Teach for America is a national program that strives to end educational inequity in the United States, and students and faculty at the University of La Verne are no exception to those who have become involved and are helping make a difference.
Katherine Steighner, a senior English major, 22, heard about Teach for America in January 2004 through assistant professor of English Kirsten Ogden.
“When Professor Ogden suggested it, I felt that it was the best opportunity out there,” Steighner said.
According to its Web site, educational inequity consists of “Children growing up in low-income communities in the United States (who) often face tremendous socio-economic challenges, such as minimal access to health care, lack of proper nutrition, limited pre-school opportunities, lack of quality housing, lack of economic opportunity for their families and insufficient social services.”
“I had always known everything was unequal in education and that there was an unequal distribution of funds,” said Ogden, an alumnus of the program, which she said was life-changing.
The program places recent college graduates in teaching positions in low-income school districts.
It is for college graduates who are interested in teaching and helping out in their communities.
“I want all schools to have the same money and programs,” Ogden said.
Teach for America was founded by Wendy Kopp, a Princeton University graduate, in 1988. She was tired of seeing educational inequity.
So, in her undergraduate senior thesis, she proposed the idea behind Teach for America.
In 1989, a group of graduates came together and established Teach for America.
TFA has two application deadlines.
The first one, which already passed, was in October. The next is Feb. 18.
College seniors and college graduates of all majors are eligible to apply to the program.
Those accepted will spend six weeks during the summer training for what they need to know about the program and what they are going to be doing once they begin teaching.
When they finish the training they are sent to rural regional schools where they will teach.
Ogden participated in Teach for America in 2000.
She described her typical day in the program as waking up at 5:30 a.m., teaching her students until 3 p.m. and creating next day lesson plans from 5 p.m. until midnight.
“I’m very committed to Teach for America,” Ogden said.
She added that TFA can be helpful for those who want to go to graduate school because graduate schools recruit alumni from TFA.
It also provides a vast range of job opportunities for teachers.
TFA also gives financial assistance to its members to help pay for their graduate schooling.
“I think TFA is awesome,” Ogden said. “It is a good way to serve your country, except you stay here in the U.S. and work with kids.”
“Not only do I receive two years of in-depth experience with much help, but Teach for America will contribute 60 percent of my graduate school tuition and I am able to help in a school district that needs dedicated teachers,” she said.
Steighner hopes to get much needed experience in teaching and recommends this program to anybody who is interested in teaching.
“I feel that the principles that Teach for America present are in great need today,” Steighner said.
“With the value of public education in decline, a program such as Teach for America motivates teachers to help those around them,” she added.
Ogden said that the program has changed her life when in comes to teaching and she said it was “professionally rewarding.
“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for our graduates,” Ogden said. “I think our students are perfect for the program.”
Hugo Bryan Castillo can be reached at hcastill@ulv.edu.