District Partners: The biggest impact happens together
Supporting school leadership with systems change leaders
Our focus is supporting our district partners in improving academic excellence and equity in communities across our nation. Our systems change leaders work alongside school partners and their staff to advance the academic and personal growth of students in the classroom, and beyond. You can see facts about who we are and what we do when you download this overview about us.
How our support model works
As a leadership development program, we seek out those who possess the perspectives and qualifications necessary to become great teachers – and foster their skills to become lifelong leaders for educational excellence and equity.
Teacher Corps
Participants in our teaching program commit to teach at least two years in a region where we work. These passionate, equity-focused leaders are placed with the best interests of each region, district, school, and community in mind.
Many corps members decide to continue their time in the classroom beyond their two-year commitment – often staying within their placement district or region. Others pursue education-focused careers or leadership positions, continuing to work for the betterment of future generations within their communities.
Ignite Fellowship
Our national tutoring program, Ignite, builds on our experience with school partners by recruiting and developing leaders who join classrooms virtually to accelerate and nurture student learning, belonging, and growth through small group tutoring sessions.
- Learn more about Ignite
- Download Ignite FAQs
Alumni Network
Our diverse network of alumni leaders are passionate about advancing and advocating educational equity in the United States. Their work helps ensure opportunities for every learner by illuminating new paths in education, and strengthening, rebuilding, and reimagining schools in disadvantaged and low-income communities.
- Download our annual report
- Get quick facts about our impact
Fostering collective impact
To further the commitment of our change leaders, and to meet the needs of our district partners, TFA provides an actionable and comprehensive set of professional development tools and resources. These supplemental development programs aim to keep our corps members engaged in education longer – and kids and communities benefiting from positive impacts that are stronger.
To advance these outcomes, we’ve designed a system of support to meet the unique needs of our corp members as well as school leadership, the student body, and the community. These resources include:
Direct coaching through a Managing Director, Leadership Development (MD, LD) who co-creates and roadmaps individual learning plans as well as provides 1:1 observation, feedback, and guidance to corps members and their school leaders. This level of support facilitates:
- Deeper working connections between school leaders and teaching coaches
- More impactful individualized and customizable learning plans
- Cohesive and financially efficient teacher preparation
- Greater student engagement and achievement
Virtual and in-person instructional development centered on pedagogy, content, and execution. Our updated teacher preparation program provides data-based learning through student surveys and Teachstone’s Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Teachers gain:
- Relevant teaching knowledge and skills
- Local community history and context
- Equity-focused leadership development
- Self-reflection for personal and professional growth
Download an overview of our program supports
Certification partnerships provide access to evening and weekend courses to supplement the professional development of our teachers, many of whom have not completed a traditional course of study in education. This means they must earn their initial teaching license before entering the classroom as well as meet requirements within their region or state over the course of their two-year commitment. Our regional staff members help make that possible by providing:
- Guidance on fulfilling requirements and meeting local deadlines
- Test prep webinars
- Study materials
- Connections with those who have already completed requirements
- Access to AmeriCorps benefits including federal funding to help with incurred costs
Read more about how we prepare leaders for success in education.
Professional toolkits through a partnership with BetterLesson, giving educators and district personnel access to ways to connect and share high-quality lesson plans, partake in workshops, 1:1 coaching, and more to support their efforts working with the next generation of students both in school and out.
- Lesson plans provide a body of knowledge around instructional practice from master educators who share their rich, comprehensive lessons and effective strategies with teachers across the globe.
- Courses drive ongoing professional learning asynchronously with a vast library of resources that support differentiated learning experiences and empower teachers to personalize their professional development.
- Tools and resources are designed and curated specifically to align with the corps member roadmap and cover a variety of instructional topics.
Watch what educators say about BetterLesson coaching.