Our 14,000 alumni are a leadership force - working from within education and from every sector to effect fundamental change.

Alumni School Leaders: A Fact Sheet

Currently, more than 300 Teach For America alumni serve as school leaders in 31 states, the District of Columbia, and three international territories. Despite their varied routes to leadership, there are common characteristics shared by many of them. As you consider the road to school leadership in your own region, these characteristics may help shape your thinking.

Leader Demographics
Gender	Our alumni school leaders are: 53% male 47% female
Diversity	62% are Caucasian 18% are African-American, Black 8% are Latino, Hispanic 5% are Asian-American, Pacific Islander 2% are Multi-ethnic
Corps Year	80% completed the corps in or before 1998 20% completed the corps between 1998-2004

Student Demographics
Diversity	On average, alumni-led schools serve a population that is: 16% Caucasian 41% African-American, Black 36% Latino, Hispanic 5% Asian and 2% Other
Economics	On average, alumni-led schools serve a population in which 66% of the students receive free/reduced lunch.
Grade Levels	1% of alumni-led schools are early childhood facilities 38% are elementary schools 33% are middle schools and 15% are high schools 13% are some combination of grades

School Characteristics
Type	48% of alumni-led schools are charter 47% are traditional public and 5% are private
Size	The average number of students served at alumni-led schools is 420.
Age	45% of alumni-led schools have been in operation for five years or fewer At least 15 schools (7%) are in the first year of operation.

Data is for the 2004-2005 school year (where available) and is current as of December 12, 2006

In Their Own Words: Reflections on Leadership

Some staff members admitted they were skeptical because of my youth, but they're warming up to me. I keep things focused on the kids, and people respect me for that. It's hard to turn around a failing school - it's more complicated than turning around a classroom because of all the people involved.

On the really hard days, I think back to the work I did in the corps, and that keeps me going. I remember the huge obstacles my students and I overcame to achieve our goals. When I think about all we accomplished, I know it's possible to turn this school around, too.

-Principal Aurora Lora
Houston Corps '00
Tubman Middle School, Portland, OR
Completing her E.D.D. in Urban Superintendency, Harvard University

I was teaching in Oakland and my school had gone through several changes in leadership in just a couple of years. As things fell apart, I realized that I just couldn't be isolated in my classroom any longer.

I started to take on leadership roles and became more concerned with school-wide issues. That experience made me realize that a principal has such a big an effect on a school. I took a few educational leadership classes at San Francisco State and decided to get my master's in Educational Leadership at St. Mary's College in California. It came with an administrative credential, and the rest is history.

-Principal Don Vu
Bay Area Corps '94
Brooktree Elementary School,
San Jose, CA