after the first day of school in a region. In those cases, Teach For America or the partnering school district has provided corps members temporary financial assistance while they await placement.

How will I secure housing in my regional placement?
While Teach For America provides housing for corps members during regional induction and the summer institute, Teach For America does not provide housing during the corps commitment. Nonetheless, many corps members use the summer institute and regional induction as opportunities to meet other corps members who may be seeking housing as well. Upon acceptance to a region, you can work with regional staff members and other incoming corps members to find housing.

Visit our regional pages to learn about where and how corps members typically live.