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The Basics
Our corps members teach full time for at least two years in schools that are underserved due to systemic racism and/or poverty. Corps members are:
- Selected by Teach For America
- Trained and supported by Teach For America
- Hired by a local school or district
- Paid the same salary and benefits as other new teachers
- Certified to teach while in the corps
Why Join
Education is the most powerful lever we have to create a more just world. And it starts with individual kids, classrooms, and communities.
As a teacher, you’ll have a meaningful impact with kids right away. Over time, you will build relationships that change you, find a community, and gain skills that transfer to leadership in any sector.
With Teach For America, you’ll earn a living and live your values every day at work. Check out some of the financial and career benefits corps members receive.
- Full salary, vacation, and health benefits: These come from your school district and salaries range from around $32K - $72K per year, depending on the region
- Transitional support stipend: All incoming corps members automatically qualify for a $3,000 to $6,500 Baseline Regional Stipend based on region. An additional $3,000 Pell/EAD Stipend is also automatically added for all corps members who are Pell Grant recipients or EAD holders, regardless of region. All corps members also have the option to apply for additional need-based support, including grants, and zero-interest loans.
- Other financial incentives: Including, based on eligibility, AmeriCorps Awards of around $7K per year, regionally-based signing bonuses, and housing partnerships
Learn more about how TFA fosters financially sustainable career paths for our corps members.
- Grad school and employer partnerships: Including deferrals, scholarships, fee waivers, internships, and more
- A diverse and supportive network: 66,000+ alumni and staff, working together in pursuit of educational equity
- A career and networking website: Exclusively for our network, which includes a job board and the opportunity to connect directly with hiring managers
- Skill-building and fellowship opportunities: Intended to accelerate impact in school leadership, social entrepreneurship, elected leadership, and more
- Membership in Leadership for Educational Equity: A nonpartisan nonprofit that supports leaders with classroom experience to engage civically and politically
Four Reasons to Apply
Build a more just world
Build a more just world
Inequity of all kinds can be understood and fought from the very same place where possibility lives: a classroom. This is more than a job, it’s a creative pursuit of justice alongside the people who hold a vision for a better future – kids.
Find connection and belonging
Find connection and belonging
In the corps, you’ll find your people. You’ll connect with your corps cohort through shared values and experiences. You’ll fall in love with your classroom and school community. And you’ll join a fierce network of collaborators in TFA’s alumni community. These relationships run deep and last a lifetime.
Grow as a systems thinker and leader
Grow as a systems thinker and leader
Your training, day-to-day impact, and ongoing development will advance your leadership and systems thinking in ways that you can apply to many facets of your life. Learn to build impactful communities as you build coalitions of support around your students and their dreams.
Open new career opportunities
Open new career opportunities
Accelerate your career with more relevant learning and development than any other job out there. Transfer your earned skills to any career path. And get lifelong access to exclusive opportunities and connections.
Prepare to Teach
Prepare to Teach
Teaching is heart work and hard work. Really hard work. We’ll prepare you for your first day in the classroom and be by your side every day after that. Our goal is to help you find success with your students and sustainability in your career.
Meet Your People
This experience starts with a two-year commitment and continues for a lifetime.
A lifetime of advocating for your students. A lifetime of leadership. And a lifetime of friendships. We hear from corps members again and again that the connections they form are one of the most surprising, lasting and beneficial aspects of joining the program.
Your Corps Cohort
Depending on location, you may be a new corps member with anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred others in your region. These are the people who will walk with you through the experience of being a first year teacher. They’ll laugh with you, cry with you, and stay up late lesson planning (and maybe making TikToks) with you.
Your Students
They might be in your classroom for just a single school year, but your students will be in your heart for forever. And you’ll be in theirs too. Years after you teach them, you may find them dropping by during free period, inviting you to their graduation, or even choosing a career inspired by their favorite teacher. The impact of a great student-teacher relationship is immeasurable.
Your Regional Team
You’ll hear from your region immediately after being accepted to the corps and they will guide you through training, hiring, and getting settled before your first day of school. Your local staff, especially your teacher coach, will become your closest partners in your development as a teacher and leader.
Your Local Community
Our students are surrounded by communities that love them, inspire them, and rally behind them. Successful teachers build relationships with parents, families, neighbors, and community partners – joining a fierce network that stands in every kid’s corner.
The TFAmily
Teach For America’s first ever summer training kicked off in 1990. Since then, more than 66,000 people have joined our teacher corps. When you join us, you join their community. You’ll find our alumni everywhere. You’ll work together, innovate together, and support one another. We even celebrate our fair share of TFA marriages.
Are You Ready?
The opportunity to change everything starts with an application.