Celebration at Creative Artists Agency to Recognize Leading Area Philanthropies’ Support and Partnership in Fostering Educational Equity
For Immediate Release
Contact: Masharika Maddison | Teach For America
917-836-7365 | masharika.maddison@teachforamerica.org
LOS ANGELES, Calif., February 24, 2012 — Teach For America announced today that it has received $3 million from two philanthropic organizations: Dream Fund at UCLA ($2M) and Windsong Trust ($1M). These gifts will support Teach For America’s efforts to recruit, develop, and retain high-potential teachers in the Los Angeles region. The announcement came on the heels of the arrival of the region’s new executive director, David Stanley.
David is a Los Angeles native and joined the New York City corps in 2005 and has been a part of the organization in a number of domestic and international (Teach For All) capacities since. About the generous gifts, Stanley shared, “This is a pivotal moment in Teach For America’s efforts in Los Angeles. I am moved by the overwhelming support that’s been shown to ensure all kids receive an excellent education. These gifts are a significant step in ensuring we are able to provide an additional source of effective teachers for our classrooms, as well as long-term leaders in public education.” Currently, 260 corps members are positively impacting the lives of nearly 19,000 students in Los Angeles, alongside more than 1,400 alumni who also call the region home. Over 60% of alumni in Los Angeles work full-time in education, including 52 principals and school cluster leaders.
Dream Fund at UCLA, a unique philanthropic partnership established by UCLA and The Lincy Foundation, is dedicated to supporting research, academic, and health care programs, as well as charitable causes that address large societal concerns.
Windsong Trust, established in 2009 by the late philanthropist Martin Crowley, is a charitable trust designed to help support the education of children under the age of 18. The trust supports a variety of projects in K-12 and early childhood education, with a focus on expanding educational opportunities for underprivileged youth.
A growing body of rigorous research demonstrates the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members in the classroom.Recently, three states—Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee—studied the effectiveness of teachers from different teacher-preparation programs, and each of the three concluded that Teach For America corps members have a greater impact on student achievement than other new teachers.
On February 27th at 7pm, Teach For America will host an event at Creative Artists Agency’s headquarters in Los Angeles to celebrate the work of corps members and alumni, and honor these major contributions to the organization. Media will be permitted inside the event.
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 that all children have access to an excellent education. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/teachforamerica and Twitter http://twitter.com/teachforamerica.
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