Each day we see the realities of educational inequity juxtaposed against the concrete evidencethat when students in low-income communitiesare given opportunities they deserve, they excel.

South Louisiana

"Thousands of Louisiana children have received a quality education and have gone on to college because of Teach For America."

-Former U.S. Senator John Breaux of Louisiana

Teach For America • South Louisiana is playing a critical role in improving schools and communities. This year, a corps of 150 of the nation’s top recent college graduates is working in underserved schools across South Louisiana 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 South Louisiana. Learn about living and teaching in South Louisiana.

Press Corps Impact Alumni Impact Regional Supporters Contact Us down Executive Director

Press

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Corps Impact

During the 2009-10 school year, 150 corps members are directly impacting the lives of more than 8,500 students in South Louisiana. Emily Jenkinson is one example of the tremendous difference our corps members are making.

Emily Jenkinson (South Louisiana Corps '07)
Undergraduate Institution: Western Washington University
Major: History


Upon entering the classroom, Emily Jenkinson found that her first grade students were unable to read and lacked the skills necessary to perform basic math operations. Not only did Emily have to get her students ready for the second grade, but she also had to re-teach many fundamental concepts they should have learned in kindergarten. Despite this tremendous challenge, Emily set high expectations and used encouraging chants and enthusiastic affirmations to ground her students in a positive environment conducive to learning. By the
end of the year, her class had achieved nearly two years of growth in reading, the highest reading and math scores at their school, and many ended the year performing higher than students already in the second grade. Corps members like Emily are currently working in 26 schools throughout South Louisiana.

Principal Satisfaction

  • 85 percent of recently-surveyed principals (in schools with Teach For America corps members) reported that they would hire another Teach For America • South Louisiana 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: 89%*
  • Students served who are African-American: 88%*

*Percentages vary depending on school district

South Louisiana: Corps Member Placement

Assignment % of Corps*
Pre-K, Kindergarten 9%
Elementary School, Lower (1-2) 14%
Elementary School, Upper (3-5) 16%
Secondary Math 18%
Secondary English 25%
Secondary Science 18%
Special Education 4%

*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

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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 775 Teach For America • South Louisiana 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.

Allison El Koubi (South Louisiana Corps '00)
Undergraduate Institution: Houghton College
Major: French and Humanities

Allison El Koubi taught for six years as an eighth grade English teacher at Jackson Middle School in East Feliciana Parish. In 2005, she was named Teacher of the Year and went on to earn a master’s degree in education administration from LSU and an MBA from Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Allison then returned to work at the KIPP Central City Academy in New Orleans before becoming the principal at Jackson Middle School. Teach For America corps members comprise 15 percent of Jackson’s faculty, and under Allison’s leadership, they are working relentlessly to provide better opportunities for their students and to eliminate the academic achievement gap.

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Regional Supporters

We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in South Louisiana. 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
Cordell Haymon (Chairman)
Vice-President
SGS Petroleum Service Corporation
Brian Adams
Director, South Central Asset Management
NRG Energy
Murphy Bell
Attorney At Law
Jackson and Bell Law Firm
Allison El Koubi
Principal
Jackson Middle School
Michael Gaudet
CFO, Polymer Additives
Albemarle Corporation
Deborah Juneau
Partner
Kean Miller
Linda Lightfoot
Retired Journalist
Roger Moser
Community Volunteer
Rebecca Noecker
Program Officer
Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Darrel Papillion
Partner
Moore, Walters, Thompson, Papillion & Cullens
Scott Ridley
Senior Vice President
Regional Manager Business Banking
Donna Saurage
Community Volunteer
Shay Schilling
Private Banker
JPMorgan Chase Bank
Harold Schoeffler
Owner Manager
Schoeffler Cadillac
Karen Soniat
Director, Communications & External Relations
LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Larry Wilkinson
Chemist
ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co.
Joanna Wurtele
Community Volunteer

Corporate, Foundation and Public Support

$100,000 - $249,999

Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund
The Louis Calder Foundation
Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation
State of Louisiana
 

$50,000 – $99,999

East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools
Entergy Corporation
ExxonMobil Corporation
Louisiana Serve Commission
The Wurtele Foundation

$25,000 – $49,999

Advance Baton Rouge Charter Schools
Capital One Financial Corporation
Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge Foundation
East Feliciana Parish Public Schools
St. Helena Parish Public Schools

$10,000 – $24,999

Albemarle Foundation
Baton Rouge Area Foundation-Community Advancement Fund
Cajun Constructors, Inc.
Community Coffee Company
Dow Chemical Company Foundation
Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation
J.Y. Sanders Foundation
LABI Service Corporation
McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC
Powell Group Fund
Starbucks CommunityFund
Turner Industries
William Edwin Montan Charitable Trust

$5,000 - $9,999

Alma Plantation, LLC
City of Baton Rouge
Grady Crawford Construction Company
Pointe Coupee Parish Public Schools
Public Action for Change in Education
St. Landry Parish Public Schools

$1,000 - $4,999

American Petroleum Institute-Teche Chapter
Lee Michael’s Fine Jewelry
Capitol City Produce
Greater New Guide Baptist Church
Regions Bank
Shiloh Baptist Church
Tipton Associates
Whitney National Bank

up to $999

Pi Sigma Epsilon Beta XI
 

Individuals
Individuals and families support Teach For America by participating in our Sponsor A Teacher program. Sponsors provide critical annual leadership support of $5,000 or more to help us recruit, select, train and support corps members in South Louisiana schools profoundly affected by the achievement gap.

$10,000 - $24,999

Cordell and Ava Haymon
Sean and Jennifer Eplett Reilly
Linda Saurage
 

$5,000 - $9,999

Anonymous
Charles Lamar Family Foundation
Goldie Domingue and Phillip Baker
Darryl Gissel
Good Family Foundation
Louisa J. Hayward and Roger L. Petersen
J.D. and Patsy R. Lyle Family Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Moser
Virginia and John Noland
Penniman Family Fund
Rosalie G. and Hermann Moyse Family Fund
Donna and Norman Saurage
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred and Sandra Spain
The Josef Sternberg Memorial Fund
Michael Tipton (Corps ‘05)
Sari and Thomas Turner
Mr. and Mrs. Larry and Karen Wilkinson
Joanna Wurtele

$1,000 - $4,999

Anonymous (3)
Mike and Marjorie Gaudet
Mr. and Mrs. Frank and Kathy McArthur
Bettsie and Ben Miller
Mr. L. Cary Saurage
Joseph G. Simmons
Dr. Karen Soniat

up to $999

Khadijah Abdullah (Corps ‘06)
Margaret C. Alito in honor of Noelie Alito
Anonymous (7)
Ms. Vicki Anderson-Ellis (Corps ‘92)
Elizabeth M. Bartlett (Corps ‘05)
Ragini Bhaumik (Corps ‘06)
Susan Riley and Dr. Frederic T. Billings
Marc Bisard (Corps ‘94)
Mark Bonasera (Corps ‘93)
Nabiha Calcuttawala (Corps ‘04)
Kelley Tompkins Calvin (Corps ‘05)
Cathy and Douglas Carlson
Mr. and Mrs. John and Carolyn Carnahan
Charles W. Carpenter (Corps ‘06)
Amy E. Cloud (Corps ‘00)
Louis D. Curet
Ian R. Dallimore
Dr. Gresdna Doty and James Traynham
Allison El Koubi (Corps ‘00)
Elisabeth Evans (Corps ‘06)
Katherine Field (Corps ‘05)
Erika Fulton (Corps ‘98)
Michelle Gieg (Corps ‘05)
Alan Glaubinger
Joanna Gohmann (Corps ‘06)
Laura Beth Graham (Corps ‘05)
Andrew S. Gray (Corps ‘06)
Jennifer Grode (Corps ‘06)
Amika Guillaume (Corps ‘97)
Stephanie Harden (Corps ‘91)
Dr. Florent Hardy, Jr.
Margaret Heffron
Casey Hilty (Corps ‘05)
James A. Hilty (Corps ‘03)
Marion Hodges Biglan (Corps ‘93)
Patricia Horvilleur
Mary Jackson
Charles E. Johnson
Sam Joel (Corps ‘06)
Angela Jones (Corps ‘01)
Mary T. Joseph
Paul Kankowski (Corps ‘95)
Sarah Kimball (Corps ‘05)
Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Mary Levy
Michael MacArthur (Corps ‘03)
Linda and Ben Lightfoot
Anne Lyneis (Corps ‘06)
Sarah MacIssac
Charles McClelland (Corps ‘05)
Mr. and Mrs. Charles McCowan, Jr.
Anna McLeod (Corps ‘03)
Josh Menter
Erica Meyers (Corps ‘05)
Ann and Terry Miller
Sara Monti (Corps ‘06)
Andrew Montz
Dione Moultrie (Corps ‘02)
William Nash (Corps ‘05)
Robin W. Nijbroek (Corps ‘00)
Iheanyi Nkwocha (Corps ‘06)
Rebecca Noecker (Corps ‘05)
Tameka Oliphant (Corps ‘05)
Nate Olson (Corps ‘02)
Rachael Parker (Corps ‘06)
Brandon G. Parlange
Sarah Payne (Corps ‘05)
Leslie E. Phillabaum
Jamie and Scott Ridley
Stacey Rijkse (Corps ‘96)
Jan Ross
Scott Saylor
Katharine Schweighardt (Corps ‘05)
Victoria Short (Corps ‘92)
Betty M. Simmons
Marcy Soloman
Jason Stark (Corps ‘06)
Hilary Stathes (Corps ‘99)
Jenny Sutcliff
Mr. Charles Taylor
Mary Taylor
Barbara and Ken Tipton
Elizabeth Treppendahl
Adam Tribbett (Corps ‘04)
George Williams (Corps ‘06)
Sarah Young (Corps ‘03)

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Contact

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

Teach For America • South Louisiana
Michael Tipton, Executive Director
P.O. Box 65148
Baton Rouge, LA 70896
p 225.381.8163, f 225.381.8234
michael.tipton@teachforamerica.org

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Executive Director

Michael Tipton As executive director, Michael works with the South Louisiana regional board, community members, corps members, and school staff to ensure professional development for corps members, secure funding, and raise awareness of the impact Teach for America in South Louisiana. Under Michael’s leadership, the South Louisiana region nearly tripled fundraising, is expanding the corps from under 80 teachers last year to more than 150 teachers this school year, has increased the number of Teach For America alumni Principals from 1 to 4 and has worked to build out Teach For America’s visibility, impact and support across Louisiana. Michael joined the Teach For America staff in South Louisiana in July of 2007 after serving as a founding teacher at Mott Hall Bronx High School in New York City. As a teacher he co-created a team-taught and thematically based Humanities program that integrated freshman level English and American History content and ultimately led his students to an average of over a 150% increase in American History proficiency as measured by the New York State Regents exams. Four years later these same students had an 87% graduation rate compared with the traditional less than 40% graduation rate in the Bronx.  Michael graduated Summa Cum Laude from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with dual degrees in Political Science and History. He completed his M.S. in Teaching from Pace University in New York. Michael is also a recipient of the Baton Rouge Business Reports Top 40 under 40 Award and a 2009 Baton Rouge Area Leadership Graduate.

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