National program allows recent graduates to guide at-risk students

The best teachers don't always take the traditional route to the classroom. For some, the idea never crossed their minds until they were almost out of college.

The Teach For America program offers recent graduates of all degrees a chance to become educators, placing them at schools in at-risk communities. TFA is a national nonprofit organization that recruits college students for two-year teaching commitments.

Alina Keegan, a biology major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wasn't sure what she wanted to do after college but was "drawn to the Teach For America mission."

"I wanted to provide students with access and opportunities," Keegan said. "With extensive content knowledge and a research background, I thought I could help a science classroom."

Keegan, a native New Yorker in her second year with the program, found her place and passion in Las Vegas. She'd never been to the West Coast before being placed at O'Callaghan Middle School, 1450 Radwick Drive, and she doesn't plan to leave anytime soon.

"I've made a lot of wonderful connections with students," she said. "The work I've been able to do here in one year and all I've witnessed, it's really inspired me to get more involved in the community. It's really invested me not only in education but in this area."

Keegan, like all in the program, had to go through a stringent four-part application process. Of more than 50,000 applicants last year, about 5,200 were accepted.

Victor Wakefield, the regional executive director for the Las Vegas Valley, said they are selective because they want teachers who join the program for the right reasons.

"We make sure people are applying because they want to be part of this movement to close the academic achievement gap," Wakefield said. "We've learned through our 20-year history what to look for."

Wakefield said that 92 percent of TFA teachers complete their two-year commitments and that two-thirds of those stay in education.

TFA has more than 40 geographic regions where teachers are placed. Candidates may give preference to a particular region, but their placement is based primarily on the communities with the most need.

Locally, more than 100 teachers in the program teach at about 45 schools, mostly elementary and middle schools.

Wakefield is a "graduate" of the TFA program. As a senior at Princeton University in 2007, he decided he would go to law school. He joined TFA to bolster his resume before applying. He was placed at a middle school in Gary, Ind., teaching seventh- and eighth-grade math.

"As soon as I started to teach, I knew I wanted to be in education for life," he said. "It helped me find what I was passionate about."

It's the same story for many in TFA, he said.

"When people have the right skills, abilities and passions, we're able to recruit people who wouldn't necessarily end up in education becoming some of our top-performing teachers."

Those accepted into the program attend a five-week summer institute of intensive preparatory training where they learn from veteran teachers and get practice teaching summer school classes.

During their two years with the program, teachers also have mentors and resources in place to help them with any questions they have.

The program in each region is supported locally by corporations, foundations and individuals. The school districts pay the teachers the same salary as others at their experience level.

Amy Essman, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Acelero Learning's Martin Luther King campus, 1555 W. Carey Ave., said she was drawn to helping the youngest students in low-income neighborhoods, even as a student-teacher at the University of Portland.

"Essentially I'm trying to get them ahead before they're already behind," Essman said.

She said the support she received from TFA, especially during her "nerve-racking" first year as a teacher, was invaluable. Essman, a Seattle native, is in her second year at the school and plans to return home to teach when she fulfills her commitment.

For more information, visit teachforamerica.org.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.