State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex and Teach For America announced passage of a resolution by the State Board of Education supporting the national organization and directing the Education Department to create state guidelines for an alternative
educator certification path for Teach For America corps members.
In conjunction with today’s State Board action, Teach For America officials named South Carolina as a finalist region in its 2011-12 new site exploration process.
Teach For America is a 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. This fall, more than 8,200 corps members are teaching in 39 regions across the country, while more than 20,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education.
The State Board resolution signaled a critical step forward to help enable the organization to expand into South Carolina. Upon State Board approval of new guidelines for alternative certification for Teach Form America corps members, the organization could bring teachers to the state as early as next fall if necessary school district agreements, funding and a university partnership are secured.
“One of the biggest challenges faced by our high-poverty rural school districts is recruiting outstanding young classroom teachers,” Rex said. “Teach For America has a strong track record for doing just that, so this is a very encouraging development indeed.”
“We’re honored and excited by this important first step that lays the groundwork for our hopeful expansion to South Carolina,” said Christina Grant, managing director for new site development at Teach For America. Our hope is that all the pieces come together for us to place corps members in high-need areas of South Carolina and help provide kids with an excellent education.”
Teach For America’s mission is to build upon efforts already under way in South Carolina to eliminate educational inequity by recruiting the nation’s most promising future leaders as teachers for local public schools. The organization’s expansion decisions are based on the level of local support received and the extent to which the presence of Teach For America corps members could help close achievement gaps.
Grant said that a growing body of research demonstrates the effectiveness of Teach For America teachers. A new study from the University of North Carolina compares the effects on student achievement of graduates from the UNC teacher-preparation system with teachers from other pathways, including Teach For America. At every grade level and subject studied, students taught by Teach For America corps members did
as well as or better than those taught by traditionally prepared UNC graduates. Middle school math students of Teach For America teachers received the equivalent of an extra half-year of learning.
Beyond their impact as corps members, Teach For America alumni are a growing force of leaders working in education and every other professional sector to address the root causes of educational inequity.
Among Teach For America’s more than 20,000 alumni, two-thirds continue to work full-time in education, when only one in six intended to enter the field prior to joining Teach For America.
In South Carolina, initial plans are for Teach For America to place corps members in school districts within the rural Pee Dee region. The organization will pursue partnerships with area school districts, with a goal of bringing 30 corps members to the region in the coming school year. A total of $3.6 million in private funding will be sought to offset the costs of recruiting, training, and supporting corps members
in South Carolina.
If guidelines are approved by the State Board, the alternative certification pathway for Teach For America corps members would be the third alternative certification route available in South Carolina.
“We are very proud of the Education Department’s Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE) and our new Adjunct Teaching credential,” Rex said. “Teach for America fits nicely with those programs. Along with our colleges of education, the whole package will provide multiple pathways for great teachers to enter the classroom.”
