The Importance of Flexibility
Finding out where and what you’ll likely be teaching is an exciting part of being accepted to Teach For America. Corps members teach grades pre-K through 12 in 46 urban and rural regions across the country, reflecting the tremendous scope of the challenge our nation faces.
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.
While your preferences have no bearing on your admissions decision, we encourage you to consider these underserved subjects:
- Well over half of our regions asked for more math and science teachers last year.
- There is a high demand for educators in subject areas like early childhood education and Spanish/bilingual education.
- The need for special education teachers is growing quickly in many of our regions, but we often don’t have enough corps members who have indicated that they’d be willing to teach special education.
HIGH PRIORITY REGIONS:
Detroit
According to the 2010 census, Detroit is losing its population faster than any other American city. We can help fill this void by providing high-quality teachers to Detroit schools now, teachers who will become the city's leaders for the long haul.
Las Vegas Valley
Less than half of Clark County’s 300,000 students graduate from high school, and Nevada’s high school graduation rate ranks last in our entire nation. This poses a serious threat to the state’s economic growth.
