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Corps and Alumni
Charlotte
We know that outstanding teachers, coupled with sound and passionate district leadership, make permanent and positive differences in the lives of young people. Teach for America helps us do a better job of educating kids – and that’s good for all of us and the Charlotte region as a whole.
–Dr. Peter Gorman, Superintendent, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Teach For America • Charlotte is playing a critical role in improving schools and communities. This year, a corps of nearly 240 of the nation’s top recent college graduates is working in underserved schools across Charlotte to ensure that students facing the challenges of poverty are given the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are leaders in the classroom, in education more broadly, and across all sectors. Together, they are making educational equity a reality in Charlotte. Learn about living and teaching in Charlotte.
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Press | |
Corps Impact | |
Alumni Impact | |
Regional Supporters | |
Contact Us | |
Executive Director |
Press
Recent press releases
Recent press coverage
Corps Impact
During the 2009-10 school year, nearly 240 corps members are directly impacting the lives of more than 14,000 students in Charlotte. Tara Harrington is one example of the tremendous difference our corps members are making.
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Michael Jerrell (Charlotte Corps ’08) |
Class Results: “I had 52 ninth grade students in an eighth grade remedial math class. I challenged the students to catch up with their peers. At the end of the semester, 26 students skipped the second semester of the remedial class and joined their peers in an Algebra 1 class. All 26 students passed Algebra and moved up two grade levels in math.“
Principal Satisfaction
- 80 percent of recently-surveyed principals (in schools with Teach For America corps members) reported that they would hire another Teach For America teacher.*
- 98 percent of principals surveyed regard Teach For America teachers as effective as, if not more effective than, other beginning teachers in terms of overall performance and impact on student achievement.*
*"Teach For America 2009 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2009.
Impact on Student Achievement
A growing body of research shows that corps members have a positive impact on their students' achievement. Read more about our impact.
Student Profile
- Students served who are eligible for free/reduced lunch: 68%
- Students served who are African-American and/or Latino: 82%
Charlotte: Corps Member Placement
| Assignment | % of Corps* |
|---|---|
| Pre-K, Kindergarten | 4% |
| Elementary School, Lower (1-2) | 15% |
| Elementary School, Upper (3-5) | 20% |
| Secondary Math | 15% |
| Secondary English | 18% |
| Secondary Science | 17% |
| Secondary Social Studies | 4% |
| Secondary Foreign Language | 4% |
| Secondary Other | 4% |
| ESL | 1% |
| Special Education | 10% |
*Percentages are rounded and do not add up to 100 percent; corps members who teach bilingual, ESL, or special education are also accounted for in the grade-level/subject placement percentages
Characteristics of the 2009 Corps
| Corps Profile |
|---|
| Average GPA: 3.6 |
| Average SAT: 1344 |
| Held leadership roles on campus: 89% |
| People of color: 30% |
*Percentage of senior classes who applied to Teach For America
Alumni Impact
Fostering Alumni Leadership for Systemic Change
As the number of corps members grows, so does our alumni base. By 2010, we will have over 200 Teach For America • Charlotte alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.
- Nationally, more than 60 percent of corps members continue to work in education,
including more than 360 who are school leaders. - 93 percent of all alumni report they are supporting Teach For America’s mission
through their career, volunteer activity or graduate study.
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Aaron Pomis (Charlotte Corps '02) |
Aaron Pomis (Corps ’02) is the founding science teacher at KIPP Charlotte, a public charter middle school focused on sending students from low-income communities to college. Aaron currently serves as the chair of the board of directors of Charlotte’s Community Charter School, where he led the search for a new principal and developed the school’s first strategic plan. Additionally, Aaron was chosen to be a School Board Fellow for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, where he shadowed a board member and wrote a report on the needs of teachers in Charlotte’s low-performing schools. Aaron’s commitment to education inside and outside of the classroom fuels our collective goal of closing the achievement gap.
Regional Supporters
We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Charlotte. The foundations, corporations and individuals listed below have made it possible for Teach For America to continue to recruit, select, train, and support teachers who are working to eliminate educational inequity in our city.
| Advisory Board |
|---|
| David Dooley (Chair) Executive Vice President RT Dooley Construction Company |
| Ashley Richardson Allen Community Leader |
| Michael Baker Tax Partner Grant Thornton |
| Dan Cottingham Senior Vice President Cottingham Chalk |
| Edward Kizer Community Leader |
| Beverly Ladley Small Business Strategy and Deposits Executive Bank of America |
| Jane Lewis-Raymond Vice President and General Counsel Piedmont Natural Gas |
| Steve Luquire Partner/President Luquire George Andrews Inc. |
| Louis Mosley Principal in Charge Bovis Lend Lease |
| Susan Porter Realtor Bissell & Hayes |
| Ernie Reigel Chairman Moore & Van Allen |
| Ron Sherrill President and CEO SteelFab, Inc. |
| Jim Sigman Co-head Financial Institutions, Capital Markets & Investment Banking Wachovia |
| Mary Tribble President and CEO Tribble Creative Group |
| Landon Wyatt Partner Childress Klein Properties |
Contact
To support Teach For America • Charlotte with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:
Teach For America • Charlotte
Tim Hurley, Executive Director
Meredith Lorenz, Development Director
5855 Executive Center Drive
Suite 200
Charlotte, NC 28212
p 704.569.1033, f 704.569.2599
tim.hurley@teachforamerica.org
meredith.lorenz@teachforamerica.org
Executive Director
Tim Hurley first joined Teach For America as a 2002 corps member in the Mississippi Delta, where he taught fourth grade and served as department chair. After completing his two-year corps commitment, he served as a Teach For America recruitment director, making Teach For America the leading postgraduate employer at three of the four universities in his portfolio: Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, William and Mary, and the University of Maryland. Additionally, he served the national Recruitment team as the professional development director. Tim graduated suma cum laude from Vanderbilt University and received a full scholarship to Stanford Law School as a Jack Kent Cooke scholar. During law school, Tim served as a senior editor of the Stanford Law Review and as an advisory board member of SPARK, a youth apprenticeship program. Tim also worked for a variety of legal organizations, including the Mississippi Center for Justice and the Office of the Governor of Mississippi. He is currently a non-practicing member of the Mississippi Bar.
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