National Event to Raise Awareness of Educational Inequity Brings LSU Head Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri, ExxonMobil Refinery Manager Steve Blume, Amedisys Chief Development Officer Tim Barfield, Other Leaders into Local Schools as Guest Teachers
BATON ROUGE, La., May 2, 2011—Leaders from across the region will serve as guest teachers during Teach For America Week, to be held Monday, May 2 – Friday, May 6. Confirmed participants include Louisiana State University’s head baseball coach Paul Mainieri, ExxonMobil refinery manager Steve Blume, and Amedisys chief development officer Tim Barfield.
Teach For America Week, an annual event since 1997, draws community leaders nationwide to support educational excellence for all children. These volunteers will visit the classrooms of Teach For America teachers, also known as corps members, and teach lessons based on their experience in business, politics, and beyond.
“We’re excited about the broad range of leaders participating in Teach For America Week this year,” said Michael Tipton, executive director of Teach For America in South Louisiana. “By sharing their expertise in classrooms across our region, these accomplished individuals will make a lasting impression on hundreds of students and help to focus attention on the importance of providing all children with the educational opportunities they deserve.”
Teach For America is the national corps of top recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to expand educational opportunity. Teach For America’s network includes 8,200 corps members teaching in 39 regions and a national force of 20,000 alumni at the forefront of efforts to end educational inequity.
This year in South Louisiana, 190 Teach For America corps members are reaching more than 11,000 students in underserved schools while over 100 alumni are working from every sector to level the playing field for students and families in low-income communities.
LSU head baseball coach Paul Mainieri will teach in Kaycie Rueter’s class at Highland Elementary School in Baton Rouge on Monday, May 2. A graduate of the University of Portland, Kaycie is in her first year of teaching.
“I’m looking forward to serving as a guest teacher during Teach For America Week and talking with the class about teamwork and sportsmanship,” said Coach Mainieri, who is participating in the event for the first time this year. “As a member of the Baton Rouge and LSU community, I see how important it is that students are academically prepared for higher education. It’s inspiring to see the real and lasting impact of Teach For America teachers and alumni on our students’ academic trajectories."
A growing body of rigorous research demonstrates the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members as classroom teachers. A 2008 Urban Institute study updated in 2009 found that corps members have a positive effect on student achievement relative to other teachers, including experienced teachers, traditionally prepared teachers, and those fully certified in their field. An earlier study by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. found that students of corps members make more progress in a year in both reading and math that would typically be expected, and attain significantly greater gains in math compared with students of other teachers, including veteran and certified teachers.
Schedule for confirmed guest teachers:
Paul Mainieri, Head Baseball Coach, Louisiana State University.
Highland Elementary School, Monday, May 2, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Tim Barfield, Chief Development Officer, Amedisys.
Children’s Charter Elementary School, Monday, May 2, 1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Patrick Mulhearn, Director of Studio Operations, Celtic Media Centre.
Kenilworth Middle School, Tuesday, May 3, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Steve Blume, Refinery Manager, ExxonMobil.
Capital Middle School, Tuesday, May 3, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Tom Hawkin, President – Louisiana Division, Atmos Energy.
Scotlandville Elementary School, Wednesday, May 4, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Luke Kissam, President, Albemarle.
Lanier Elementary School, Thursday, May 4, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Angela Zeringue, Polyolefins Plant Manager, ExxonMobil.
Istrouma High School, Friday, May 5, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Brian Keller, Chief Marketing Officer, BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana
Dalton Elementary School, Friday, May 5, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
About Teach For America and Teach For America Week
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Teach For America Week is the annual, nationwide event in which guest teachers engage students from some of our nation’s lowest-income communities and inspire them to pursue academic success. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.
###
Contact: Kaitlin Gastrock
Teach For America
646.315.1396
kaitlin.gastrock@teachforamerica.org
Copyright 2012 Teach For America, Inc. All rights reserved
Teach For America logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Teach For America, Inc.
Teach For America was named one of America's top 100 Ideal Employers in Universum's 2011 American Student Survey.
Teach For America was named one of Fortune magazine's top 100 employers to work for.
Teach For America thanks our National Partners for their generous support.