Although New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, when you zoom in on Newark and the surrounding towns like Elizabeth, Passaic and Orange, the need for education reform led by great teachers couldn’t be clearer. Four out of five high school students will not graduate within four years, and many never graduate at all. 

Teach For America • Greater Newark was established in 1993, but in the past few years we’ve significantly expanded our reach to help more students in low-income communities across northern New Jersey. Our alumni have been absolutely essential to this effort.  School leaders like Ryan Hill (New York Corps ’99) at KIPP TEAM, Charity Haygood (Greater Newark Corps ’96) and Dominique Lee (Greater Newark Corps ’07) at BRICK Avon Academy, and Fred Givens (New York Corps ’92) of New Visions Academy are creating entirely new opportunities for students in our area to attain an excellent education.  Many of these schools, which operate in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the Northeast, are populated by Teach For America corps members and alumni who are laying the groundwork to provide kids with an education that truly transforms their life prospects. 

Perhaps most exciting, Teach For America alumna Cami Anderson (Los Angeles Corps '93) has taken the reins of the Newark Public Schools as Superintendent – a clear sign that the city is serious about turning around one of the most challenging school systems in the country.  Working with Cami, Mayor Booker and our many partners, we are working to create the change that is so desperately needed in our community.