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Parents & Families Parents & Families

corps members gather to discuss leading a Teach For America classroom

Teach For America looks for promising leaders to join the fight against educational inequity. As you consider joining TFA, we encourage you to bring your parents, family, and friends into the conversation. Learn more about the things that matter most to your loved ones as you make this decision.

What We Do

All children deserve the opportunity to learn and grow to their fullest potential. But in America today, the circumstances of a child’s birth predict the opportunities they have in life.

Teach For America recruits and develops leaders to teach for at least two years in low-income communities. We support them as they continue their impact after the corps, whether they remain in the classroom or go on to other professional paths in pursuit of educational equity.

Changing the inequitable systems in our country will take a diverse network that consists of educators making a direct impact in schools and communities, working with other leaders across many sectors. Throughout our country, TFA corps members and alumni are doing just that, day in and day out, expanding opportunities for students and working to create a more equitable educational system.

Our Theory of Change

How do we change systems that perpetuate inequity and ensure that all children can achieve to their fullest potential? Brittany Packnett, VP of community alliances at Teach For America, narrates our theory of change.

Regional Placement

Corps members work in 50 regions across the country, from large cities to rural communities.

During the admissions process, applicants rank TFA regions where they might like to teach, and indicate their preference of grade level and subjects to teach. About two weeks later, if admitted, they will receive their regional and subject placement. Read more details about our regional placement process.

Three factors are taken into consideration with regional placement: 

  • Need and opportunity. We place corps members in communities where our impact can be felt most strongly, and where there is both need and opportunity at schools.
  • Qualification requirements. Each region has its own set of requirements for our corps members to teach there. College courses will determine eligibility.
  • Personal preference. As long as corps members are eligible, we do our best to place them in one of their most preferred regions. The vast majority of applicants are placed in one of their top-choice regions.
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Support and Success

Teach For America has created a pathway for corps members to be prepared as educators and lead their students to dramatic academic growth. Teaching is an incredibly demanding experience, but we deeply believe that each person admitted into the corps has the qualities to be successful.

Most corps members do not have a formal background in education, so TFA ensures that support systems are in place for all corps members to learn and improve throughout their two years.

  • Summer Training

    All corps members attend a rigorous training program over the summer. While the exact curriculum varies among regions, all include the fundamentals of teaching; classroom management; leadership; and diversity, equity, and inclusiveness. Corps members co-teach a classroom and receive observations and feedback from TFA staff.

    • Las Vegas summer training takes place in schools at which corps members and alumni teach. Corps members are supported by three different coaches during summer training.
  • Regional Support

    Grounded in maximizing student learning and building leadership, each of our regions provides a variety of experiences and support structures during the two-year commitment. These include a teacher coach, region-wide professional development days, and the opportunity to earn a teaching certification or master’s degree while in the corps.

    • Corps members in Cleveland receive one-on-one coaching, classroom visits, and professional development sessions from their teacher coach.
  • Leading a Classroom

    Alumni say that TFA is among the most formative experiences of their lives, preparing them to excel in future endeavors. As classroom leaders, corps members develop tangible skills, like data analysis and strategic thinking, and exercise essential skills, like building relationships and taking informed risks.

    • In the Rio Grande Valley, corps members measure success through quantitative data and qualitative metrics like community advocacy.

Finances

Corps members are full-time teachers employed by a school or district, and receive a full salary and benefits. Additionally, many corps members are eligible to receive federal funding to help cover past, present, or future student loans through our partnership with AmeriCorps.

During the summer

As an incoming corps member, Teach For America wants you to be able to focus on training, leading and impacting students. To this end, all participants are offered a baseline transitional financial stipend to help cover your costs while you engage in your initial training and as you transition into the corps. 

The baseline amount for all 2022 corps members is a $5,000 stipend.  This baseline transitional financial support stipend is $10,000 for all 2022 corps members who are Pell Grant or DACA/qualifying immigration status recipients or who would have otherwise qualified for PellYour Transitional Funding is intended to provide support with the following items: testing and application fees, fingerprinting/background checks, travel to region, rent/other basic living expenses during Practicum summer teaching.  

In addition, Teach For America offers need-based funding packages that can further support you as you get settled, prior to receiving your first paycheck. Both loan and grant amounts vary by need and by the costs associated with transitioning to your region. 

We invite you to read more about Teach For America’s financial supports
 

As a corps member

Salaries vary depending on regional placement, but corps members are paid the same as other beginning teachers in their school or district. In addition to AmeriCorps federal funding, corps members may qualify for national or regional scholarships and grants. Compare regions to see more details.

After The Corps

Once corps members have completed their two-year commitment, they join our alumni network of 55,700 people continuing their impact in all sectors.

Lifelong leadership

Our alumni network is a collective force for change. Lifelong educators, school system leaders, medical professionals, and public policy advocates work in tandem to enact change across sectors. In the last five years alone, 42 TFA alumni have been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Career pathways

After the corps, career paths are limitless, and our alumni can be found making an impact in virtually every sector. Thousands of alumni lead in business, policy, law, or have launched entrepreneurial ventures.

Graduate school and employer partnerships

TFA partners with hundreds of graduate schools and employers, including Harvard Business School, Northwestern Law School, McKinsey, and Google. These partners provide corps members and alumni with special benefits, such as deferrals and financial incentives.

Lilian Ho

Lilian Ho

Bay Area '07

Pediatric Resident

Seattle Children's Hospital

During a public health internship in college, Lilian realized that teaching would blend her passion for science and her commitment to helping people. She’s now a pediatric resident working in rural communities that lack access to health care.

Matthew Aiken

St. Louis '10

Litigation Associate

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

As a judicial law clerk for the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Matthew Aiken dealt with major legal issues on a daily basis. Despite the weight of this responsibility, he credits his ability to embrace the challenge to his time teaching 9th grade math as a corps member.

Sara Gonzalez

Twin Cities '15

Lead Kindergarten Teacher and Grade Level Chair

KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School

Sara joined the Twin Cities corps hoping to prepare for a career in education policy or the nonprofit sector. As soon as she started teaching, however, Sara discovered the classroom was exactly where she wanted to be.

Jonathan Cook

Massachusetts '11

Machine Learning, Strategy & Product Operations

Google

Dr. Jonathan Cook’s love for science led him to TFA, where he taught the subject as a corps member.

Frequently Asked Questions

There may be many questions if your child or family member chooses to serve as a Teach For America corps member so here are the answers to four frequently asked questions. If you have additional questions not answered, visit Frequently Asked Questions.