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Connecticut
Teach For America is bringing high quality teachers to Hartford willing to do whatever it takes to lead students to achieve and who hold themselves personally responsible for the academic success of each and every one of their students. Beyond their two year commitment, these accomplished and dedicated individuals continue to be leaders in the effort to close the achievement gap and improve public education. Teach For America is an outstanding pipeline of talent for the city of Hartford.
- Dr. Steven J. Adamowski, Superintendent of Hartford Public Schools
Teach For America • Connecticut is playing a critical role in improving schools and communities. This year, a corps of 160 of the nation’s top recent college graduates is working in underserved schools across Connecticut 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 Connecticut. Learn about living and teaching in Connecticut.
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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, 160 corps members are directly impacting the lives of approximately 9,000 students in Connecticut. Ellen Tillman is one example of the tremendous difference our corps members are making.
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Andrew Meunier (Connecticut Corps ’08) |
Class Results: “The overwhelming majority of my tenth grade students were performing below the eighth grade level at the start of the year. By June, my students demonstrated 80 percent mastery of grade-level standards, thanks largely to painstaking planning and data-analysis.”
Principal Satisfaction
- 84 percent of recently-surveyed principals (in schools with Teach For America corps members) reported that they would hire another Teach For America teacher.*
- 87 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: 87%*
- Students served who are African-American and/or Latino: 90%*
*Percentages vary by school district
Connecticut: Corps Member Placement
| Assignment | % of Corps* |
|---|---|
| Pre-K, Kindergarten | 6% |
| Elementary School, Lower (1-2) | 18% |
| Elementary School, Upper (3-5) | 14% |
| Secondary Math | 4% |
| Secondary English | 16% |
| Secondary Science | 18% |
| Secondary Social Studies | 9% |
| Secondary Foreign Language | 3% |
| Secondary Other | 10% |
| Bilingual | 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 150 Teach For America • Connecticut alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.
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Sarah Bezek (Rio Grande Valley Corps '98) Undergraduate Institution: Gustavus Adolphus College |
Sarah Bezek taught science at Edcouch Elsa High School in Elsa, Texas. As a corps member, she watched her students and their families struggle to receive adequate health care due to several factors, including their inability to pay for services, language barriers, and rural location. Motivated by this experience, Sarah chose a career in emergency medicine, the only branch of medicine where you are required by law to provide health care to all patients, regardless of socioeconomic status. Today, Sarah is an emergency room resident at Yale New Haven Hospital. Her work relieves the pressure of inadequate health care, allowing children and their families more time to focus on school.
Regional Supporters
We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Connecticut. 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 across our state.
| Advisory Board |
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| Edith Cooper Partner Goldman Sachs |
| Robert Dunbar Principal Alphagraphics |
| Mary-Jane Foster Vice President, University Relations University of Bridgeport |
| Robin Golden (Chair) Selma M. Levine Clinical Lecturer Yale University |
| Peter G. Kelly Founder & Senior Principal Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C. |
| Ned Lamont Founder Lamont Digital Systems |
| Steve Mandel (Vice Chair) Managing Partner Lone Pine Capital LLC |
| Patricia L. McDermott Managing Director Market Executive – Westport and New Haven US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth |
| Max Medina Partner Zeldes, Needle & Cooper,PC |
| John Motley Partner MotleyBeup |
| Stewart Murchie Assistant Vice President Strategy & Finance Division The Hartford Financial Services Group |
| Karen Pritzker President Seedlings Foundation |
| Lindsay Reimers Community Advocate |
| Deb Sawch (Vice Chair) Program Consultant Student Press Initiative Teachers College, Columbia University |
| Phil Schonberger Managing Member Albemarle Equities, LLC |
| Chris Shumway Founder Shumway Capital Partners |
| Rick Witmer Partner Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. |
| Corporate, Foundation and Public Support Show more + |
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We thank the Hartford for their extraordinary support of our work:
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$1,000,000 over 5 years (2007-2011) |
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| The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. | ||
Contact Us
To request additional information from Teach For America • Connecticut about our impact or-finances, please contact:
Edna Novak
Executive Director
142 Temple Street, Suite 303
New Haven, CT 06510
p 203-786-5498 x2167, f 203-786-5497
edna.novak@teachforamerica.org
To support Teach For America • Connecticut with a gift or donation, please contact:
Diana Gilberti
Managing Director, Development
142 Temple Street, Suite 303
New Haven, CT 06510
p 203-786-5498 x2168, f 203-786-5497
diana.gilberti@teachforamerica.org
For questions related to our district partnerships or our Alternate Route to Certification in Connecticut, please contact:
Monica Maccera Filppu
Managing Director, Academic Affairs
142 Temple Street, Suite 303
New Haven, CT 06510
p 203-786-5498 x2164, f 203-786-5497
monica.filppu@teachforamerica.org
For questions related to teacher support and development in Connecticut, please contact:
Alicja Witkowski
Managing Director, Program
142 Temple Street, Suite 303
New Haven, CT 06510
p 203-786-5498 x2162, f 203-786-5497
alicja.witkowski@teachforamerica.org
Executive Director
Edna Novak is the executive director of Teach For America • Connecticut, overseeing the region’s programmatic and development efforts and forging new partnerships to strengthen the region. Edna first joined Teach For America staff in 2004 as a recruitment director, achieving 180 percent growth in applications from math majors, 35 percent growth in applications overall, and 25 percent growth in event attendance at the 14 universities at which she recruited over her two years in the role. She was a 2002 corps member in Greater New Orleans, where she taught third grade and middle school math, and led her students to grow an average of two grade levels in math and 1.5 grade levels in reading. Edna is a graduate of Wellesley College and earned her M.B.A from Yale University.
