Teach For America launches with 489 corps members in New York, Los Angeles, Eastern North Carolina, South Louisiana, and rural Georgia. Within three years, the number of corps members and of regions both double.

The federal government establishes AmeriCorps, with Teach For America as one of several charter programs.

Corps members begin to lead their own classrooms during summer training, rather than serving as student teachers.

Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin (both Houston ’92) launch the Knowledge Is Power Program for fifth graders; the first KIPP academies open the following year in Houston and the Bronx.

Students taught by the corps reaches 45,000.

TFA creates its national board of directors, with management consultant Sue Lehmann as the first board chair.

Chris Barbic (Houston ’92) launches Project YES at Rusk Elementary School in Houston, which will grow to become YES Prep Public Schools.

90% of principals rate corps members' teaching as “good” or “excellent” in a national survey.

An ambitious five-year plan is launched to double the size of the corps and expand to more than 20 regions.

Students taught by the corps reaches 80,000.

Julie Mikuta (Greater New Orleans ’91) is the first alum on record to run for and win public office, serving as an elected member of the Washington, D.C., Board of Education.

Students of the first corps members' kindergarten classrooms graduate from high school.

Jason Kamras (D.C. Region ’96) is honored as National Teacher of the Year.

Wendy Kopp co-founds Teach For All with Brett Wigdortz, bringing our model to other countries facing educational injustices.

Michelle Rhee (Baltimore ’92) is named chancellor of D.C. Public Schools—the first large district leader who is a TFA alum. She hires as her deputy Kaya Henderson (New York ’92), who later succeeds her as chancellor.

29% of incoming corps members identify as people of color, and 23% are from low-income backgrounds.

Kevin Huffman (Houston ’92) in Tennessee becomes the first alumnus to lead a state department of education, followed by John White (New Jersey ’99) in Louisiana in January 2012.

The Collective, TFA's national association of alumni of color, is formed and debuts the School Leaders of Color Conference the following January.

Students taught by the corps reaches 390,000.

Regions are given more autonomy to prepare teachers to work within specific local contexts.

Teach For America places its first two teachers with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. 

The number of alumni leading schools or school systems reaches 1,000.

50% of incoming corps members identify as people of color, and 47% are from low-income backgrounds.

Fifteen thousand corps members and alumni gather to celebrate TFA's 25th anniversary in Washington, D.C.

Students taught by the corps reaches 410,000.

Serving more than 50 regions and with more than 70,000 people in our alumni, corps member, and Ignite Fellowship network, our focus has evolved from an emphasis on the individual to an emphasis on the network and collective leadership.

Approximately 80 percent of alumni report working in jobs that impact education in low-income communities, with 14,400 serving as classroom teachers and 1,410 as principals. More than 270 alumni serve in elected positions around the country, from state representatives to city council members to school board officials. Thousands more are deeply engaged in policy, advocacy, organizing, and politics. And the impact of corps members and alumni at all levels of the education ecosystem is driving meaningful educational progress in communities across the country.