How We Assign Corps Members

Teach For America assigns corps members based on three factors – your regional and teaching subject preferences, the availability of teaching positions in each region, and regional coursework requirements.

Our assignment team works hard to match each corps member’s teaching assignment with his or her preferences. Ideally, all three inputs – your preferences, regional capacity, and previous coursework – are aligned. Unfortunately, we cannot always match every corps member’s placement to all of his or her preferences. Here are three of the most common scenarios where this occurs:

1: High regional need, not enough applicant interest

When the need is high but applicant interest is limited, we will place corps members in a region they may not have highly preferred in order to meet local needs.

2: High applicant interest, not enough regional spots

Some very popular regions simply don’t have enough positions for every corps member who wants to teach there, even if an applicant has an urgent reason for requesting the region. As a result, we must assign several applicants to other regions where they are more needed.

3: Stringent coursework requirements

Some regions with ample applicant interest have very stringent previous coursework requirements for certain positions, like secondary math and science. We therefore must prioritize assigning corps members who meet the region’s coursework requirements.

Establishing Your Preferences

We encourage you to preference a variety of options and take the opportunity to learn more about the teaching possibilities across grades, subjects, and within our 39 regions, including the following featured opportunities:

• The Mississippi Delta is adding more than 500 new corps members in the next two years. Corps members and alumni who live and work in this region value the tight-knit communities and build a foundation of leadership for future opportunities.
• Many other regions through the south and midwest are primed for growth due to funding, policy agreements, and demand in the community and education system.
• More than half of our regions asked for more math and science teachers last year.
• There is a high demand for quality educators in underserved subject areas like early childhood education, special education, and English as a second language.
• We place corps members in 3-5 new regions per year. In new regions, corps members can build a movement from the ground up and shape the region’s long-term culture. During the 2010-2011 school year, we opened regions in Detroit and San Antonio with over 100 charter corps members in each city.

Regardless of where you teach, the magnitude of your impact will result from your dedication, persistence, and willingness to take advantage of the training and resources available for you.