Close to 1,000 Teachers and Staff Members Kick Off Second Annual Summer Teacher Training Program at Organization’s First Rural Training Location
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kaitlin Gastrock | Teach For America
646.315.1396 | kaitlin.gastrock@teachforamerica.org
CLEVELAND, Miss., June 9, 2011—More than800 new teachers will arrive at Delta State University this Sunday to begin five weeks of rigorous training at Teach For America’s flagship rural training location. These teachers are embarking on an intensive training program known as Delta institute that will prepare them to lead public school classrooms this fall. With 160 Teach For America staff members also on site, the population of Cleveland, Mississippi will swell by almost 1,000.
At the Delta institute, corps members will work under the close supervision of veteran local educators and Teach For America staff to measurably increase the academic performance of students in summer school classrooms in 10 local school districts while living at Delta State University.
"Delta State is proud of its partnership with Teach For America,” said Dr. John Hilpert, president of Delta State University. “Hundreds of corps members train on our campus. In turn, those new teachers enhance the lives of thousands of students here in Mississippi and across the nation. It is a privilege for us to host this organization and to work with their dedicated staff and leadership.”
Some 300 of these new teachers will stay in the Delta region of Arkansas and Mississippi this fall to teach some 24,000 students in the area’s highest-need public schools. These local teachers are among the 5,100 new Teach For America corps members nationwide, the largest incoming corps in the organization’s 20-year history. They were chosen through a highly selective process that attracted a record 48,000 applicants.
“We’re thrilled to train so many of our newest teachers and future education leaders right here in the Delta,” said Ron Nurnberg, executive director of Teach For America in the Mississippi Delta. “Our teachers are poised to have a real impact on the Delta’s highest-need schools and students teaching summer school and leading classrooms throughout the school year.”
A growing body of rigorous research demonstrates the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members in the classroom. Recent studies from Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee found that corps members have a positive impact on student achievement. Part of a multi-year statewide study of teacher-preparation programs in the state, the Louisiana study found that Teach For America corps members in Louisiana were outperforming other new teachers and were as effective as veteran teachers across the state in math, science, reading, and language arts.
“The Teach For America summer training institute at Delta State is giving young educators a strong foundation for sharing their talents in the classroom,” said Sen. Thad Cochran. “I’m proud that we have this program in Mississippi as a good means of improving student achievement in schools throughout the Mississippi Delta.”
The new corps members in the Delta will join the 260 corps members in their second year of teaching and the 250 Teach For America alumni in the region who are working from within education and every other professional sector to expand opportunities for students and families in low-income communities. Of the nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni nationwide, two-thirds remain in education, including 550 who are school principals or school system leaders.
About Teach For America
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. Today, more than 9,000 corps members are teaching in 43 regions across the country while nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit http://www.teachforamerica.org.
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