Deciding Your Preferences

Opportunity for Impact

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. Please note: your regional, subject, and grade-level preferences have no bearing on your ultimate admissions decision.

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

Step 1 - Review summer training schedules

Summer training consists of a three to five day regional induction, a five-week institute, and a one to two week regional orientation. You must attend all these summer trainings in their entirety as a condition of joining the corps. 

Before you indicate your regional preferences, you will have the opportunity to review the 2013 summer training schedule for each region. Because the dates of our required trainings in each region vary, it will be important that you consider this information when indicating your regional preferences, and do not list a region as preferred unless you will be able to attend the entirety of their summer trainings. 

If you have any irresolvable scheduling conflicts during our summer trainings, you will have the opportunity to let us know. We will only be able to consider a limited number of events in your assignment, such as: your own wedding, a late graduation date, or a contractual obligation.  

Step 2 – Let Us Know about Special Circumstances

Some corps members have unique circumstances impacting their regional assignment. Examples include: a spouse or domestic partner whose job restricts where you can live, 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 your circumstances limit the regions where you can live. 

Step 3 – Tell us where you would prefer to teach 

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. While your flexibility is appreciated, it 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.
  • "Highly preferred” means that you would be excited to teach in this region. Most applicants select at least five highly preferred regions. The more regions you highly prefer, the more likely you are to get one of your highly preferred regions.
  • "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.
  • "Least preferred” means that of the regions on your list, you are the least excited about being placed in this region, but would still consider joining the corps if placed here. Most applicants have a maximum of two least preferred regions. 

Step 4 – Tell us what you would prefer to teach

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.