Each day we see the realities of educational inequity juxtaposed against the concrete evidencethat when students in low-income communitiesare given opportunities they deserve, they excel.

Our teacher corps

Approach to recruitment
Our recruitment approach is driven by our selection model, which is designed to recognize individuals with the highest potential for success in the classroom. We have discovered over time that successful teachers exhibit a significant degree of leadership, and leaders come in many forms with varied experiences. We focus our recruiting efforts at the places where we can find the most high-achieving leaders who fit our selection model.

2009 Schools where Teach For America is the #1 employer of graduating seniors*
  • Albain College
  • Barnard College (Columbia)
  • Brown University
  • Dartmouth College
  • Duke University
  • Emory University
  • Georgetown University
  • Ithaca College
  • Loyola of New Orleans
  • Marquette University
  • Middlebury College
  • Mount Holyoke College
  • Pepperdine University
  • Spelman College
  • Trinity College (Connecticut)
  • Tulane University
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Connecticut
  • University of San Diego
  • Vanderbilt University

*based on information provided to Teach For America from these schools’ career offices

The schools that appear below are ranked by the number of graduating seniors that they contributed to the 2009 corps*. Only the top five schools in each category - large, medium and small schools - are included:

Top Colleges and Universities Contributing to Teach For America’s 2009 Teaching Corps**

  • Large Schools
    (10,000+ Undergrads)     »

    		•

  • Medium Schools
    (3,000 – 9,999)     »

  • Small Schools
    (2,999 or under)     »

    		•

    Large Schools (10,000+ Undergrads)

    University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
    80
    University of Texas at Austin
    71
    Cornell University
    66
    University of California-Berkeley
    62
    University of Wisconsin-Madison
    56
    Next: Medium Schools (3,000 – 9,999) »

    Medium Schools (3,000 – 9,999)

    Harvard University
    55
    Yale University
    53
    Georgetown University
    45
    Columbia University (New York)
    42
    Northwestern University
    42
    Next: Small Schools (2,999 or under) »

    Small Schools (2,999 or under)

    Barnard College
    21
    College of the Holy Cross
    20
    DePauw University
    19
    Kenyon College
    16
    Spelman College
    14
    Next: Large Schools (10,000+ Undergrads) »


    2009 Corps Profile:

    • Average SAT score: 1344
    • Average GPA: 3.6
    • 89 percent held a leadership position in at least one activity in college
    • 15 percent earned a graduate degree or held a professional position before joining the corps
    • 30 percent identify as people of color
    • 25 percent received Pell Grants*
    • 18 percent are the first in their family to attend college
     

    Corps profile
    Teach For America corps members represent a wide variety of backgrounds, majors and career interests. While there is no one profile of an ideal applicant, all corps members have a demonstrated high levels of leadership and achievement in academic, professional, extracurricular, or volunteer settings.

    Our 2009 corps – the largest in our history with more than 4,000 new teachers – has been recognized by a variety of media outlets:

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