South Dakota
Overview
South Dakota is often called the Land of Infinite Variety, and indeed the state offers incredibly varied landscapes – the wide, open prairies of the northern plains, the great canyons and precipices of the Badlands, and the beautiful pine-covered Black Hills. Within the Black Hills themselves, the rich terrain is home to wandering herds of buffalo, antelope, and mountain goats. Altogether, the South Dakota region offers corps members a wealth of outdoor opportunities.
From Mount Rushmore to the Wounded Knee Memorial (on the Pine Ridge Reservation), South Dakota’s national landmarks and monuments have documented a delicate coexistence between the United States and the Great Sioux Nation.The single stone monument at Wounded Knee is a stark reminder of December 29, 1890, when the Seventh U.S. Cavalry killed hundreds of unarmed Lakota men, women, and children. Although tension and tragedy have played central roles in the history of the South Dakota region, the dominant spirit today remains centered on sustaining Lakota tradition, language, and culture.
Life
South Dakota corps members teach on both the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations. The Pine Ridge Reservation is located in southwestern South Dakota, and the Rosebud Reservation is in south central South Dakota along the Nebraska border. Most South Dakota corps members live in teacher housing located next to or near their schools. Some teachers choose to live in larger communities that are located 30-85 miles off the reservations.
Because of the reservations' geographic seclusion, they lack many of the conveniences readily available in small towns elsewhere. Small stores in towns on the reservation offer a limited range of products, and community members often must travel 30 miles or more to reach the nearest large grocery store. To avoid the sense of isolation experienced by some newcomers to the reservations, incoming corps members must be ready to embrace the very rural nature of this part of South Dakota.
Corps Culture
As part of the support network, South Dakota corps members can expect regular opportunities for collaboration and socializing, including cultural events and gatherings with colleagues and friends. The South Dakota corps is a tight-knit group. Corps members gather on a regular basis in professional learning communities to share teaching strategies and engage in collaborative planning. Weekends in South Dakota allow corps members the opportunity to travel to neighboring towns for dinner or to venture to the larger communities of Rapid City, Pierre, and Sioux Falls for a movie, concert, or play.
South Dakota corps members are also active members of their school and local communities and spend many nights and weekends at school and community events such as pow-wows, basketball tournaments, and community concerts. The South Dakota corps takes full advantage of the close relationships the small corps fosters and the beautiful geographic region in which corps members live. Because of its small size, Teach For America • South Dakota provides its 2010 corps members numerous opportunities to assume leadership positions within the corps in the coming year.
Teaching
The need for dedicated educators in south central and southwest South Dakota is clear. Schools chronically face low test scores, high dropout rates, and severe attendance problems. Many students struggle with language acquisition and begin school with a quarter of the vocabulary of their more affluent peers. Another obstacle many students and communities face is that over 70 percent of the population lives severely below the poverty line. Because South Dakota corps members live in such close proximity to the communities in which they teach, they have a very candid opportunity to work with school and community leaders and commit themselves to improving educational inequity on the reservation.
View a map of our placement areas.
Certification and Testing
To enroll in the certification program, corps members must pass exams called The PRAXIS Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers. Applicants assigned to South Dakota will receive more information about these exams once they are accepted. If corps members choose to stay beyond their two-year commitment, they also need to take pedagogy exams and content exams, if they have not done so already.
South Dakota corps members have the opportunity to receive full South Dakota teacher certification in two years, provided that they complete all requirements and achieve the necessary test scores. The South Dakota Department of Education has created an alternative certification program designed specifically for Teach For America corps members. All South Dakota corps members enroll in this alternative program and, once enrolled, corps members receive a two-year, non-renewable teaching certificate. To maintain their certification, corps members need to take four courses at local tribal universities. Two of these courses will be Indian Education and Human Relations. Classes are usually held one night per week for three hours.
Placements
| Elementary |
44% |
| Secondary |
56% |
| Teach at a school with another corps member or alumnus |
100% |
Placements Available
-
general subject elementary
-
specific subject secondary
-
special education
|
Living and Education Expenses
Salary and Taxes
| Salary |
$27,000 - $31,000 |
| Taxes |
13.45% - 13.65% |
Cost of Living
| Housing Single |
$150 - $400 |
| Housing Shared |
$75 - $200 |
| Health Insurance |
$0 - $175 |
| Utilities |
$130 |
| Daycare |
N/A / month |
| Monthly Tranist Pass |
N/A |
| Car Insurance |
$65 |
| Car Required |
Access to car is essential |
Start-up Costs
| Testing Costs |
$150 |
| Up-front Certification Costs |
$700 |
| How do you pay start-up costs? |
Out-of-pocket |
Ongoing Costs through the Two-year Commitment
| Ongoing Certification Costs |
$500 - $600 |
| Use AmeriCorps award for testing/certification costs? |
No |
| How is teaching certification structured in this state/region? |
1 year - Through TFA & universities |
| Is it possible to complete a master's degree at the end of two years? |
No |
| Is the completion of a master's degree required as part of the two-year commitment? |
No |
| Extra Master's Degree Costs |
N/A |
| Partner Universities |
Sinte Gleska Univ., Oglala Lakota College |
Notes and Clarifications
- Beginning teacher salary: If you have a master's degree in education, are placed in a bilingual classroom, or in a math/science classroom you may receive additional compensation.
- Avg. health insurance: In some placement districts, health insurance premiums are pre-tax deductions.
- Total tax rate: Federal + state + city. Only applies to starting salaries.
- Up-front certification: Expenses that must be paid before your first day of teaching.
- Paying start-up costs: Can you pay for testing and up-front certification costs with transitional grants and loans or do you have to pay out-of-pocket?
- Ongoing certification: Total certification costs over two-year teaching commitment.
- AmeriCorps award for certification: Can you use your AmeriCorps award to pay testing/certification costs?
- Master's in two years: Is it possible to complete a master's degree at the end of two years?
- Master's required: Is the completion of a master's degree required as part of the two-year commitment?
- Extra master's degree costs: Additional total cost to obtain a master's degree (on top of ongoing certification costs); does not include AmeriCorps award.
- Partner university(ies): These universities partner with Teach For America for ongoing certification requirements, and in some cases, the fulfillment of a master's degree in education.
