Greater Philadelphia
About Us
About Us
Since 2003, we have brought more than 2,000 new teachers to Greater Philadelphia, with two-thirds of our most recent group of alumni choosing to stay local and remain in the classroom beyond their two-year commitment. As a critical talent and leadership pipeline in education and beyond, we are also one of the most diverse teacher pipelines in the city of Philadelphia with 50% of our current corps identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Our alumni lead and fuel the efforts of change throughout the city: more than 400 of our alumni remain as teachers in Philadelphia classrooms, nearly 10% of all Philadelphia principals are TFA alumni, and 70 alumni serve in mid and senior systems level leadership roles in district and charter systems.
About Us
Despite the progress that we have begun to see, we know there is much more potential waiting to be unlocked. This is where you come in. The nearly 200,000 students in Philadelphia public schools are the ones who will write our city’s future and it is on us—alongside our city’s thousands of other dedicated educators—to help prepare them for this task. We must help students build the knowledge, skills, and leadership traits and develop the social and cultural consciousness that will allow them to realize their full potential and become our city’s next generation of leaders.
Changemakers wanted.
Living Here
Living Here
From the cobblestone streets of Old City to the trees and gardens along the Schuylkill River trail, Philadelphia is a city with character. It has world-class restaurants; museums and art galleries; four major league sports teams; and a thriving music scene. Philadelphia has the largest urban park in the country, Fairmount Park, complete with running paths, waterfalls, and a Japanese garden. But as much as any of these things, Philadelphia is known for being a city of small, walkable neighborhoods that make it feel comfortable and down-to-earth as well.
Local Leadership
Anna Shurak
Greater Philadelphia '04
Executive Director
Teach For America Greater Philadelphia
Anna's corps experience inspired a career dedicated to the students and communities in Philly and rooted in educational equity. She has since spent her career working to strengthen classrooms, redesign schools, and lead systems-level change in Philadelphia and Camden.
Certification and Graduate School
All Greater Philadelphia corps members and alumni teachers must meet state requirements to teach in Pennsylvania schools. See below for answers to common questions about becoming certified to teach in our region.
It’s easiest to transfer certification if you have earned your license and taught for two years after earning it. Pennsylvania accepts most out of state teacher certificates under the Interstate Reciprocity Agreement. If this is your scenario, you will need the following:
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Official transcripts in college-sealed, unopened envelopes showing bachelor's degree conferral from an accredited United States college or university
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The Pennsylvania Certification you are seeking
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A copy of your current and valid state certificate comparable to the PA certificate you are seeking, including official state URL for verification of status
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Any unique educator identification number or other identifier needed to verify your credential
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Provide proof of two (2) years of classroom teaching experience (PDE 338V Form). You can find this form here. Submit one form for each non-PA public PK-12 employer.
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Required content area test score(s) reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Education directly by the test administrator: ETS, ACTFL, or ES Pearson
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Complete and submit the application into the online certification management system, TIMS, for a comparable Pennsylvania certificate ($100 fee; electronic payment accepted)
More info here.
Certification can be completed through the following university partners:
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University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
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Relay Graduate School of Education
Approximately $130 to $275, depending on grade and content assignment. Depending on the number of attempts it takes to pass each exam, costs may add up.
The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
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$11,788 over one year for Instructional Certification
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$16,840 over two years for Special Education Certification
$59,336 over two years for Instructional Cert + Master's and Special Ed + Instructional Cert and Master's. All students who apply to the Master's program will be considered for additional merit-based scholarships and need-based financial aid.
The Relay Graduate School of Education
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$11,500 over one year. (Expected out-of-pocket cost after Segal Education Award is $5,005. Every corps member is eligible for this scholarship)
For more information on each program, please view this comparison chart.
Yes! Eligible corps members in good standing can receive education awards that are dispersed at the end of each year of service with Teach For America.
For more information about your eligibility and the benefits of being a part of AmeriCorps, please click here.
In order to become certified to teach in Pennsylvania, all teachers must take one or more tests from either the Praxis series of assessments administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS) or the Pennsylvania Educator Certification Tests (PECT) administered by Pearson Learning. This is a requirement for enrolling in certification coursework with our university partners and for teaching in all of our partner schools. In addition, passing your exams earlier increases your chance of securing a specific teaching position in the spring or early summer, as opposed to having to wait until August or later to obtain a job.
Please be aware that those who do not pass these tests might be unable to teach in Greater Philadelphia and may need to request a deferral to join the following years’ corps. For this reason, we strongly urge you to take your exams as early as possible and to begin preparing now. Over 40 percent of Greater Philadelphia our corps members failed at least one test in years past. Even for those corps members who ultimately passed, failing once meant additional out-of-pocket testing expenditures and in many cases, having to wait to secure a job. While we will recommend resources for you to use in order to prepare for your test(s) and to assist you in the registration process, it is ultimately your responsibility to take and pass all of your exams. Each of our certification partners has final deadlines for test passage.
The PA Intern Certificate costs $200.
If you are interested in joining Teach For America, please go here for instructions on how to apply.
If you have general questions, you can schedule a time to connect with us by signing up here.
If you are an alumni new to Philadelphia and have questions about transitioning, please email Claiborne Taylor at claiborne.taylor@teachforamerica.org
Teach For America Greater Philadelphia works with two partner universities: Relay Graduate School of Education and the University of Pennsylvania.
The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
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$53,940 over two years for general education and Special Education.
The Relay Graduate School of Education
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$17,500 over two years. Expected out-of-pocket cost after Relay scholarship is $16,000. (Every corps member is eligible for this scholarship).
Please note that if you decide to pursue a master’s degree, certification costs are included in the above prices.
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