State Farm Continues Investment in Education with $1.5 Million Gift to Teach For America

JACKSONVILLE, June 27, 2011—State Farm has pledged $1.5 million to Teach For America in support of the national nonprofit’s efforts to close the achievement gap in our country, bringing State Farm’s total giving to $3.9 million since 2008. Teach For America recruits, trains, and supports top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in under-resourced schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity.

The funds will support Teach For America’s national operations and the impact of Teach For America corps members and alumni in nine regions. The Jacksonville region, where 110 corps members will reach roughly 7,000 students in the 2011-12 school year, received $110,000 at a check presentation at Terry Parker Senior High School on June 6. The other eight regions are: Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, New York, Phoenix, South Dakota, the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and Washington, D.C.    

“We’re so grateful for State Farm’s leadership in supporting Teach For America corps members and alumni in Jacksonville as they work alongside other committed educators to ensure that all of our children have access to an excellent education and the opportunity to realize their dreams,” said Crystal Jones, executive director of Teach For America’s Jacksonville region. “State Farm’s generous gift helps us grow our impact in Jacksonville by enlisting additional outstanding recent graduates and professionals in the movement to expand educational opportunity for students growing up in our highest-need communities.”

Of the gift, $100,000 will go toward Teach For America’s efforts to recruit, train, and support corps members, and $10,000 will go toward school supplies. Additionally, State Farm has pledged to donate books and school supplies to the Jacksonville and Miami-Dade regions from its back-to-school drive organized by State Farm’s Florida employees and agents that will be held in July and August.

“The best economic stimulus package is to ensure our children are well-educated,” said State Farm Senior Vice President Jim Thompson, who is the head of State Farm’s Florida activities. “We can’t expect educators to tackle it alone. Businesses and every community sector must be at the table with organizations like Teach For America to advance programs created to help foster student achievement in the classroom which extends into the future workforce.”

State Farm has been one of Teach For America’s National Champion Investors since 2009. National Champion Investors provide annual support of $1 million or more, and others include Fidelity Investments, Glenview Capital, Google Inc., The Medtronic Foundation, Visa Inc., and Wells Fargo.

Since its founding in 1990, Teach For America’s network has grown to 33,000 people. This fall, 9,000 corps members will be teaching in 43 regions across the country while nearly 24,000 alumni continue to work in a variety of professional sectors to expand opportunities for kids growing up in low-income communities.  

A growing body of rigorous research demonstrates that Teach For America corps members have a significant impact on student achievement. Most recently, studies of teacher pathways in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee found that students of Teach For America teachers outperformed their peers. Two-thirds of alumni continue to work full-time in education, including more than 550 school leaders. Additionally, more than 50 alumni serve in elected office.

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.  

About State Farm

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. Our 17,800 agents and more than 66,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 34 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.