Teaching Profession Report Roundup

Teach for America

By Vaishali Honawar — June 04, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

More than 60 percent of teachers who started jobs in low-income schools via the alternative-preparation program Teach For America were still teaching two years later, a report says.

The program, which exhorts high-achieving young college graduates to commit to teaching for two years, has been criticized in the past by some experts who say the two-year enlistment does not work in the long-term interests of children.

But the report, which is part of a multiyear project on the future of the nation’s teaching force undertaken by Harvard University’s graduate school of education, appeared to find fairly high retention rates among TFA teachers, even in low-income schools that are typically considered hard to staff. Nearly 44 percent of teachers trained by the program who entered low-income schools remained with those schools for more than two years. Nearly 15 percent stayed in those jobs for more than four years.

The study also found that African-American and Latino teachers trained by TFA were less likely to quit their jobs than their Asian and white counterparts.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the June 04, 2008 edition of Education Week

Events

School Climate & Safety K-12 Essentials Forum Strengthen Students’ Connections to School
Join this free event to learn how schools are creating the space for students to form strong bonds with each other and trusted adults.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Standards-Based Grading Roundtable: What We've Achieved and Where We're Headed
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Creating Confident Readers: Why Differentiated Instruction is Equitable Instruction
Join us as we break down how differentiated instruction can advance your school’s literacy and equity goals.
Content provided by Lexia Learning

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession Opinion How Two Teachers Helped Me Weave a Dream
A journalist and debut book author dedicates her novel to two of her high school English teachers.
Anne Shaw Heinrich
3 min read
0524 heinrich opinion keller fs
N. Kurbatova / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Teaching Profession Explainer What Is Doxxing, and How Can Educators Protect Their Privacy Online?
Keeping personal and professional information separate can be difficult for teachers, experts say.
7 min read
Vector illustration concept of a cyber criminal with laptop stealing user personal data while a woman expresses frustration.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession Data Average Teacher Pay Passes $70K. How Much Is It in Your State?
Teacher pay is growing faster than at any point since the Great Recession. But it's lower than a decade ago when accounting for inflation.
3 min read
Illustration of a man holding oversized money.
Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession Opinion What Teachers Really Want for Teacher Appreciation Week
Teachers and principals share how to turn gestures of appreciation into meaningful action to support the profession.
3 min read
A teacher holds an open book overflowing with flowers.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images