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Teach For America International Students Pilot Program: Meeting the Need for Math & Science Teachers in Houston

If you are an international student with a background in math or science, you may be eligible to join the Teach For America International Students Pilot Program.

Overview Eligibility requirements Application process
Hiring process Who we look for Resources

Overview

Our nation is home to talented future leaders from around the world who are interested in ending educational inequity. While our current admissions prerequisites require that applicants are U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents due to our affiliation with AmeriCorps, we are actively exploring the viability of accepting non-U.S. citizens into our corps in the future.

Toward that end, Teach For America has partnered with the Houston Independent School District to launch a pilot program that will bring talented and committed international students to Houston to help meet the growing need for math and science teachers in its high-need schools.

This pilot program will enable international students to join Teach For America for the first time in 2008, and will help us determine the feasibility of accepting international students as corps members in the future. Individuals who join Teach For America through the pilot program will go through a separate hiring process and will be ineligible for AmeriCorps benefits, but will otherwise receive the same training, benefits, and support that all corps members receive.

We are now accepting applications from eligible candidates. All applicants must apply by our final application deadline of February 15, 2008.

Eligibility requirements

The Teach For America International Students Pilot Program is open to international candidates that meet the following eligibility requirements. All applicants must:

  • Be currently enrolled at a U.S. college or university
  • Be earning an undergraduate or graduate degree in: math, statistics, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, or other sciences
  • Hold a valid F-1 visa
  • Be eligible to apply for a 12-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension of current visa
  • Not be from a country on the State Department's state-sponsored terrorism list which includes the following: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria
  • Be willing to teach in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) as a middle school or high school math or science teacher

In addition, applicants must be fluent in written and spoken English and meet our regular eligibility requirements:

  • Bachelor's degree by June 2008
  • 2.50 minimum undergraduate GPA

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Application process

In order to apply, applicants must submit our online application by February 15, 2008, and follow the same interview process as other applicants. Learn more about how to apply

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Hiring process

Once applicants accept Teach For America's preliminary offer of admittance, they will receive detailed information about how their hiring process will work in HISD.

Upon accepting our offer of admittance and during their two-year commitments, individuals in the Teach For America International Students Pilot Program must satisfy HISD's employee eligibility requirements, including cooperation in HISD petitions for H-1B visas. H-1B visas authorize eligible foreign nationals to work in the United States for a specific employer for a defined period of time. Corps members in the pilot program are required to provide appropriate credentials and documentation during the H-1B visa application process and to maintain their lawful immigration status once they become H-1B visa holders. Corps members are responsible for costs associated with obtaining and maintaining the H-1B visa, though Teach For America may be able to offer some financial assistance.

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Who we look for

Applicants to the International Students Pilot Program will be evaluated by the same selection criteria we evaluate in all applicants. Learn more about who we're looking for

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Resources

Read detailed instructions for applying
Read about the need for math and science teachers
Read about living and teaching in Houston

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