The Observer, December 1, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 12
Teach for America recruiting corps members at Case
Achievement at Case is often a four letter word: "must." It is often easy for Case students to forget how many students in the world lack the advantages which, by the time students reach college, seem almost second nature: a supportive learning environment and positive expectations, coupled with the desire to set and reach academic goals.
Teach for America, a national organization committed to decreasing the ever-widening achievement gap between students from low-income families and their peers in higher socioeconomic classes, recognizes the gaps in American school systems and is recruiting students at Case to teach the children who have been "left behind" their high-income peers.
Fewer of these children graduate high school, and those that do have the average reading and arithmetic skills of eighth-graders from high-income communities. Teach for America seeks to increase achievement by placing qualified, motivated college graduates in classrooms in both rural and urban settings which desperately need teachers.
According to Elyse Moretti, one of Case's three Campus Campaign Managers for Teach for America, there are many advantages to joining the Teach for America Corps, beyond helping to end social inequalities. Corps members receive a starting teacher's salary as compensation for their two-year commitment to the program, and many take advantage of the program's partnerships with graduate schools and corporations after their two years of teaching are finished. "Teach For America is often described as the hardest but best two years of a corps member's life. It is an extremely demanding position, but the experience and skills a corps member gains are invaluable," Moretti said. On average, Teach for America's teachers raise their students' performance levels by 1.5 years after only a year in the classroom; meanwhile, the Teach for America national organization trains new corps members and helps them make the transition to teaching.
Moretti, along with fellow Campaign Managers Maya Brown and Amber Taylor, is currently helping Teach for America recruit Case students to join the corps after graduation. Given Case's emphasis on science and engineering, Teach for America does actively pursue students with science and math backgrounds to teach, but corps members from Case can teach any subject, from French to special education, and any grade level from elementary school to high school.
According to Moretti, "Teach For America actually depends on a diverse corps, who will go on to change the lives of people in low income communities through healthcare, public policy, even engineering and business," she said. The only requirements, aside from an interview and initial screening process, are that applicants must have a college degree by June of the year they apply, a 2.5 GPA and U.S. citizenship. That is not to say that joining the Teach for America Corps is easy: about 25 percent of Case applicants were accepted last year, above the national average of 17 percent. However, acceptance is more subjective than these statistics would imply; Moretti commented that "admission is decided on an individual basis. Rather than filling a certain number of slots, admissions directors base their decisions on applicants' critical thinking, leadership skills, academic achievement, and ability to persevere through challenges, which are all qualities Teach For America has found in its most successful corps members."
I'm sure you remember your favorite high school, middle school, or even elementary school teacher; the one who made you think outside the box for the first time, or the one who made learning not a chore, but a desire. There are thousands of children in the world who lack that kind of support for learning, and many students at Case are more than qualified to change that.
The next deadlines for application to Teach for America are Jan. 7, 2007, and Feb. 18, 2007; for more information on Teach for America and how to apply, contact Campus Campaign Managers Elyse Moretti, Maya Brown, or Amber Taylor.
