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Mississippi Delta

This year, a corps of more than 150 of the nation’s most promising future leaders are teaching in our region’s lowest-income classrooms as a part of Teach For America in the Mississippi Delta. They are working to ensure their students have the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are a leadership force, working from within education and every professional sector to effect broader change. Together they are helping us make educational equity a reality in the Mississippi Delta. Learn about living and teaching in the Delta. Learn about living and teaching in the Mississippi Delta.

Press

Corps Impact

Alumni Impact

Executive Director

Financial Sustainability

Regional Supporters

Contact Us

Executive Director

Press

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Corps Impact

During the 2007-08 school year, over 150 corps members are directly impacting the lives of more than 13,000 students in the Mississippi Delta. Michelle Lucy is one example of the tremendous difference our corps members are making.

Michelle Lucy (Mississippi Delta Corps '06) Undergraduate University: University of Arkansas Major: Political Science

Michelle Lucy teaches first grade at Stern Elementary in Greenville, Mississippi. At the beginning of the 2006-07 academic year, Michelle enthusiastically encouraged her students to achieve with positive messages about “growing their brains” and set ambitious new goals for them to reach. A year of hard work resulted in dramatic success on the district assessments, with her class achieving 90 percent mastery in math and 96 percent mastery of the literacy objectives. She attributes her students’ success to their “I can” attitude and to her constant reinforcement of the classroom goals. Additionally, Michelle integrated art into her curriculum and effectively presented the material in units in order to better demonstrate ties between subjects and to keep her students engaged.

Mississippi Delta: Our Impact on Students and Schools Today

School Year	Corps Members	Students Reached
2005-06	152	12,920
2006-07	157	12,345
2009-10	200*	17,000*
*projected

Principal Satisfaction

• 90 percent of recently-surveyed principals (in schools with Teach For America corps members) reported that they would hire another Teach For America teacher.
• 91 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 2007 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2007.

Impact on Student Achievement

According to a highly regarded study by Mathematica Policy Research, corps members outpaced fully certified and veteran teachers in their schools in moving their students ahead academically. Read national results.

Student Profile

• Students served who are eligible for free/reduced lunch: 89%
• Students served who are African-American and/or Latino: 86%

Mississippi Delta : Corps Member Placement

Assignment	# of Corps Members	% of Corps
Mathematics	31	20%
Science	24	15%

Special Education	7	4%
Social Studies	12	8%

English	27	17%
Foreign Language	8	5%

Elementary	34	22%
Music	5	3%

Art	8	5%
Total	156	100%

*Percentages are rounded and may not add up to 100 percent.

Characteristics of the 2007 Corps

Corps Profile	Top alma maters by market share*
Average GPA: 3.6	Duke University, Spelman College, University of Chicago: 10%
Average SAT: 1321	University of Notre Dame, Rhodes College: 9%
Held leadership roles on campus: 95%	Princeton University: 7%
People of color: 28%	Georgetown University, Stanford: 6%

*Percentage of senior classes who applied to Teach For America.

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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 100 Teach For America · Mississippi Delta 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 200 who are school leaders.
• 91 percent of all alumni report they are supporting Teach For America’s mission
  through their career, volunteer activity or graduate study.
  
  

Luke VanDeWalle (Mississippi Delta Corps '02) Undergraduate University: Purdue Major: Religion, Political Science, and Communications Current Profession: Principal KIPP Delta College Preparatory High

Following his teaching commitment, Luke VanDeWalle joined the staff at the KIPP: Delta College Preparatory High School in Helena, Arkansas, where he taught math classes for three more years. KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) is a national network of 57 college preparatory schools, and was founded by Teach For America alumni. Last year, 93 percent of Luke’s students scored proficient or higher on the state algebra exam. As a result of his outstanding work, Luke joined KIPP’s prestigious principal training program as a Fisher Fellow and is now the principal of KIPP: Delta College Preparatory High School

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An Efficient Program: Cost Breakdown

Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2007-2010

Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in the Delta, and another talented leader with the insight and commitment necessary to sustain the reform efforts underway, which is critical to the ongoing vitality of our region.

Year	Corps Size	Revenue Needs
2007-08	156	$1.3 million
2008-09	175*	$1.6 million*
2009-10	195*	$1.8 million*

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Regional Supporters

We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in the Mississippi Delta. 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.

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Contact

To support Teach For America • Mississippi Delta with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:

Teach For America • Mississippi Delta
Ron Nurnberg, Executive Director
Jenn Mohead, Development Manager
299 S. 9th St., Ste 212
Oxford, MS 38655
p 662.234.6206, f 662.234.6404 c 662.402.2203
ron.nurnberg@teachforamerica.org
jenn.mohead@teachforamerica.org
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Executive Director

Ron Nurnberg has presided over the expansion of the Delta corps from 32 corps members in 1996 to 156 in the 2006-2007 school year. Prior to joining Teach For America staff in the spring of 1996, Ron completed a master's degree in Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi. He also served as Executive Director of Main Street Helena, Project Coordinator for the Center of Southern Culture in Oxford and Vicksburg, Assistant Director of Central College's American Program at Trinity College in Carmarthen, Wales, and operated a highly successful pub and restaurant business in St. Louis. His undergraduate degree is in Business Administration and Interpersonal Communications.

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