For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Rabinowitz | Teach For America
917.763.0697 | amy.rabinowitz@teachforamerica.org
NEW YORK, December 3, 2008—The Ron Brown Scholar Program and Teach For America today announced their strategic partnership to support African American students in realizing their full potential as leaders and applying their leadership to expand educational opportunity in our country.
The Ron Brown Scholar Program is the nation’s foremost scholarship program for African American youth. Teach For America is the national corps of top college graduates of all backgrounds who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Under their new partnership, the two organizations will facilitate each other’s recruiting efforts and work together to promote the personal and professional development of our nation’s next generation of leaders.
Teach For America will work closely with the community of Ron Brown Scholars, who are academically talented, highly motivated African American students with demonstrated social commitment and leadership potential. Since its inception in 1996, the Ron Brown Scholar Program has marked several achievements, including a 100 percent graduation rate. More than half of the Scholars have graduated from Ivy League universities.
“Teach For America is thrilled to announce and celebrate our newly developed partnership with the Ron Brown Scholar Program,” said Wendy Kopp, CEO and founder of Teach For America. “This partnership will help inspire top recent grads of all majors and career interests to channel their talent and energy toward ensuring that one day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.”
“The Ron Brown Scholar Program is very excited to partner with Teach For America, an organization that shares our commitment to providing opportunities to students in low-income communities,” said Michael Mallory, executive director of the Ron Brown Scholar Program. “Working with Teach For America is a wonderful way to support the Ron Brown Scholar Program’s overall strategy of providing our Scholars with a sense of community, enhanced peer support, critical post-placement services, and a range of leadership development.”
A number of Ron Brown Scholars have joined Teach For America upon graduation. One example is Jade Craig (Mississippi Delta Corps ’06), who grew up in the low-income, primarily African American community of Hattiesburg, Miss., and graduated from the University of Virginia. His experience as a Ron Brown Scholar gave him access to a network of peers who had overcome similar barriers to success and who shared his ambitious goals and deep sense of responsibility for helping others.
“Ron Brown Scholars are some of the most talented students in this country,” Craig said. “We all faced overwhelming obstacles and overcame them triumphantly, and we all have a responsibility to give back. Teach For America is the best way I can think of to do just that. We’re all climbing the ladder of success, and Teach For America is a way to help other children climb that ladder.”
About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This year, 6,200 corps members are teaching in over 1,600 schools in 29 regions across the country while more than 14,000 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 www.teachforamerica.org.
About the Ron Brown Scholar Program
Named for the late Secretary of Commerce and inspired by his dedication to public service, the Ron Brown Scholar Program was established in 1996 to provide academic scholarships, service opportunities, and leadership experiences for young African Americans of outstanding promise. The program seeks to accelerate their progress into the mainstream of leadership positions in business, education, government, and a wide spectrum of professions, while instilling a dedication to leadership and service.
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