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Corps and Alumni
Chicago
Chicago Public Schools is
committed to recruiting the best and the brightest to teach our students. We are thrilled that Teach For America corps
members are teaching in our high needs areas. Teach For America teachers bring a diversity of skills and a commitment to
quality education that is of great benefit to our students.
- Arne Duncan, CEO, Chicago Public Schools
Teach For America • Chicago is playing a critical role in improving schools and communities. This year, a corps of nearly 400 of the nation’s top recent college graduates is working in underserved schools across Chicago 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 Chicago. Learn about living and teaching in Chicago.
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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 400 corps members are directly impacting the lives of approximately 30,000 students in Chicago. Katie Kirley is one example of the tremendous difference our corps members are making.
Katie Kirley (Chicago Corps '07) |
Katie Kirley teaches middle school math at Gary Lighthouse Charter School. On her first day of school, Katie learned that her classroom of seventh graders had been through eight teachers in the last three years and were performing, on average, at a fifth grade level in math. Operating with a sense of possibility and urgency, Katie used data-driven instruction to lead her students to an average of more than two years of growth on the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) standardized test. As a result, Katie received an award from Lighthouse Academies for achieving the highest gains in seventh grade math across the entire nationwide network, with special recognition for bringing her students to grade level.
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.
- 92 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: 85%
- Students served who are African-American and/or Latino: 86%
*Percentages vary depending on school district
Chicago: Corps Member Placement
| Assignment | % of Corps * |
|---|---|
| Pre-K, Kindergarten | 15% |
| Elementary School, Lower (1-2) | 10% |
| Elementary School, Upper (3-5) | 21% |
| Secondary Math | 7% |
| Secondary English | 13% |
| Secondary Science | 22% |
| Secondary Social Studies | 3% |
| Secondary Foreign Language | 4% |
| Secondary Other | 4%% |
| ESL | 1% |
*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 300 alumni teachers, 45 alumni principals, and alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.
- Nationally, more than 60% of Chicago corps members continue to work in education,
including more than 360 who are school leaders. - 93% of all alumni report they are supporting Teach For America’s mission
through their career, volunteer activity or graduate study.
To create an accelerated path to leadership for our alumni, Teach For America • Chicago has established the Principal Leadership Development Program with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Chicago Public Schools (CPS). This collaboration trains deeply committed leaders to serve as principals in some of Chicago’s highest-need schools. The program begins for aspiring principals with a fully funded one-year enrollment in the School Leadership Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. After graduating, the Fellows assume a
year-long residency with a master principal before committing at least four years to their new roles as CPS principals.
Regional Supporters
We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Chicago. 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 |
|---|
| Paul J. Finnegan, Chairman Co-CEO Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC |
| Dmitry Balyasny Managing Partner Balyasny Asset Management L.P. |
| Charles N. Besser President and CEO Intersport, Inc. |
| Daniel H. Blumenthal Managing Partner Blue River Partners, LLC |
| C. Christopher Coetzee Managing Director Robert W. Baird & Co. |
| Matthew S. Darnall Managing Director Goldman Sachs & Co. |
| Charles B. Edelstein Chief Executive Officer Apollo Group, Inc. |
| Phupinder S. Gill President CME Group |
| John Harris Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb, Inc Wishbone Management, LP |
| Janet M. Knupp President Chicago Public Education Fund |
| Peter G. Lehman Managing Partner Granite Creek Partners, LLC |
| C.H. Randolph Lyon Vice Chairman Robert W. Baird & Co. |
| Jay L. Owen, Jr. Vice President J.P. Morgan Private Bank |
| Deborah Quazzo Founder NeXtGlobal Advisors, LLC |
| Levoyd E. Robinson Managing Principal Chicago Fundamental Investment Partners, LLC |
| John Rowsell CEO Man Investments |
| Paula A. Sneed Executive Vice President, retired Kraft Foods |
Contact
To support Teach For America • Chicago with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:
Teach For America • Chicago
Andy Redman, Managing Director of Development
300 West Adams Street, Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60606
312-254-1000 x4499
andy.redman@teachforamerica.org
Executive Director
Josh Anderson was appointed executive director of Teach For America • Chicago in February 2007. During Josh's tenure as executive director, the Chicago region has tripled both its corps size and its revenue. Josh joined Teach For America's staff as the director of the Midwest Recruitment Team in 2006, during which time he produced record number of applications at both Northwestern and the University of Chicago. He previously worked as a Teach For America corps member in New York City, where he taught middle school English and Social Studies in the Hunts Point community of the southeast Bronx and served as School Team Leader for a 15-member Teach For America cohort at his school. A North Side native and a son of educators, Josh attended the Francis W. Parker School. He traveled east for college and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Josh was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was a 2005 Rhodes Scholar finalist.
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