I am concerned about my regional, subject, or grade-level assignment.

• We have a process that attempts to match your preferences (region, subject, grade-level) with your teaching assignment. As regional needs change, we must respond by assigning applicants to available positions in order to maximize the impact that we can have on students’ educational outcomes and on closing the achievement gap.
• As more school districts and communities seek Teach For America teachers, we are identifying even more opportunities for you to impact some of our nation’s most underserved areas, such as high-need regions like the Mississippi Delta and high-need subjects like math and science.
• We understand you may have constraints or specific reasons why you want to be in one region and/or subject. Given regional and district demand, we ask you to remain open to learning more about the opportunities in regions you may not have considered initially.

I am concerned about becoming a good teacher

• We search for people who demonstrate the qualities that define successful teachers.
• We provide corps members with the training necessary to gain the skills and knowledge we know are necessary to succeed. And, we provide a two-year structured program of ongoing support and professional development to help corps members achieve success with their students.
• Along with their formal network of support, corps members often collaborate with each other and with other teachers in their schools by sharing techniques and approaches that work in their classrooms, and participating in efforts to support the communities in which they work.

I am concerned I will get off my career track if I join

• Alumni say that the responsibility associated with teaching in a low-income community and taking ownership of their students’ academic progress is far greater than that of any entry-level job they considered.
• You will refine your leadership, communication, and presentation skills, while also sharpening your ability to problem solve, think strategically, and influence and motivate others. You will also test yourself in new ways that will help bolster your inner strength and enhance your self-awareness.
• More than 100 graduate schools seek out our alumni. Benefits include two-year deferrals and scholarships.
• Over 20 leading employers offer benefits such as two-year deferrals, internships, and career mentoring.

I am concerned about meeting my financial needs

• As a corps member, you will be paid a full teacher’s salary ranging from $27,000 to $47,500, depending on your placement region, and will receive full health benefits.
• To help cover moving and start-up costs, Teach For America offers no-interest loans and grants ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 to help cover travel to the summer institute and to the region where you will teach, testing and certification fees, and other relocation expenses.
• Corps members are eligible for loan forbearance, a period of time during which you are permitted to temporarily put off making regular monthly payments.
• Corps members are also eligible for AmeriCorps to pay up to 100 percent of the interest that accrues on your federal student loans during your two-year commitment.
• Teach For America is currently a member of AmeriCorps, the national service network. All corps members who have not previously received two AmeriCorps awards receive an education award of $4,725 at the end of each year of teaching, totaling $9,450 over two years, which they use to pay for graduate school costs, educational training, or repayment of qualified student loans.*

Learn more: managing finances during the corps experience.

**Teach For America is currently a member of AmeriCorps. Given the nature of the AmeriCorps competitive grant process and the dependence on Congressional funding cycles, we cannot guarantee these benefits for the 2010 corps until receiving final confirmation in spring 2010. Recent changes in national service laws may result in an increase to the education award for 2010.