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St. Louis

This year, a corps of 150 of the nation’s most promising future leaders are teaching in our city’s lowest-income classrooms as a part of Teach For America • St. Louis. They are working to ensure their students have the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are a leadership force, working from within education and every professional sector to effect broader change. Together they are helping us make educational equity a reality in St. Louis. Learn about living and teaching in St. Louis.

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Corps Impact

Alumni Impact

Financial Sustainability

Regional Supporters

Contact Us

Executive Director

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Corps Impact

During the 2007-08 school year, 150 corps members are directly impacting the lives of nearly 13,000 students in St. Louis. Adrian Larbi-Cherif is one example of the tremendous differences our corps members are making.

Adrian Larbi-Cherif (St. Louis Corps '07) Undergraduate University: University of Texas at El Paso Major: Physics, Math

Adrian Larbi-Cherif teaches high school physics at Cleveland NJROTC. From day one, Adrian repeatedly told his skeptical students that they could excel in his rigorous physics course with dedication and hard work. At the end of the first quarter, his students demonstrated they had internalized this message by progressing from indecipherable answers on their initial tests to scoring an average of 71 percent, surpassing the district-wide average of 59 percent, on this year’s first round of benchmark tests. Adrian and his students are thrilled that the class is on track to make huge academic strides this year.

St. Louis : Our Impact on Students and Schools Today

School Year	Corps Members	Students Reached
2005-06	81	6,885
2006-07	127	10,795
2009-10	200*	17,000*

*projected

Principal Satisfaction

• 90 percent of recently-surveyed principals (in schools with Teach For America corps members) reported that they would hire another Teach For America teacher.*
• 91 percent of principals surveyed regard Teach For America teachers as effective as, if not more effective than, other beginning teachers in terms of overall performance and impact on student achievement.*

*"Teach For America 2007 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2007.

Impact on Student Achievement
According to a highly regarded study by Mathematica Policy Research, corps members outpaced fully certified and veteran teachers in their schools in moving their students ahead academically. Read national results.

Student Profile

• Students served who are eligible for free/reduced lunch: 82%
• Students served who are African-American and/or Latino: 84%

St. Louis : Corps Member Placement

Assignment	# of Corps Members	% of Corps
Mathematics	17	12.1%
Science	16	11.3%
Special Education	32	22.7%
Social Studies	8	5.7%
English	32	22.7%
Foreign Language	5	3.5%
Elementary	31	21.9%
Total	141	100%

*Percentages are rounded and may not add up to 100 percent.

Characteristics of the 2008 Corps

Corps Profile	Top alma maters by market share*
Average GPA: 3.6	Spelman College: 16%
Average SAT: 1320	Morehouse College, Williams College, Yale University: 11%
Held leadership roles on campus: 95%	Duke University, Georgetown University, University of Chicago, Wake Forest University, Wesleyan University: 10%
People of color: 29%	Amherst College, Harvard University, Haverford University, Notre Dame University, Princeton University, Rice University: 9%

*Percentage of senior classes who applied to Teach For America

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Alumni Impact     

Fostering Alumni Leadership for Systemic Change
As the number of corps members grows, so does our alumni base. By 2010, we will have nearly 300 Teach For America • St. Louis alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.

• Nationally, more than 65 percent of corps members continue to work in education,
  including more than 300 who are school leaders.
• 93 percent of all alumni report they are supporting Teach For America’s mission
  through their career, volunteer activity or graduate study.*
  

*Self-reported data as of April 2007. Represents 57% of our alumni network.

Nathalie Means (St. Louis Corps '03) Undergraduate University: Spelman College Major: History, Spanish Current profession: Assistant Principal, McKinley Classical Junior Academy

David Hunn (Los Angeles Corps '00) Undergraduate University: University of California-Los Angeles Major: English, French Current profession: Reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

David Hunn and Nathalie Means are two of the many alumni continuing to work toward our vision in St. Louis. David is an education reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Nathalie serves as an assistant principal in the St. Louis Public School District.

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An Efficient Program: Cost Breakdown

Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2007-2010

Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in St. Louis, and another talented leader with the insight and commitment necessary to sustain the reform efforts underway, which is critical to the ongoing vitality of our region.

Year	Corps Size	Revenue Needs
2007-08	141	$2.8 million
2008-09	181*	$3.47 million*
2009-10	200*	$3.7 million*
* projected

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Regional Supporters

We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in St. Louis. The foundations, corporations and individuals listed below have made it possible for Teach For America to continue to recruit, select, train, and support teachers who are working to eliminate educational inequity in our city.

Advisory Board
Cindy Brinkley President AT&T Missouri
Maxine Clark (Chair) Founder & President Build-A-Bear Workshop
Donald Danforth, III Founder & President City Academy
Steven Fox Managing Director Harbour Group
Ward Klein (Vice Chair) CEO Energizer Holdings, Inc.
Jim Murphy CEO Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors
Ron Rubin CEO The Republic of Tea
Ellen Sherberg Publisher St. Louis Business Journal
Anthony Thompson President & CEO Kwame Building Group, Inc.

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Contact

To support Teach For America • St. Louis with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:

Teach For America • St. Louis
Dustin Odham, Executive Director
Amy Rosenblum, Development Director
815 Olive Street
Suite 14
St. Louis, MO 63101
p 314-621-9100, f 314-621-9127
dustin.odham@teachforamerica.org
amy.rosenblum@teachforamerica.org

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Executive Director

Dustin Odham graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) with a degree in finance. While at SMU, Dustin served in a number of campus leadership roles including Student Body President. As a corps member, Dustin taught Geometry and Trigonometry at Beaumont High School in St. Louis' north side where his students scored some of the highest classroom averages in the district-wide, standardized benchmark exams. He also coached the varsity girls' basketball team and started a successful Saturday tutoring program. In recognition of the significant impact he made in his students' lives and community, Dustin was named Beaumont High School's Most Influential Teacher and was the regional finalist for the national Sue Lehmann Award for Excellence in Teaching.

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