Justice for whom? The reason that TFA radically increased the number of its corps members (who are not volunteers, by the way) is that it was begged to by the Recovery School District. As of the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, there were over 250 students who didn’t have a teacher at all – they couldn’t show up at school if they wanted to. Not to mention the thousands of students who were being crammed into 40-student classrooms where even the most seasoned educator would have difficulty succeeding. So, TFA stepped up to the challenge and brought in more than 200 additional teachers last year alone.

One of the harshest social outcomes of Katrina has been the mass exodus of professionals from New Orleans – most of which have yet to return. Having found more lucrative opportunities in Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and beyond, they have permanently relocated. Unfortunately, that’s just not an option for the city’s lowest-income residents. So, there is a massive human-capital gap in NOLA – particularly in the field of education.

Rather than looking at this as a hopeless disaster, though, I suggest trying to see it as an opportunity for meaningful and lasting change. Even before Katrina, schools in New Orleans were failing by any objective measure – test scores and graduation rates were both in the bottom 25% nationally. The one small silver lining that might come from the disaster is that we now have the unique opportunity to literally rebuild the education system in New Orleans from the ground up.

Kids in NOLA have been systematically denied an adequate (let alone excellent) education for decades. The only justice we should be concerned with is for them – and that justice will be achieved through a relentless focus on academic results, not on artificial job security for ineffective teachers.

TFA has responded to the post-Katrina transormation, some would say wholesale privatization, of post-Katrina “public education” in New Orleans, by radically increasing the total number of its volunteers working in local schools.
Unlike the pre-Katrina teachers who were driven out of the New Orleans school system, the TFA fresh meat are to a person, non-union. Unlike most pre-Katrina teachers in New Orleans, most post-Katrina TFA teachers have the shallowest of ties to the local community. And then there is the social class thing. The PTA teachers received their training at America’s elite universities. The social experience gap that exists between the upper middle class kid who went to Brandeis University and the working class kid who attends McDonough 15 High School has to, as a rule, be awfully wide.

The intervention of TFA in post-Katrina New Orleans is objectively aiding in the privatization of the city’s school system. It is providing scab labor that is helping prop up a school system robbed of union representation and local control. This only adds to the misery of a long suffering people. The time has come for the TFA members in New Orleans to either stand up for justice or to get the hell out of the way.

I hear Obama also wants to adopt this policy for the medical field- doctors will get paid based upon the outcome of the health of their patients. The patient won’t take care of their own life so the doctor is given the responsibility and the politician comes out smelling like roses for coming up with such a brilliant “solution”.

I say let it all burn down.

The brutal reality is that all too often, rural (and many times urban) schools end up being staffed by ineffective teachers because they were the only ones willing to go there. The top talent ends up pursuing better-paid jobs in suburbs or the relatively few cities that pay their public school teachers a decent salary. It’s similar to the lack of top medical talent in developing nations that led to the creation of Doctors Without Borders.

One of the reasons TFA has been successful is admittedly one of the things that has made it a lightening rod for criticism: it has branded itself as “elite.” This in turn attracts those who see themselves that way – and who, after succeeding in a rigorous selection process, have proven themselves to be.

Far from ensuring low-income populations are taught by the mediocre, TFA and its international peers are working to ensure that our best and brightest are drawn to teaching in underserved communities. Even if they do not pursue teaching as a career, they will bring their awareness and understanding of the problems facing underserved schools wherever they do ultimately land. And if that happens to be at a major corporation with a large philanthropic division, would that really be a problem?

While many TFA staffers are under 30, you’ll notice that the management team brings significant experience from several different sectors of the economy. You might also be interested in seeing who their Board of Directors includes: http://www.teachforamerica.org/about/our_boards.htm

As for the staff argument, last I saw there were about 54 openings against a total staff of approximately 900. Their goal is to have just over 1,00o on staff by 2010, so this strikes me as a fairly strong position to be in right now.

Finally, regarding finances. TFA’s annual operating budget is currently in the neighborhood of $150MM, and has been growing at a rate of about 15-20% annually over the past decade. I’m sure that will slow down considerably given the current state of the economy, but talk of the “dust bin” is probably a bit premature. Disagree with TFA’s theory of change all you want – there are certainly intelligent arguments out there against TFA’s approach – but the term ’scam’ is simply absurd.

It’s also worth noting that if you are going to post on a blog geared towards education, you might want to learn how to spell “polls.”

If you’re not going to respond seriously to the legitimate points made above by the TFA supporters (several of which include statistics that you haven’t bothered to contend) then this is the level of debate this blog will invite.

And if that’s the case, I can relax knowing this blog’s success will be about as limited as its vision. Have you even considered the consequences if you were somehow to succeed? If you were able to cast enough aspersions on TFA that you were actually able to reduce or even eliminate the impact of the program, do you know what would result? Fewer talented people would enter the field of education. Those individuals might never see education as the number one issue they should care about, and even more disastrously the void they leave would be filled by the mediocre.

Take a moment to think honestly about why you are so vehemently opposed to TFA and its peers. Do you really see irrefutable evidence that the program is not helping, or perhaps even harming, kids in need? Do you really think that on balance TFA and its alumni are causing more harm than good?

Or is it that you are simply scared of the competition?

Joan B
Catalonia, Europe

I would have to say that it is the responsibility of the union representative at the school to get teachers to want to join, rather than TFA (mine did a very good job of recruiting).

First off, TFA’s mission is NOT to end the teacher shortage. The mission is to eventually close the achievement gap between urban/Title 1 schools. The achievement gap is not solely caused by a teacher shortage. While teacher shortages are a much bigger problem in Title 1 schools, there are many issues concerning educational policy, segregation, and, especially for my students, illegal immigration. The lack of funding for education is also a big issue. By recruiting from diverse backgrounds, movements in education are moved beyond the classroom. I bet you can ask any teacher and they will agree that the quality of the principal and superintendent can make a world of difference in their teaching experience.

Did you know that the turn-over rate for a first-year teacher in an inner city school is actually higher than the turn-over rate for a TFA teacher? (91% of first year TFA’ers return, versus 83% of first year traditionally certified teachers in urban schools). In no way am I arguing that TFA is better, but it is important to note the inherently high turnover rate among first year teachers in urban districts in general before condemning TFA teachers.

Finally, I think this blog is really turning a blind eye to the heart of TFA- if you actually sit down and talk to staff in TFA, you can tell they are absolutely committed to ending the achievement gap. There is no doubt that people that go on to become executive directors and other “corporate” evils actually believe in what they are doing.

My school is staffed by 1/3 TFA teachers. Yes, there are 3-4 that rotate out every 2 years, but my principal started out as a TFA Corps member. Our 8th grade team is 4/5 TFA teachers, and the 8th graders are the TOP performing in the district by every measure. On our last benchmark, the 8th grades were at 71% for math while the 2nd closest school was at 55%.

This would not be such a big deal if only four years ago our school had the WORST scores. We were at roughly 11% for math and 9% for reading in pass rate (I don’t remember exactly). Then, my principal came along, changed A LOT of things, enforced mandatory homework and a school-wide disciplinary system and…

The rest reads like a fairy-tale. We went from over 150 occurances of violence/ vandalism/ major classroom disruptions to under 15 two years later. In fact, last year, our school made the biggest gains in THE ENTIRE STATE OF ARIZONA in math. Oh, and that 11% math pass rate from 3 years ago? We’re at 61% now. Sure, it’s not on level, but if “significant gains” is generally measured as 10-15%, I’d say 600% growth is pretty darn good. And reading? From 9% to 49%. Maybe we’re not there yet, but pretty solid gains.

What is truly amazing, is to tell this to our students and see them internalize their sense of achievement.

Again, in no way am I saying that TFA teachers are any better…I’ve definitely seen some floundering peers and some who have left the program BUT— that is a much, much smaller percent than those who stay afterschool until 9 pm and work well into the weekend.

IF everyone in TFA is doing what they are supposed to (from teachers to programming support), then TFA really holds high standards and accountability for its teachers. I have been more than frustrated juggling the demands of being a first year teacher AND responding to TFA AND getting my Master’s certification (in almost every region for TFA, this is a requirement). However, to say TFA runs like a corporate machine may be accurate, in the fact that it works when implemented correctly.

TFA NEVER EVER EVER EVER tells you to settle with the fact that “a teacher is better than no teacher.” EVER. At least not in my experience. If anything, TFA constantly reminds us of our duty in committing to the program. I do NOT ever take a missionary stance upon my children. Yes, I feel bad when immigration takes another student from my district or when a student loses a family member to INS. In fact, the only people that take a missionary stance are the ones that walk into the program with a missionary stance. You can’t change that. We are never told to sit there and feel bad about our kids and that we are their only saviour. Rather, TFA emphasizes that we need to focus on things that we as teachers can change (teacher actions). A sense of volition and possibility is infused, rather than some dominant paternalistic relationship between teacher and student.

My school and staff are living proof of improving student success and , and I am proud to be a TFA Corps Member at a school where TFA has made a profound change.

Oh, and in our district, the top 3 scores for 7th grade science (they were all tied/ within 1 percent of eachother) were all from 1st year TFA teachers. Guess we aren’t so evil and worthless after all.