Teach For America first came to Charlotte in 2004.  Four years later, a four million dollar gift from the C.D. Spangler Foundation enabled us to nearly double the size of the corps, making Charlotte Teach For America’s second fastest-growing region. Combined with incredible leadership at the district level and a growing force of alumni, we are quickly expanding our impact on more students across the region. 

That impact starts in individual classrooms – a lesson I learned as a corps member in Quitman County, Mississippi. My students came to my classroom willing to do all the things I would expect a good student to do. They had an amazing work ethic and determination, but they were part of a school that was failing them. My challenge as their teacher was to do my half of the job, creating an environment of high expectations and intensive support to help them catch up and excel.

So it’s especially rewarding that Teach For America corps members have been named Charlotte’s first-year teacher of the year for six years running. With an increasingly diverse corps and nearly 70% of Charlotte-area alumni working full-time in education, we have the potential to become an even more impactful catalyst for change and reform in North Carolina and the nation.