Salary and health benefits |
Moving expenses |
Help paying student loans |
Safety |
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As your son or daughter considers joining Teach For America, there are probably a host of questions that you have around their compensation, their quality of life and other basics such as moving expenses and servicing their student loans. This section will provide answers to these questions.
While beginning teacher salaries vary by district, corps members generally find that they can live comfortably regardless of their placement site. Corps members teaching in urban sites typically have higher salaries, starting at $28,000 and reaching a high of $44,000. Corps members in rural sites, who make between $25,000 and $33,000, tend to have more discretionary income because the cost of living is disproportionately lower in these sites. Beginning teachers with advanced degrees often earn higher salaries, so applicants with a Master's and/or a PhD can expect salaries that, in some cases, exceed these ranges.
Learn more about the grants and loans corps members can receive, as well as details about corps member salaries
Teach For America covers most major expenses during the summer institute, including room and board. Room and board is also covered for one to two weeks during regional inductions. Beyond this, in an effort to ensure that qualified candidates of all economic situations are able to join our corps, we offer need-based transitional grants and no-interest loans to help corps members make it to their first paychecks. Packages range from $1,000 to $6,000 based on an applicant's demonstrated need and the cost of living in the assigned region.
Applications for transitional grants and loans are made available online to applicants who are invited to interview day, and applying for transitional funding has absolutely no bearing on admissions decisions. Grants and loans are awarded at the beginning of the summer institute and may be used to reimburse travel costs to the summer institute and regional inductions. Applicants can also use transitional awards to pay for personal and moving expenses (e.g., deposits on apartments) and necessary coursework, testing, and district processing fees.
Teach For America is currently a member of AmeriCorps, the national service network. Through this relationship, our corps members who have not served previously as AmeriCorps members are eligible to receive loan forbearance and interest payment on qualified student loans during their two years of service. Additionally, those who have not previously received AmeriCorps awards receive an education award of $4,725 at the end of each year of service (a total of $9,450 over the two years), which may be used toward future educational expenses or to repay qualified student loans.
Corps members teaching during the 2006-07 school year are currently receiving these benefits as part of a three-year grant. Next year, Teach For America must apply for a new AmeriCorps grant. Therefore, while we are hopeful that 2007 corps members will receive AmeriCorps benefits during their two-year commitments, Teach For America cannot guarantee these benefits given the nature of the AmeriCorps competitive grant process and the dependence on Congressional funding cycles. Additionally, depending on the federal and state grant processes, some corps members might receive lesser AmeriCorps benefits based on availability of awards. Teach For America anticipates receiving final confirmation on education awards for next year in spring 2007. For further details on AmeriCorps benefits, visit the AmeriCorps website at www.americorps.org.
While no individual in any profession, including teaching, is exempt from concerns about personal safety, generally, anxieties about the dangers in low-income communities are not reflective of our corps members' actual experiences in the schools and neighborhoods in which they teach. Upon arriving in their regions, corps members most often find that their school communities become comfortable environments. The schools we work with are first and foremost learning communities for students, teachers and families.
That said, all teachers in all schools - not just low-income schools - should be aware of and vigilant about personal safety issues for the sake of their students and themselves. While crime on school campuses remains rare, and while incidents involving our corps members have been extremely rare, complacency about the possibility of the need to respond to a dangerous situation can increase the risk of being in one. We know that no amount of preparation can absolutely guarantee an individual's safety; however, we also address and discuss issues of personal safety during regional orientations. Every corps member is encouraged to review carefully his/her school's personal safety policies and to reach out to regional staff if they have further concerns about safety issues in their communities. Ultimately, most of our corps members find they are respected, appreciated, and safe in these environments. They also realize that the majority of the people they work and live with are just as committed as they are to the safety and success of their schools.
Click on the video player below to watch parents of corps members and alumni talk about their son or daughter's safety.
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