Where and What You'll Teach

Your Opportunity to Make an Impact

Finding out where and what you’ll teach is one of the most exciting parts of being accepted to Teach For America. Corps members teach grades pre-K through 12 and more than 10 different subjects in 43 regions across the country, reflecting both the national scope of the challenge we face and an enormous opportunity.       

We encourage you to keep an open mind when indicating your preferences for grade levels, subjects, and regions. Many corps members have fallen in love with communities they previously knew nothing about, and have connected deeply with students of very different ages than those they anticipated teaching. Your flexibility will also allow us to place you in an area where you are needed most, giving you an opportunity to make an even bigger impact. 

Here are some featured opportunities for you to consider:

• Well over half of our regions asked for more math and science teachers last year.
• There is a high demand for educators in underserved subject areas like early childhood education, special education, and Spanish/bilingual education.
• The Mississippi Delta is the source of iconic American art forms like the blues and gospel music, but by third grade, kids are often two grade levels behind in reading and writing. In the Delta, you have the opportunity to serve as a catalyst for change, and nearly 95% of Delta corps members hold leadership positions in their schools.  

How We Place Corps Members

We know many factors influence your preference for living and working in certain regions, and we work hard to match your placement with the preferences you indicate. We also strive to work in communities with the highest need, and encourage you to think broadly about your opportunity to make an impact in those regions.   

When are we able to match your teaching assignment with your preferences?

• The preferences of our applicant pool are aligned with regional needs and placement availability.
• You have all the prerequisite coursework required to teach in your preferred regions, grade levels, or subject areas. 

How do you indicate where and what you’d like to teach?

If you are invited to a final interview, you’ll be able to tell us your regional, subject, and grade-level preferences.

Step 1 – Tell us your regional preferences

If you are open to teaching in any region, you can indicate this flexibility and we will assign you to the region where you are most needed. Please note that your flexibility, while appreciated, has absolutely no bearing on admissions decisions. It is important that only applicants who are truly flexible choose this option.

OR

• You can choose to select the regions where you want to teach. You must choose at least 10 regions as that will give you the greatest opportunity to be placed in a region of your choice.
• One of those regions needs to be a region that we indicate as “priority” meaning there is an urgent opportunity to grow the corps there.
• You will indicate if the regions you choose are highly preferred, preferred, or least preferred.
  • Selecting a region as “highly preferred” means that you would be excited to teach in this region. Most applicants select at least six highly preferred regions.
  • Selecting a region as “preferred” means that you would strongly consider teaching in this region if you were to be accepted into the corps, but might need to learn more about the region before you could accept our offer to teach here.
  • Selectng a region as “least preferred” means that being placed in this region would be a barrier to joining the corps. Most applicants place very few regions in this preference level.  

Step 2 – Indicate Your Grade-Level and Subject Preference

Tell us what range of grade levels you’d prefer to teach: elementary (pre-K to 6), middle (6-9), or high school (9-12) and indicate your preference to teach each subject. You may also indicate that you would like your subject and grade-level preferences to outweigh your regional preferences. Learn more about how certification works.

Step 3 – Let Us Know about Special Circumstances

A limited number of corps members have unique circumstances impacting their regional assignment. These special circumstances can include: a spouse or domestic partner who has a lack of flexibility due to employment, a role as primary caregiver for an elderly, young, or sick family member, or a serious medical condition that requires assignment to a specific region. You’ll have the chance to let us know if you have these special circumstances.

Step 4 – Identify Institute Conflicts

Identify any unresolvable scheduling conflicts during our summer institutes, which you must attend in its entirety to join the corps. We will only be able to consider a limited number of events in your assignment, such as: a corps member's own wedding, a late graduation date, or a contractual obligation. 

When do you find out your regional and teaching assignment?

If you are admitted to the corps, you will receive details about where you’ll teach and what subject and grade level you’re tentatively assigned to teach when you receive your admissions notification.