Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Currently, over 100 Teach For America corps members and alumni are teaching in 22 schools across Duval County, working relentlessly to change educational prospects for the approximately 6,300 students in Jacksonville they teach.
Our mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity so that one day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
Our theory of change is based on the idea that recruiting and selecting our nation’s most promising future leaders to commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools, and providing them with training and professional development to ensure their success in the classroom, has important immediate and long-term impacts that address the root causes of educational inequity.
In the short run, we serve as a critical source of talented, committed teachers who are willing to compensate for the additional challenges their students face to provide them with the educational opportunities they deserve. In the long run, we are building a unique leadership pipeline for education and social reform, influencing the national priorities and prevailing ideology on education, and affecting fundamental, lasting change by addressing the root causes of the problem and implementing systemic solutions.
Due In large part to the generous donations of The Chartrand Foundation and the magnanimous support of the Chartrand family, Teach For America was first established in Jacksonville in 2008 and has become an increasingly sustainable institution in the community since then. Their contributions have enabled Teach For America to bring nearly 150 dedicated and passionate young leaders to Jacksonville to impact the lives and change the educational prospects for thousands of students in the community. Our corps members and alumni are at the center of the conversation on education reform in Jacksonville and are acting as strong advocates for their students.
In only the third year, there is significant evidence to highlight the positive impact corps members are having on their students. Corps members are taking on leadership roles at their schools, organizing enrichment opportunities for their students, and enabling students who come into their classrooms many years behind academically to make nearly two years of growth. Recently released data on the Florida Comprehensive Test Assessment (FCAT) revealed that Teach For America corps members are achieving, on average, approximately 10% more learning gains as compared to the other teacher at their schools.
In 2011, The Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, conducted an analysis comparing the performance of students of Teach For America teachers working in Duval County Public Schools with the performance of students from non-Teach For America teachers in the district. The report found that Teach For America teachers are having a positive impact on student achievement. The researchers looked at student gains in grades 2 and 4-8 in reading and in grades 4-10 in math. In both subjects and every grade level, the percentage of students of Teach For America teachers who made gains in the top two quartiles was higher than or comparable to the percentage of students of non-Teach For America teachers who made gains in the top two quartiles.
By 2015, nearly 500 corps member and alumni will work together in Jacksonville to shift mindsets about what is possible for children growing up in poverty, giving over ten thousand students the opportunity to change their life trajectories.
The most recent Policy Studies Principal Survey found that 83% of Jacksonville principals reported that Teach For America teachers’ impact on student achievement was equal or better than the overall faculty at the school, even when compared with teac
Over 10% of second year corps members in Jacksonville were nominated for Teacher of the Year at their school in the 2009-2010 school year.
The majority of staff members at Jacksonville Public Education Fund and KIPP Impact Charter School are Teach For America alumni.
Jacksonville has reached a tipping point, where it will no longer tolerate educational disparity and poor performing schools. Teach For America is an indispensible part of a partnership with the school district and community leaders to decisively improve educational opportunity for all.
- Steve Halverson, Chief Executive Office, The Haskell Company
Jacksonville is fortunate to have a pipeline of our nation’s best and brightest, who will help to improve our schools in the short term and contribute to our community in the long term.
- Steve Halverson, Chief Executive Office, The Haskell Company
