Grant to Support Recruitment and Professional Development of Teachers in DFW-area schools
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Kaitlin Gastrock | Teach For America
646.315.1396 | kaitlin.gastrock@teachforamerica.org
Stacey Lentz | Lowe's Companies, Inc.
704.758.2173 | stacey.c.lentz@lowes.com
DALLAS, Tx., March 28, 2012 — Teach For America and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation today announced the foundation’s $1 million grant to support Teach For America’s work in seven metro areas, including Dallas-Ft. Worth. Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding recent college graduates and professionals to teach in high-need urban and rural schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity.
Dallas-Ft. Worth will receive $100,000 from the grant. In the 2011-12 school year, 300 Teach For America corps members are reaching some 24,000 students in high-need schools. In addition, another 250 alumni are working across sectors to helpensure that all children in the Metroplex have access to an excellent education.
“It is our responsibility as a society to ensure that all children, regardless of socioeconomic status, receive the excellent education they deserve,” said Charles Glover, executive director of Teach For America in Dallas-Ft. Worth. “Lowe’s generous support will fuel the efforts of our corps members and alumni who, in partnership with other dedicated community members, are working from inside and outside the classroom to expand educational opportunity for all our children.”
More than 9,000 Teach For America corps members are teaching in 43 regions across the country, reaching more than 600,000 students. Nearly 24,000 alumni of the program, with a firsthand understanding of what it takes to help students fulfill their true potential, lead and support critical efforts to expand educational opportunities in low-income communities. The other six metro areas receiving assistance from Lowe’s foundation are Charlotte, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Philadelphia.
“The future of our country is being formed in classrooms across the nation every day,” said Marshall Croom, chairman of the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. “As part of our strong commitment to education, Lowe’s is proud to support Teach for America’s work to bring a quality education to students who will become our future leaders.”
A growing body of research demonstrates the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members as classroom teachers. Recent studies from Louisiana (PDF), North Carolina and Tennessee found that corps members have a positive impact on student achievement. The most recent study from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission identified Teach For America as the most effective of the state’s 42 teacher-preparation programs for the second consecutive year.
This $1 million investment brings Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation’s total giving to Teach For America to $2.25 million since 2010. Lowe’s has a long history of supporting the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects.
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding individuals of all academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. Today more than 9,000 corps members are teaching in 43 urban and rural regions across the country, while nearly 24,000 alumni are working across sectors to ensure thatall children have access to an excellent education. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Lowe’s
Lowe’s supports the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. The company’s signature education grant program, Lowe’s Toolbox for Education®, has donated nearly $5 million in grants to K-12 public schools every year since its inception in 2006. Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers support local community projects and our national nonprofit partners such as Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross. In 2011, Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation together contributed more than $32 million to support communities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. To learn more, visit: Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility.
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