National Nonprofit Joins Local Efforts to Expand Educational
For Immediate Release
Contact: Rebecca Neale | Teach For America
202.906.9207 | rebecca.neale@teachforamerica.org
CINCINNATI, March 7, 2012—Teach For America announced today that it will expand to Southwest Ohio, with plans to bring 30 top college graduates and professionals this fall to teach in some of the region’s highest-need public schools, and at least 30 additional corps members in each of the following two years. The organization launched its Southwest Ohio region based on support from school and district partners as well as civic and business leaders across Cincinnati, Dayton, and Covington, Ky.
Also today, Teach For America announced its expansion to the Cleveland area in Northeast Ohio, marking the first time in its 22-year history that two Teach For America sites have opened simultaneously in a single state. Ohio is the 35th state where the organization partners with communities to bring an additional source of effective teachers to under-resourced schools.
“I’m pleased to welcome Teach For America as a partner in our state’s efforts to improve educational outcomes for all Ohio students,” said Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner. “As a former teacher, I know the immense challenges teachers face, and I am grateful for the incredible work of all teachers who are working to put students on a path to success in their choice of careers or college and beyond.”
Working in partnership with communities, Teach For America recruits, trains, and supports talented and diverse individuals from all backgrounds who commit two years to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. This year, more than 9,000 first and second year Teach For America corps members are teaching in low-income communities across 43 urban and rural regions nationwide. More than 450 of them grew up or attended school in Ohio.
Teach For America is in the process of selecting its 2012 teacher corps from a record applicant pool of more than 48,000. Among this year’s applicants are nearly 1,200 Ohioans, including 70 applicants from the University of Cincinnati, nearly 175 from Miami University and nearly 350 from Ohio State. In its 2011 corps of 5,100 teachers, 34 percent are people of color, 31 percent received Pell Grants, 22 percent were the first in their family to attend college, and 23 percent were graduate students or professionals before joining Teach For America.
“We’re thrilled to expand Teach For America’s impact to Southwest Ohio and to build on the region’s strong commitment to closing the achievement gap,” said Wendy Kopp, chief executive officer and founder of Teach For America. “We are also grateful for the leadership of Gov. Kasich and the generosity of all our community partners and supporters, whose efforts will enable us to strengthen the pipeline of leaders working across the region to ensure that every child receives an excellent education.”
In 2010, the Ohio legislature passed a bipartisan bill enabling Teach For America corps members to obtain teacher certification across grades and subject areas, and the legislation was signed into law by Gov. Kasich.
“It’s great that communities across Ohio have partnered with Teach For America to help recruit new effective educators for some of our highest-need urban schools,” Gov. Kasich said. “I’m confident that the long-term leadership and dedication of these teachers will have positive impacts in schools across our state.”
For the coming school year, Teach For America will partner with Cincinnati Public Schools, Covington Public Schools in Northern Kentucky, and public charter schools across Southwest Ohio, including Lighthouse Community School, P.A.C.E. High School, CSR Academy, Dayton Leadership Academy, the Dayton Early College Academy, and National Heritage Academies. Teach For America corps members will enter the candidate pool for open teaching positions in high-need schools and subject areas.
“We're pleased that Teach For America is bringing an additional source of teacher candidate options to Cincinnati Public Schools,” said Eve Bolton, president of the board for Cincinnati Public Schools. “As we strive to provide every student with an excellent education, Teach For America offers one additional strategy for securing great teachers, particularly for our highest-need subject areas.”
"We are eager to welcome Teach For America as a partner in our efforts to attract and retain highly qualified teachers for Covington Independent Public Schools,'' said Lynda Jackson, superintendent of Covington Independent Public Schools. “As our board members researched the success of Teach For America, they were impressed with the campaign to find the best and brightest teachers across the United States. Teach For America has a proven track record of providing qualified, energetic and dedicated candidates, especially those with the skills to teach in hard-to-fill subject areas. We look forward to a successful partnership.''
Teach For America’s network includes nearly 24,000 alumni across the country who are working from within education and every other professional sector to level the playing field for children and families in low-income communities. Ohio is home to more than 300 Teach For America alumni. Nationally, two-thirds of alumni remain in education, including some 8,000 teachers and 650 principals and school leaders.
Teach For America also developed a partnership with the University of Cincinnati, where corps members will have the option to enroll in graduate-level coursework for additional professional development. Teach For America selected the University of Cincinnati based on its history of fostering innovation in education and its focus on preparing teachers for urban schools.
“We are excited to partner with Teacher For America and have an opportunity to work with the great people they recruit to be teachers,” said Dr. Lawrence Johnson, dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services.
Partnerships with a coalition of community groups, corporations, local philanthropists, and local school leaders enabled Teach For America to join Southwest Ohio’s efforts to expand educational opportunity. The Cincinnati Business Committee led a broad base of more than 15 funders in support of the organization, including leading Cincinnati businesses, the Lovett & Ruth Peters Foundation, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, and many others.
“Teach For America attracts many of our nation’s most talented college graduates to the teaching profession,” said Tom Williams, chairman of the Cincinnati Business Committee. “We are confident that Teach For America will have a broad impact on education reform in our community and help produce stronger student outcomes.”
A growing body of independent research shows that corps members are having a positive impact on student achievement—including recent studies from Tennessee, North Carolina and Louisiana. The most recent research, from Tennessee, found that Teach For America corps members had greater impacts on student achievement than the average new fourth-to-eighth-grade teacher in the state across all subject areas and grade levels, and that Teach For America was the top new-teacher preparation program in the state. Additionally, in an independent survey by Policy Studies Associates, Inc., 85 percent of principals who employ Teach For America corps members reported that the corps members made a positive impact on their schools.
In conjunction with the expansion announcement, Teach For America named Cincinnati native Ben Lindy as the founding executive director of Teach For America-Southwest Ohio. As a 2003 corps member, Lindy taught 7th-grade social studies and coached the track team at his school in Henderson, N.C. Lindy went on to teach with the KIPP charter school network before overseeing teacher-selection strategy for the D.C. Public Schools Office of Human Capital. Lindy holds a B.A. in history from Yale University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He is a nonpracticing member of the Ohio Bar.
“I’m thrilled to return to my home state to lead Teach For America’s efforts in Southwest Ohio,” Lindy said. “Our teachers are eager to work alongside the committed faculty in our partner schools and prepared to do whatever it takes to provide all students with a high-quality education.”
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding individuals of all academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. Today more than 9,000 corps members are teaching in 43 urban and rural regions across the country, while nearly 24,000 alumni are working across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Additional Remarks from Supporters
“Teach For America’s expansion into Ohio is a boost to the education system in areas that are under-resourced. All children deserve a quality education, and Teach For America is working hard to eliminate inequities within underserved communities. I look forward to seeing the positive impact the organization will have on students and families in Cincinnati and Cleveland.”—Sen. Rob Portman
“I’m pleased that Cincinnati will benefit from the Teach For America program in the coming year. Our students will benefit from this program’s collaboration with our local schools, and our community will benefit from the crop of young talent the program will attract.” —Rep. Steve Chabot
“Some of our top college students regionally are leaving to join Teach For America in other communities across the country, so giving them the option to stay in our region—and join efforts to improve outcomes for our kids, especially in the urban core—is important. I hope they continue this work in classrooms, in school leadership, and in other arenas, while we simultaneously ensure the many talented and certified teachers already here are retained and supported.” —Greg Landsman, Executive Director, The Strive Partnership
“Teach For America has produced some of the best teachers in America over the past few years. In fact, many of these teachers have gone into business or service in the communities they call home. Cincinnati would be well-served along several fronts to be able to attract this kind of talent.”—Jack Cassidy, Education Task Force Co-Chair, Cincinnati Business Committee
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