Our country is at an inflection point, with an outmoded and inequitable education system and overlapping crises of climate change, gun violence, threats to our democracy, and so much more. We have lived through moments of crisis like this before, and what disrupted our trajectory was people—people who got into action and had courage. People with a vision for a more just, equitable future who were committed to creating the world as it should be.

Nearly 70,000 of these changemakers have joined us at Teach For America over the last three decades to lead classrooms across the country—because the classroom is where all the systems in a community and a society collide. The truth is, there’s no way forward on all the deep challenges facing our country without a strong public education system. That is ground zero for all the issues we need to solve, and we have to get education right in order to have a thriving society, economy, and democracy. 

And it is clear that more of the same in education isn't working. Meeting this moment and building for the future will require nothing short of a transformation. And at Teach For America, we’re starting with ourselves, transforming how we operate to be responsive to the dynamic world around us and pursue our ambitious 2030 goal to double the number of children in communities where we work who reach key educational milestones and live a choice-filled life. 

Our organization-wide transformation has been in motion over the last few years and has required many hard choices. When I speak to our community members, alumni, and partners these days, they are inspired by our commitment to hold ourselves accountable to our communities and by our decision to embark on a hard path that will maximize our impact.

We have positioned ourselves to be more responsive to the realities for our students and communities, and to inspire a new generation of college graduates to join this work. And we are seeing results: We're on track to grow our incoming teacher corps this fall by at least 30 percent. In the last year, our Ignite tutoring program expanded by 125 percent, while the number of our alumni in key leadership roles rose by 9 percent. 

We are still in the middle of our transformation, but when we pull up from all that we are building—from creating, falling short, getting back up, trying again—we can see the long view of our impact over three decades. We can see all the corps members going above and beyond every day. We can see all the alumni stepping into leadership roles with a commitment to drive uncommon results and be a mirror of possibility for their students. 

This view is moving and remarkable, and it has called us to launch a new way of presenting ourselves to the world: a new brand identity to embody the work of this moment and the enduring values of equity, excellence, and leadership that underlie it. This includes a new look, a new logo (for the first time in 25 years), and a new tagline that concisely states what animates our work at its core: “Illuminate every learner.” 

Our hope is that out in the world, our new brand identity will illuminate our work and ignite a spark in others, inspiring them to share our vision for the future. It’s rooted in hope, grounded in reality, and accountable to our kids and communities. While a brand is more than just a look, a logo, a color palette, or a tagline, those things are one way we shine a light on who we are today and who we aspire to be. 

With all the data and evidence to draw from on what works with and for our students, with the inspiring leadership within our network, and with the enduring commitment of our remarkable staff, I could not be more optimistic about the path ahead. When we look back three decades years from now, we’ll be able to point to many other changes, big and small, that have made Teach For America stronger, more impactful, and more accountable to our communities. And we will remember this moment as pivotal in helping bring us ever-closer to our vision of a world in which every child has the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

Learn more about Teach For America’s new brand identity with our FAQs.