Teaching

Student achievement is drastically lower in Kansas City, Mo. than in more affluent neighboring schools.

• Over 80 percent of Kansas City Missouri School District (KCMSD) students qualify for free and reduced lunch, and only 10 percent of students are considered low-income in a school district just 30 minutes away.
• Students growing up in the wealthier neighboring districts are three times as likely to score proficient or higher on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) by the third grade.
• Recent MAP results show that 23 percent of third or fourth graders scored proficient or higher on the math section of the Missouri Assessment Program test, while only seven percent of seventh and eighth graders and two percent of 10th and 11th graders scored proficient or higher in math.
• With graduation rates hovering at 50 percent, less than half of those students that do graduate from KCMSD go on to attend college.

However, area schools are implementing plans to close this achievement gap, and have been supported by recently increased state spending in education.

• Many schools are focusing their energy on upgrading instructional personnel and developing a more structured core curriculum in a concerted effort to increase students’ academic performance.
• Kansas City schools have been supportive about partnering with Teach For America in this endeavor.

Members of the Kansas City corps will have the opportunity to play a dynamic role in the city’s education reform movement and to profoundly affect the educational experiences of some of the nation’s most disadvantaged students.

View a map of our placement areas.

Certification and Testing

Kansas City corps members teach on a Provisional Certificate, which is valid throughout their two-year commitments.

• Provisional certificates are nonrenewable and can ultimately lead to full certification.
• In order to qualify for the provisional certificate, all corps members are required to complete at least nine units of certification coursework through Rockhurst University and complete an academic contract. These courses are worked into the summer institute training.
• Some corps members will also be required to pass a Praxis II content area exam.

Kansas City corps members also have the opportunity gain full certification as well as a Master’s degree in education by the end of their two-year commitments. Rockhurst University offers coursework toward a Master’s in elementary or secondary education.