As a South Carolina 2012 corps member, Vinnie Amendolare made an indelible impact on his students and the community where he taught. That impact continues to grow as one of his former students, Ajoi’a McRae, followed in his footsteps by joining Teach For America South Carolina (TFASC). She is now inspiring young people in her classroom to reach their potential and imagine a brighter future. 

Choosing a Career of Purpose

Amendolare described his years teaching at Marlboro County High School as one of the hardest, most rewarding experiences.  

After graduating from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in finance, he applied to Teach For America (TFA) instead of more traditional career pathways. In his heart, Amendolare aspired to be a teacher, and TFA afforded him the opportunity to still pursue his dream through its teacher corps program. Teach For America trains young leaders from all academic majors and career backgrounds to transform student outcomes at the most under-resourced schools. Amendolare wanted to expand educational opportunities in South Carolina, which contrasted with his upbringing in New Jersey.  

Making a Difference

He entered a community where some 12th grade students were reading at elementary grade levels.  

Yet, after one school year, his students achieved a 92 percent pass rate on the statewide exam—nearly 50 percent higher than the schoolwide pass rate. Amendolare wrote a curriculum that resulted in 325 students increasing their reading skills by two grade levels in 18 weeks. His significant impact led to national recognition with TFA’s Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teacher Leadership Award.   

How did his students accelerate their academic progress so quickly?  

As a new teacher, TFASC gave him the confidence and tools to advocate for his students. 

Amendolare also knew the importance of connecting individually with each student. “I wanted to understand each student’s dreams and discuss how we could co-create lessons to close learning gaps, so they felt supported in reaching their dreams.”  

“When I gave my students everything I had, my students gave me everything they had,” he continued. 

Inspiring the Next Generation 

Ajoi’a McRae, Amendolare’s former student, is now applying these same lessons as a first-year English teacher at Darlington Middle School.  

“Mr. Amendolare was one of my best teachers because his lessons applied to real life, and he found a way to connect with each of us,” said McRae, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Coker University and worked as a preschool teacher before joining TFASC. 

Both Amendolare and her mom, who is also a teacher, inspired McRae to become a TFASC corps member and work toward ending educational inequity. During Teach For America’s full-time summer teacher training, McRae received TFASC’s Core Value Award for her ability to strengthen communities and build diverse coalitions.  

“Mr. Amendolare blazed a trail as a charter corps member in South Carolina, and I am honored to follow in his illustrious footsteps,” added McRae. “As our movement progresses forward, my advice to future educators is to stay vigilant in the hard work toward building a more equitable education system, and in the process, be the light because all students deserve to be heard and loved.” 

Beyond the Classroom

TFASC’s intensive training and coaching provided Amendolare with the leadership framework to make a widespread impact throughout his career. Following his two-year teaching commitment with TFASC, he worked for the Obama Administration as the deputy director for presidential correspondence and served as a speechwriter for TFA Chief Executive Officer Elisa Villanueva Beard. Currently, Amendolare is focused on health equity as the chief of staff at Novartis.  

As McRae begins her teaching career, she hopes to serve as an inspiration to the next generation of leaders to pursue their dreams - just as Mr. Amendolare did for her in his high school English classroom.