Nineteen Elon University alumni from the Class of 2011 will return to the classroom this fall as part of Teach for America, a national nonprofit that recruits and trains new college graduates to help erase educational inequities found in many urban and rural low-income communities. It is the largest number of Elon alumni ever selected into the program for the same academic year.
Teach for America on Tuesday released information on the 5,200 corps members selected to teach from September 2011 through June 2013. It is the largest incoming class in the program’s history.
According to Teach for America, in the upcoming school year, 9,300 first- and second-year corps members will reach 600,000 students in 43 regions across 34 states an the District of Columbia. New sites for 2011 include the Appalachia region of Kentucky, Oklahoma City, Seattle and the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.
“This year’s incoming corps members represent a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, but they share extraordinary leadership ability and a deep commitment to ensuring that all children have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential,” said Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America. “We are excited to be channeling the energy of such a diverse and talented corps into teaching in urban and rural public schools and into the long-term effort to achieve educational excellence and equity.”
Nearly 48,000 students applied for the fall, and 11 percent were accepted, Teach for America announced in its news release. One-third identify as people of color, including 12 percent who are African American and 8 percent who are Hispanic. Twenty-two percent are the first in their family to graduate from college, and nearly one-third received Pell Grants.
The two-year commitment comes with a salary based on geographic region, health benefits and opportunities to pursue graduate degrees through partner universities.
Some of the members of Elon’s Class of 2011 who join Teach for America this fall recently offered their reasons for taking part in the nonprofit program, and what they hope to achieve with the opportunity to work in some of the nations most impoverished communities.
Name: Ginni Fischer
Major: Human Service Studies
Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Assignment: Elementary Education in Nashville, Tenn.
“I applied for and joined Teach for America because I have seen firsthand the achievement gap between wealthy and poor students, and between white and minority students, in this country. I want to spend the next two years working to close the achievement gap in Nashville.”
Name: Sandra Halboth
Major: International Studies and Religious Studies
Hometown: Yardley, Pa.
Teach for America Assignment: Houston
“I decided to participate in Teach for America because I firmly believe in their mission statement: that all children, regardless of location or economic status, deserve the same educational opportunities. To me, working to close the achievement gap is one of the best ways that I can help bring about change in our society as we strive to ensure that every child in this country has the equal chance to reach their goals.”
Name: Laura Winkler
Major: Elementary Education
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Fla.
Teach for America Assignment: Elementary Education in Jacksonville, Fla.
“My passion for education grew out my experience volunteering as a tutor for refugee children at Avalon Community Center in Greensboro. Working with these children helped me see the powerful difference that education can have in enabling children to live out the futures they dream of. This experience helped me decide that I want to spend my life ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, receive quality education that would allow them to reach for their dreams. I joined teach for America because this organization’s mission aligns perfectly with my own.”
Name: Nicole Veater
Major: Music Education
Hometown: Elkton, Md.
Teach for America Assignment: Miami-Dade County, Fla.
“I chose to participate in Teach For America because I have been in some of our failing schools around the country and have witnessed the achievement gap first hand. During these visits, I have seen students with great hope and potential and some teachers that do not push their students to strive to achieve all they are capable of. I want to be able to help students realize that they can and will go great places and achieve great things in their lives.”
Name: Russell Joyce
Major: Business Administration: Finance
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
Teach for America Assignment: Metro Atlanta
“It’s commonly accepted in the most disturbing way, that a child’s opportunities for health, wealth, and the pursuit of happiness, the foundations of this great nation, are influenced to a greater degree by their socioeconomic status than by the toils of the individual. We accept as a people the injuries of educational inequity preferring to avert our gaze, rather than extend to these disadvantaged, and yet no less capable children the same hope for a brighter future which permeates in the upper class. I have been blessed to reap the benefits of a top class education and I joined Teach For America because I cannot possibly rest content in this country while these squalid injustices remain.”
Name: John Yi
Major: Music Theatre
Hometown: Atlanta
Teach for America Assignment: Houston
“The rising mediatization of anti-gay bullying and harassment this past year that resulted in numerous student suicides forced me to take a stance for equality in the classroom. I will strive to make a positive influence on classroom group dynamics in hopes of instilling No Hate mentalities and genuine respect for diversity. Additionally, I cannot change the fact that many children live in low-income communities; but, what I can do is serve—serve those who are in dire need of and deserve an exceptional education. Educational inequity is undeniably one of the most pressing issues of our generation, and we have a duty to utilize and apply our strengths as leaders to improve every students’ trajectory for success.
Name: Christina Strader
Major: Management
Hometown: Denver
Teach For America Assignment: Secondary General Science – Philadelphia
“Teach For America allows me to directly address a fundamental inequality in our country. For the next two years I will be in the fight to ensure equality in the classroom. I support the mission of Teach For America and admire the dedication of all the teachers around the country working to eradicate the achievement gap. I have received the support and guidance of many exceptional teachers over the years. This is my chance to provide students with the opportunities they deserve.”
Name: Sarah Skogen
Major: Sociology
Hometown: Woodstock, Ga.
Teach for America Assignment: Elementary Education in Metro Atlanta
“I joined Teach For America because I wholeheartedly support the organization’s goal that one day all children, regardless of skin color, socioeconomic status, or zip code will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. I also believe that it is my responsibility to social justice to actively contribute to this goal, as it is the nation’s most pressing civil rights issue today. I have always had a passion for working with children, and I hope that through Teach For America I can provide students with the education they deserve and have a positive influence on their life trajectory.”
Name: Molly Auger
Major: English
Hometown: Simsbury, Conn.
Teach for America Assignment: Connecticut
“I initially became interested in Teach For America during my educational psychology internship at a Title I elementary school in Haw River, N.C. It was shocking to see some of my fourth graders reading at a first grade level and barely computing basic math, and this was considered a “public education.” It was nothing like the public school education that I was privileged to in Connecticut. Working with these children made me realize how broken parts of our education system truly are and how I could help work towards a solution through TFA.”
Name: Michael Nowak
Major: Entrepreneurship and Finance
Hometown: East Greenwich, R.I.
Teach for America Assignment: Philadelphia
“It is of the upmost importance that all children receive a great education for they are the future of our nation. Imagine what our country could look like if every student believed they could accomplish anything they set their minds to.”
Name: Melissa Turowski
Major: Mathematics
Hometown: Mount Airy, Md.
Teach for America Assignment: Secondary Math Education in Connecticut
“The achievement gap is one of the most serious social issues facing the United States today and I am very excited to work to close the gap. I have always had a strong desire to teach and with this program I will be able to not only teach, but also do my part to change a serious issue that is often ignored. As a person with a college education, I feel it is my responsibility to share my knowledge and my passion for learning with children who are less fortunate yet who still deserve to have the same opportunities in life.”
Name: Amber Murphy
Major: Political Science
Hometown: Edgewood, Md.
Teach for America Assignment: Elementary Education in Las Vegas Valley
“Educational inequality is a civil rights issue. I believe that every child has a right to an excellent education – not just any education. Many communities have succumbed to the systematic injustices that impose undue obstacles to equality. I am joining Teach for America to be a catalyst, to be the spark that ignites to burn down barriers, to fill in gaps left by injustice in order to build a foundation for equality. I want to bring hope and use my passion, my energy and my creativity to fulfill Teach for America’s purpose in the classroom and beyond.”
Name: Andrew Cordisco
Major: Political Science
Hometown: New Hope, Pa.
Teach for America Assignment: Tulsa, Okla.
“I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
Name: Meredith Berge
Major: Art History
Hometown: Lexington, Ky.
Assignment: Kentucky – Appalachia Region
“I decided to join Teach for America because every child deserves a quality education regardless of socioeconomic status. Also, I could not pass up this opportunity to work with children in a community with which I am very connected.”