For Third Straight Year, Study Finds Teach For America Produces Some of State’s Most Effective Beginning Teachers
For Immediate Release
Contact: Becky O'Neill | Teach For America
615.242.6263 x11864 | becky.oneill@teachforamerica.org
NASHVILLE, Tenn., November 1, 2012—The Tennessee Higher Education Committee (THEC) released findings today that Teach For America in Nashville is among the state’s most effective teacher-preparation programs. The findings place Teach For America-Nashville among just five out of 44 programs in the state that are producing teachers with higher student-achievement gains than other beginning teachers. Teach For America-Nashville is the only program other than Teach For America-Memphis to rank among the sources of the state’s most effective teachers for three years running.
“We are proud of the 200 Teach For America corps members serving in public-school classrooms across the Nashville region,” said Teach for America-Nashville board chair Julie Frist. “Their hard work, passion, and deep commitment to Tennessee’s school children are evident in these results.”
In 2007, as part of a series of bipartisan reforms aimed at improving the state’s educational system, the Tennessee General Assembly began requiring the State Board of Education to report on the effectiveness of teacher-training programs. Each year, Teach for America uses this robust analysis of teacher performance to continue strengthening its approach to teacher training and support.
“We feel so fortunate to have this rich information on the impact of our teachers,” said Shani Dowell, executive director of Teach For America in Nashville. “As we celebrate their efforts and those of their students, we’re eager to dig deeper to identify bright spots, increase supports in challenging subjects, and refine our ability to prepare corps members for the demands of the classroom.”
A member of the Nashville community since 2009, Teach For America benefits from strong partnerships with Metro Nashville Public Schools, local charter public schools, the Office of the Mayor, and Lipscomb University, as well as support from veteran educators and administrators and business, community, and civic leaders across the region.
Teach For America provides a two-year continuum of ongoing development for teachers in high-need classrooms across the city. According to the THEC report—an analysis of Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) data and end-of-course (EOC) results—Teach For America teachers have a positive impact on student achievement in more evaluated subjects than teachers from any other program.Teach For America corps members lead students to greater gains than average beginning and veteran teachers infourth-through-eighth-grade TCAP math, science, and social studies, as well as in overall TCAP performance and in high school Algebra I EOC results.
“Teach For America corps members bring so much energy and innovation to our classrooms,” said Andrew Williams, Assistant Principal at Cane Ridge High School, “They have been an invaluable asset to our students and so many others across the city."
Tennessee is one of three states, along with Louisiana and North Carolina, to assess the effectiveness of beginning teachers from various preparation programs. Each state has found Teach For America to be among its most effective teacher providers.
“This educational impact has implications far beyond the classroom,” said Ron Corbin, president of RBBC Holdings and co-chair of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Education Report Card Committee. “Studies have shown that just a year of great teaching can increase a student’s lifetime earnings. Preparing our teachers to be successful in the classroom is critical to the economic health of our city as a whole.”
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 10,000 corps members are teaching in 46 urban and rural regions across the country, while nearly 28,000 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 and Twitter.
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