National Nonprofit Joins Local Efforts to Expand Educational Opportunity
For Immediate Release
Contact: Rebecca Neale | Teach For America
424.220.0604 | rebecca.neale@teachforamerica.org
FLORENCE, S.C., April 28, 2011— Teach For America announced today that it will expand to South Carolina, with plans to bring 30 top college graduates and professionals this fall to teach in some of the state’s highest-need rural schools, and at least 30 additional corps members in each of the following two years. State Board of Education member Mike Brenan, Darla Moore vice president of Rainwater, Inc., and founder and chair of the Palmetto Institute; and supporters from across the state joined a press conference at Francis Marion University announcing the organization’s 42nd region. Teach For America recruits, trains, and supports outstanding recent 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.
Launching its 20th-anniversary year last May, Teach For America fielded 4,500 new corps members from an applicant pool of more than 46,000. Among the 8,200 current corps members teaching in urban and rural school districts across 31 states and the District of Columbia, more than 100 grew up or attended school in South Carolina. Teach For America received nearly 48,000 applications for its 2011 corps, including more than 650 from individuals in South Carolina.
“In the words of the late Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, clergyman, educator, scholar, and first African-American President of the Atlanta School Board from Greenwood, South Carolina, ‘Every man and woman is born into the world to do something unique and something distinctive and if he or she does not do it, it will never be done.’ Teach For America offers us a transformational opportunity to demonstrate that where children live will not prevent them from having the chance to do something unique and distinctive,” said Darla Moore.
Teach For America selected South Carolina as an expansion site for the coming school year based on support from state and school district leaders seeking an additional pipeline of effective teachers to address the region’s significant achievement gap. Additionally, the South Carolina State Board of Education’s passage of guidelines enabling Teach For America corps members to obtain teacher certification catalyzed the organization’s expansion to the region.
“This new partnership means that 30 of the brightest young people in America will soon be applying for jobs in high-poverty rural schools that traditionally face big challenges in recruiting teachers,” said State Superintendent Mick Zais. “You can’t fail to be impressed by the willingness of these young people to tackle a tough job, and to do it with energy, enthusiasm and effectiveness. I’m betting that students and parents will be impressed, too.”
Corps members will apply for open positions in high-need schools in Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, and Florence county schools and Lake City College Prep Academy. The organization will continue to pursue partnerships with additional school districts over the coming weeks.
“Teach For America is excited that our corps members and alumni will be part of the momentum in South Carolina toward educational excellence and equity," said Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America. “We are grateful for the support of Darla Moore and her colleagues at the Rainwater Charitable Foundation and Palmetto Institute; BB&T Bank’s Mike Brennan; and, State Superintendent Mick Zais, whose partnership has been critical to the development of a Teach For America presence there.”
Teach For America’s network includes more than 20,000 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. South Carolina is home to some 65 Teach For America alumni. Nationally, more than 13,000 alumni remain in education, with more than 550 serving as principals and school leaders. Additionally, hundreds of alumni are winning accolades in the classroom, including the 2005 National Teacher of the Year and nearly 550 other teachers of the year at the state, district, or school level.
Teach For America's local university partner will be Francis Marion University. All Teach For America corps members in South Carolina will enroll at the university to obtain their state teaching certification. Teach For America selected Francis Marion University due to its history of fostering innovation in education and its focus on preparing teachers for urban schools.
"Francis Marion University is proud to partner with Teach For America and the Palmetto Institute to enhance the learning opportunities available for K-12 students in the Pee Dee region and throughout the state,” said Francis Marion University President Fred Carter. “We are excited to serve as the host university, and we’ll work diligently to accommodate our new TFA teachers and facilitate their instructional efforts.”
A broad coalition of supportive community groups, corporations, local philanthropists, and school leaders made the South Carolina region an ideal location for Teach For America, with the Rainwater Charitable Foundation making the lead investment to enable expansion into the region.
A growing body of rigorous research demonstrates that Teach For America corps members are highly effective in the classroom. In 2010, the Tennessee State Board of Education found that Teach For America teachers in the state made a statistically significant, positive difference on student achievement in every evaluated subject, and had a greater impact on student achievement than other new teachers. A 2010 study from the University of North Carolina found that corps members added the equivalent of an extra half-year of learning in middle school mathematics. Additionally, a 2009 Urban Institute study found that high school students taught by Teach For America teachers outperformed their peers, even those taught by fully certified teachers.
In conjunction with the expansion announcement, Teach For America named Greenville native Josh Bell as the founding executive director of Teach For America-South Carolina. As a 2008 corps member, Bell taught seventh- and eighth-grade reading and social studies and coached the baseball team at his school in Charlotte, NC. After teaching, Bell joined Teach For America’s staff, working to recruit top college graduates and professionals in Georgia and South Carolina to join Teach For America. Bell holds a B.A. in history from Clemson University, where he served as the student body president his senior year.
“I’m thrilled to return to my home state to lead Teach For America’s efforts in South Carolina,” Bell said. “Our teachers are eager to work alongside the committed faculty in our partner districts and prepared to do whatever it takes to provide all students with a high-quality education.”
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 8,200 corps members are teaching in 39 regions across the country while 20,000 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.
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