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Teach For America: we have their attention, now where do we go from here? A plan for the alumni movement
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Teach For America: we have their attention, now where do we go from here? A plan for the alumni movement
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TEACH FOR AMERICA: WE HAVE THEIR ATTENTION, NOW WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? A PLAN FOR THE ALUMNI MOVEMENT by Shannon Anne Mitchell A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS) May 2009 Copyright 2009 Shannon Anne Mitchell ii Epigraph “The fear is setting in. The fear that I have no idea what I am doing, that these kids are going to see right through me, that I’m not prepared for two years… I don’t know where this fear is coming from. All at once I am leaving the life I’ve lived for four years and embarking on the biggest journey ever. And…I’m afraid. It’s this strange sense of calm before the storm.” - June 27, 2005 “I made it to Winter Break. For a moment there I was a little worried. My evaluation of the first 4 months: I didn’t come here expecting anything and I think that has led me to wonderful discoveries; I knew I would love it; I didn’t know how much it could love me back; I didn’t ever imagine how apart we are, how apart they are, how far we have to go; I didn’t know how hard it would be to just get through the day. It’s been 4 hours since I’ve seen my kids, and I miss them already,” – Dec. 16, 2005 “My resolution is to never forget my kids. Tyrell, Preston, Phil, Tijera, Daniel, Onix, Demario, Courtney, Lauren, Tevin, Bruce, Demonte, Marcus, all of them. I hope you are doing what you love, because you left who you love. Keep fighting on behalf of every kid who never got the amazing opportunities you are living right now.” – May 12, 2007 - Excerpts from my journal iii Dedication To The eight other Teach For America teachers at my school, Joseph Morgan, Shaniesta Britt, Sara Kienzle, Sarah Ulrey, Chris Parsons, Caroline Hult, Liliana Bonderov and Robbie Gill. I consider them friends, warriors and unbelievable teachers. & My parents – who’ve made me believe I can change the world. iv Table of Contents Epigraph ii Dedication iii Abstract v Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Beginning A Movement 5 What is a Corps Member? 7 What is the Achievement Gap? 11 Who Are the Alumni? 17 Chapter 3: The Alumni Network As It Is 24 Chapter 4: The Teach For America Brand 30 Research and Development 31 Brand Czar 34 How Teach For America Defines Itself 35 Chapter 5: High Expectations 38 A Blogger’s Idea 38 It’s Time For Big Goals 42 Chapter 6: A Force For Change 47 I. Statement of Problem 48 II. Situation Analysis 49 III. Action Plan 52 IV. Objectives for Teach For America 54 V. Strategies for Teach For America 54 VI. Key Audience 54 VII. Key Messages 58 VIII. Potential Strategies for the Alumni Task Force 59 Chapter 7: Conclusion 64 Bibliography 67 v Abstract Teach For America recruits outstanding recent college graduates to commit to teach for at least two years in urban and rural public schools throughout the country. This paper looks at what happens after teaching in some of the nation’s most challenging classrooms. The “alumni movement” for Teach For America is quickly becoming an important piece in the organization’s mission. This paper outlines what the movement means for an organization that is continually growing and gaining more attention. It suggests a potential plan for strengthening the alumni movement and outlines possible messaging for getting more alumni involved. The proposal outlined below is just one alumni’s research and opinion. To be sure, there are already a variety of ways alumni can get involved. The paper asks for more. It suggests that the alumni movement isn’t doing enough, but acknowledges an organization so adept to change and evolution is certainly capable of meeting higher expectations. 1 Chapter 1 Introduction My journey began in a college classroom as a junior at UC Davis. It was African American literature – and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that my mind was somewhere other than the lecture that day. Perhaps it was the student government meeting I would lead later that evening, or maybe it was the city council story I needed to finish before my 4 p.m. deadline with my editor. But just like that – everything changed. A Teach For America recruiter visited the classroom and gave the most powerful three-minute speech of my life. During my time with Teach For America, I would hear the devastating statistics over and over again. Fourth graders growing up in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers from high-income communities. About 50 percent of them won’t graduate from high school by the time they’re 18 years old. Those who do graduate will perform on an average at an eighth-grade level. 1 Because of that three-minute speech, I spent two years as a Teach For America teacher in North Las Vegas, Nevada fighting those statistics every day. There were eight other “TFAers” at my school, 94 in the Las Vegas Valley region, more than 3,000 in the 2005 national program and more than 14,000 Teach For America alumni around the country. I was selected and trained for this job in a variety of ways, through a process that has been examined, researched, refined and challenged since the first group of teachers 1 “Our nation’s greatest injustice.” Teach For America. <http://www.teachforamerica.org/mission/greatest_injustice.htm>. 2 met in Los Angles in 1990. I graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English and history. I didn’t take a single education course there. I spent a summer in Long Beach, Ca., teaching summer session students from schools throughout South Los Angeles, where new Teach For America teachers practiced and began to learn classroom management, lesson planning and what life would be like as a new teacher – no sleep, little social life, and a relentless pursuit toward high expectations. But the challenge was something we craved. When you become a teacher, the first thing you need to master is classroom management. You can’t do any teaching if you don’t have the students’ respect and attention. In Teach For America’s case, you are sent into schools where authority is challenged constantly, and usually won by the challenger. Discipline and management take many forms and teachers all across the country have their own ways of leading a classroom. Some are strict and control through fear, others use mutual respect to create an environment of management. My own style was a combination of I’ve done this before, (of course a lie) I’m not afraid of 15-year old boys, mixed with the uncertain, I’m 22, really, how tough can I be? It’s a delicate balance, and some spend their whole first semester finding the right combination. But once you gain your students’ attention and respect, there is only one thing left to do: teach. And so I ask this question of Teach For America officials now: we have their attention, where do we go from here? Teach For America has gained notable brand recognition in the past five years. More college graduates are applying than ever before. TFA’s 10-year plan includes vast expansion across the country and wider reach inside the 29 regions it already serves. So what does Teach For America do next? With a network 3 of thousands of alumni – many still in classrooms, but many not – how does it keep these former teachers devoted to the mission and create lasting change in the larger battle against educational inequality? What could it mean for Teach for America to be a household name like the Peace Corps or Special Olympics? And how can that help it in terms of its highest mission – closing the achievement gap? This paper will attempt to answer these questions and perhaps raise a few new ones. Through a look at Teach For America’s past and possible suggestions for the future, I will offer my own take on a very personal experience. Teach For America’s success is now like my own. Once just a college student trying to give back, I am now deeply invested in this nation’s children and their education. What Teach For America means to the schools and students it works with are more than just numbers and statistics to me – they’re names and faces. 4 Teach For America has an opportunity at this moment to engage in something more than just classroom advocacy. If its mission is truly to create educational opportunities for all children then it must take the next steps toward becoming a leader in the educational reform movement. I will argue that there are specific ways in which TFA can become a stronger organization, affecting greater change in more places. There are two parts to this argument: 1. Teach For American is not the answer to the education crisis, but rather an important piece in finding the solution. The organization has nearly two decades of experience in some of the country’s most challenging districts and classrooms and for the most part, it’s winning those small battles. TFA has experts at all levels, and more importantly, passionate individuals, who as a combined force can – and must – require change in this nation’s schools. 2. It’s Teach For America’s responsibility to give more support and find more ways for alumni to engage in an actual movement. The organization has successfully cultivated motivated leaders who devoted years of their early professional careers to serving students and schools. More importantly, inside TFA’s alumni network there are potential solutions for our country’s education crisis and TFA must require that these voices are heard. 5 Chapter 2 Beginning A Movement The Teach For America concept began as a thesis project by Wendy Kopp. In the late 1980s the Princeton senior was looking for something interesting to write about. She’d been active in college and was searching for an idea that would inspire students like her to give back to society. She thought peers would be motivated to serve their country for a couple of years instead of taking the high paying jobs they were being offered if they had the right calling. In her thesis she asked, “Why doesn’t the country have a national teacher corps to recruit as aggressively as we are being recruited to work on Wall Street?” 2 From the very beginning Kopp believed that to make teaching attractive to her peers, other high-achieving college graduates, tagged then as the “Me Generation,” or even the “Mean Generation,” there had to be an “aura of status and selectivity” around it. 3 In One Day, her memoir about starting Teach For America, Kopp writes about the process of creating such a program. For her senior thesis she produced A Plan and Argument for the Creation of a National Teaching Corps, which looked at the educational needs in urban and rural areas, the growing idealism and spirit of service among college students and the interest of the philanthropic sector in improving education. 4 The idea was simple – recent college graduates would commit two years to 2 Kelly, Bridget. “Connecting the Dots: Staying Power- Teach For America Alumni In Public Education.” (Feb. 2006) 2. 3 Foote, Donna. Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches With Teach For America. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008) 28. 4 Kopp, Wendy. One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For American and What I Learned Along the Way. (New York: Public Affairs, 2001) 10. 6 teach in urban and rural school districts through Teach For America. While teaching they would earn a teaching credential or Master’s degree. After two years, their in-classroom commitment was up, but Kopp predicted the experience would shape the direction of their future. Either they would continue to affect change by remaining inside the classroom, or they would be forever changed by the experience. Her plan was more than just a bunch of college seniors becoming teachers. She knew it would take more than a two year commitment from them to close the achievement gap. Teach For America became a “two-pronged theory of change.” As Donna Foote explains in her examination of four 2005 Teach For America teachers in a South Central Los Angeles high school, Kopp decided that In the short term… the most talented graduates in the country would almost certainly be successful in the classroom if they worked relentlessly and were committed to the mission. In the longer term, [Kopp] was convinced, the TFA experience would be so profound that it would inform whatever its members decided to do afterward. Inevitably, she reckoned, TFA alums… would eventually force and lead the systematic change necessary to level the educational playing field. 5 Those that stayed to teach would invariably continue to build on their two year experience, or they would enter into other industries – law, medicine, business, politics, or administrators inside the school system – all the while being strong leaders with a passion for educational equality because of their Teach For America service. One of the teachers Foote follows in Relentless Pursuit finds the first weeks challenging, but even before his first full month of teaching is over he knows the importance and effect teaching at-risk students will have on his life. 5 Foote 31. 7 Foote writes: Yes, Teach For America was life-changing. He might not end up being an educator – at this point there was NO WAY – but down the line, years from now, he knew he would care about the Achievement Gap when 95 percent of the world did not.” 6 Kopp knew this was a feeling so many would have once they entered into classrooms and these kids’ lives. Who is a Corps Member? The process of recruiting Teach For America teachers, or “corps members” as they are known inside TFA, was not left to chance. Kopp and TFA staff worked to create a system of characteristics in which they could identify strong leaders and what it would take to teach in the country’s most challenging classrooms. They weren’t looking for college graduates who majored in education – in fact, that wasn’t even a factor. What Kopp wanted were young people who were motivated by Teach For America’s mission: “One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.” She wanted leaders from the top U.S. colleges. She wanted recent college graduates who were offered high paying jobs on Wall Street, who were headed to law school, or medical school. She wanted the future leaders of this country to first step into a classroom, make a difference and learn from that experience. In 1990, just one year after Kopp graduated from Princeton, Teach For America had its first cadre of 500 teachers. 7 According to Kopp they were Some of the country’s most sought-after recent college graduates. They came from a diverse group of 100 colleges… They were unified in a collective commitment to increase the opportunities available to kids in low-income areas. 8 6 Foote 104. 7 Kopp 47. 8 She then goes on to describe her own recognition of the enormity of her original thesis and the likeliness that it would ever get off the ground. But concludes that it was too important to give up on her vision. For years, whenever I was asked how I accomplished this feat, I would reply that there was nothing magical about it. I simply developed a plan and moved forward step by step. Teach For America came together because the idea was good and the plan made sense. But now I see that answer is insufficient. I once heard that when an idea is meant to happen, the laws of the universe are suspended to make way for it. When I look back over the first year of Teach For America, it’s clear to me that had something to do with it. Here was the evidence that even the most idealistic visions can come to be. 9 Kopp got what she wanted in 1990 and has gotten more ever since. She recalls in her memoir, however, about the fundraising challenges in the beginning, being a recent college graduate herself and asking officials from Fortune 500 companies to take a chance and financially support her idea. However challenging, the idea stuck and nearly two decades later a record 25,000 college graduates applied for 3,700 spots in the 2008 corps. 10 TFA continues to draw from the country’s best and the brightest. Among the 2005 applicants were 12 percent of the senior class at Yale, 11 percent of the graduating class at Dartmouth and Amherst College, and 8 percent from Princeton and Harvard. 11 8 Kopp 47. 9 Kopp 48. 10 “2008 Corps Profile.” Teach For America.< http://www.teachforamerica.org/research/index.htm>. 11 Foote 27. 9 According to a 2005 report, Teach For America spends about $10,000 to recruit, select, train and support each corps member and gets about $1,500 a year per corps member from the school districts where it places teachers. 12 Each corps member is paid a full-salary according to each local school district pay scale for new teachers. Teach For America also partners with universities in each placement region to offer credentialing and/or Masters degrees for corps members to complete while teaching. Corps members are also supported by Teach For America programming inside each region with monthly meetings, mentorship and professional development opportunities to help these new teachers. A corps member then is not something that is left to chance. A corps member has the qualities and character traits that after 18 years of placing recent college graduates into inner city and rural school districts TFA officials know would make them successful – not matter what undergraduate degree they earned. TFA has altered and changed these traits throughout its process, but a list of 12 characteristics can always be found in its corps member selections. 13 The traits deemed necessary to succeed in the classroom are: persistence, commitment, integrity, flexibility, oral communication skills, enthusiasm, sensitivity, independence and assertiveness, ability to work within an organization, possession of self-evaluative skills, ability to operate without student approval and conceptual ability/intellect. 14 12 Kelly 3. 13 Foote 32. 14 Foote 32. 10 Kopp also understands the importance of attracting America’s elite students to the movement. Teach For America appeals to their “idealistic passions” and keeps the process selective. 15 Kopp knew there were three fundamental points when she established TFA: (1) the more selective the process, the more attractive the position becomes; (2) purity of mission is a powerful motivator; and (3) the number one resource is having enough of the right people committed to the mission. 16 Now, the one-time, fallback job of being a teacher is quickly becoming the most coveted post-graduate program in the country. A successful corps member sees the “outrage” in educational inequality. A corps member also has to have a great passion for the mission. This process helps create an incredibly powerful force for Teach For America. Its staff – most of whom once served as corps members themselves – are now selecting, training, and expanding into new regions. For instance, as a 2004 corps member in the Las Vegas Valley, Abigail Rossetti saw in her middle-school classrooms several students who lacked basic reading skills. I joined Teach For America after having a conversation with a current corps member. Honestly, I didn’t have a clear picture of what the achievement gap was until my first day of teaching. I was appalled and surprised that my 8th grade students couldn’t read or do simple math problems. 17 Rossetti completed her two-year commitment and stayed in the region to serve as a program director – direct support for new corps members. She now works for Teach For America as managing director for institute programs in Chicago. Institute is the summer training that all new corps members must go through. Rossetti is in charge of organizing 15 Foote 202. 16 Foote 202. 17 Rossetti, Abigail. E-mail interview. 14 Dec. 2008. 11 the five-week summer session. She said her two year experience in the classroom has “100 percent” shaped future goals and career aspirations. I wasn’t entirely sure what my career path would be after being part of Teach For America (as a corps member), but after the corps I knew that education was a field that I would continue to work in for the rest of my life. I know that one day I’ll eventually go back to the classroom. 18 It’s a staff of people like Rossetti who keep the movement going. The staff’s understanding of what it’s like for new corps members, tied with their deep passion for TFA’s mission statement, moves TFA forward as it continues to work toward educational opportunity for all children. What is the Achievement Gap? All worthy battles have an enemy and for Teach For America that enemy is the Achievement Gap. Dozens of studies show that there are gaps in the achievements of students depending on both race and socio-economic status. In other words, where you live and who your parents are is likely to affect your level of academic achievement before you even step into a classroom. Academic achievement is not just how well someone will do on tests and if he/she will go to college, but rather the gap perpetuates ongoing inequalities within society. The racial gap in academic achievement is an educational crisis, but it is also the main source of ongoing racial inequality. And racial inequality is American’s great unfinished business, the wound that remains unhealed. 19 18 Rossetti. 19 Thernstrom, Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom. Closing the Racial Gap in Learning. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003) 1. 12 In Peter Sacks’ study of the class-war, he looks at the moral issue of an achievement gap, but he also shows the damage an uneducated population does to our nation’s economy. He challenges us to, Forget the moral arguments about making America more socially and economically inclusive and less punitive to children who happen to have been born to poor parents. Forget the ideology of scarcity and the notion that colleges and universities, states and the federal government can’t afford to embark on an ambitious strategy to diminish the widening opportunity gap between children born into privileged lives and those who are not. Instead, consider the simple truth: an untold amount of potential human talent in the United States is wasted as a consequence of an increasingly rigid class structure and the stagnant society it engenders. 20 Teach For America believes that several factors come together in a cycle to create the problem. According to TFA, schools and districts don’t have sufficient capacity to help students in low-income communities overcome extra challenges they face. For TFA officials, the country’s “prevailing ideology hasn’t led to the necessary policies and investments.” 21 20 Sacks, Peter. Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education. (Berkley: University of California Press, 2007) 297. 21 “Fostering Alumni Impact.” Teach For America. (Nov. 2008) 3. 13 Officials argue that there are societal beliefs in which schools cannot make a significant difference “in the face of socioeconomic disparities, that children of color cannot meet high expectations,” and that it’s not worth the investment to “mitigate the challenges of poverty that make it hard for students to focus on school.” 22 Additionally, while all children have the same potential, low-income children face many extra challenges and “because they grown up in poverty, they may not have adequate health care or nutrition, access to high quality pre-school programs, or adequate housing.” 23 Teach For America’s mission, then, is to place more educated and passionate leaders into American classrooms because they will work relentlessly against the cycle explained above. Kopp knew that equal resources did not correspond to equal opportunity. To close the achievement gap, “low-income kids needed to achieve at the same academic level as their more privileged peers.” 24 Teach For America then is not just about staffing classrooms. Corps members are challenged to hold their students to high expectations of achievement. When standards and expectations are high – TFA believes – the student has nowhere to go but up. Corps members have a positive impact on their students’ academic achievement and life trajectories while influencing the prevailing ideology by demonstrating that children in low-income communities, and children of color, can achieve at high levels. 25 Foote writes about Kopp speaking to new TFA corps members at the 2005 Summer Institute welcoming ceremonies in Los Angeles. Kopp asks these new teachers 22 Alumni Impact 3. 23 Alumni Impact 3. 24 Foote 34. 25 Alumni Impact 4. 14 to “remember the high stakes for your students” when they encounter challenges. “Remain centered on the fundamental purpose of Teach For America. Retaining a sense of purpose, outrage, and urgency is the foundation of creating a successful classroom.” 26 Purpose is then directed toward making each day in the classroom valuable by concentrating on the most important skills and demonstrating the value of mastering these skills. Value is derived from raising students’ literacy levels and reaching state standards as determined for each grade. Corps members’ urgency comes from the limited time in school and the fact that most students in Teach For America placement regions are far behind their luckier peers. They are third graders who can’t read, middle schoolers lacking basic math skills, and high school students on the verge of dropping out. Many educational scholars recognize that teacher quality coupled with high expectations play a major role in student achievement. “If there is a consensus on anything in the education community, it is on the direct need of urban districts for better teachers.” 27 Foote recounts one corps member’s realization that the praise of accomplishment he was receiving for working relentlessly and purposefully was a stark reminder about the state of his school. If I’m one of the best, what does that say about everyone else? He was only doing what should be the norm for every teacher; setting high expectations, holding his kids accountable… There was nothing amazing about it. It should have been standard operating procedure. 28 26 Foote 45. 27 Thernstrum 190. 28 Foote 179. 15 Part of being a corps member means setting “big goals” for your students and the classroom. These big goals are high expectations that each student in the classroom is expected to achieve, usually focusing on grade level growth. Corps members are encouraged to spend extra hours with students who are far-behind, make home visits or calls when students aren’t on track, and constantly assess where students are during the year in relation to the big goals. All of this is part of raising expectations for students with the understanding that if expectations are raised, they can be met. Perhaps one of the biggest gaps advocates face is Americans’ perceptions of the education crisis. Gallup recently issued its annual survey on issues impacting Americans. Gallup’s “Pulse of Democracy” gauges American’s thoughts and attitudes on larger issues facing the country. One of the topics was education. The poll found that Americans generally have four focus areas when asked about improving the quality of education: improving the quality of teaching, modifying the curriculum to focus more on basics, providing more money to schools, and making schools safer. 29 Additionally, the American people “do not appear to be interested in massive federal mandates to control education” and there is “a lingering doubt among Americans that the federal government should be involved at all.” 30 This data creates an interesting situation for an organization like Teach For America. While they have connections to the federal government through AmeriCorps funding, they are completely separate from federal reform and therefore could be seen as a credible, a likely reformer and agent of change. 29 “Pulse of Democracy: Education.” Gallup. (2009) 1. 30 Gallup 1. 16 The Gallup poll also brings to light America’s disconnect with the education crisis. According to the poll, “few Americans mention education spontaneously as the top problem facing the nation today.” 31 However, it is an important issue for Americans and it appears at the top of lists when it is included in the choices of issues to be prioritized. Another challenge organizations like Teach For America face is the repeated denial, or misinformation the public gives regarding issues like failing schools and the achievement gap. “Americans are much more positive when asked about the quality of education their children receive in their local communities, than when asked about the quality of education across the country.” 32 Unfortunately, while some parents may be right about the success of their students and their schools, it is more likely that they are in denial, or just simply don’t know what’s happening in their children’s schools. Just read Jonathan Kozol’s The Shame of the Nation. The reader will quickly find example after example of schools falling apart, a segregated school system, and high drop out rates in both urban and rural school districts across the country. It’s an issue that’s been on the covers of major newsmagazine this past year, the focus of Oprah Winfrey Show specials and President Obama’s economic stimulus plan. But for millions of Americans, it’s someone else’s kids. 31 Gallup 2. 32 Gallup 2. 17 For many involved in the educational debates and the Achievement Gap, it’s more about passion than anything. As Sacks introduces his look at economic issues in education he covets a sense of outrage. As citizens in a democracy, it should anger us when kids… are excluded from opportunities that others have in abundance, simply because they were unlucky enough to be born into poor families. It should anger us when those with the most advantages from birth continue to reap outsized rewards for no other reason than that they were born into privileged families. It should anger us when kids from poor and working-class families are relegated to the most boring and least challenging schools and teaching methods – the “slow” and rote academic tracks – while their more affluent peers are chosen from the accelerated tracks and treated to the most enriching and interesting learning environments. 33 It’s this frustration that Teach For America harnesses in each of its corps members that remains long after their two year stint is complete. TFA knows that “in succeeding with their students, corps member gain added conviction that educational inequity is a solvable problem.” Additionally, corps members have their own “stronger sense of personal responsibility for solving [educational inequity], a grounded understanding of the problem in all its complexity, and insight into the solutions.” 34 Who are the Alumni? Although some of the criticism aimed at Teach For America is its short-term commitment from teachers, a majority of Teach For America alumni stay in the classroom – or directly connected to the educational system after their official commitment is complete. Teach For America has more than 14,000 alumni since its first group of teachers entered classrooms in 1990. In the 2007/2008 scholastic year, 66% of 33 Sacks 5. 34 Alumni Impact 4. 18 those alums continued to be in education. 35 In Teach For America’s report, 35% of its alumni network responded to a series of questions about current activities. According the report, 91% of alumni working in schools were impacting low-income communities. Teach For America also boasts recent increases in alumni who have taken leadership positions in the educational community. Perhaps the most notable TFA alumnus is Michelle Rhee, who is now serving as chancellor of Washington, D.C. Pubic Schools. Rhee was recently featured on the cover of Time magazine in which it asked, “Can she save our schools?” Rhee is seen as a lighting-rod in the educational reform movement in D.C. and being watched around the country. Her appointment to the position by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty in 2007 was seen by some as a surprise move and very risky. Before her appointment, Rhee was running the New Teacher Project, which helps schools recruit good teachers and many saw this as no preparation for running one of the nation’s most troubled school districts. But she has “promised to make Washington the highest-performing urban school district in the nation.” 36 Rhee said that much of what drives her today is what she learned in TFA, over 15 years ago, teaching second graders in Baltimore. In Washington, D.C., TFA alumni represent 1 in 10 of the district’s principals. The Washington Post’s Jay Matthews called it “the Teach For America insurgency.” 37 Rhee’s Deputy Chancellor, Kaya Henderson (’92) is also a TFA alumni, as is Abigail Smith (’92), chief of transformation 35 “2008 Alumni Social Impact Report.” Teach For America. (2008). 36 Ripley, Amanda. “Rhee Tackles Classroom Challenge.” Time. 26 Nov. 2008. 37 Matthews, J. “Maverick teachers’ key D.C. moment.” Washington Post. 18 Jun. 2007. 19 management and former policy advisor to the city’s deputy mayor. Sekou Biddle (’93) was elected as a state school board member in 2007. 38 “I think what Teach For America has done quite brilliantly is to create something that’s compelling and inspiring to people but also is going to be attractive to high- achieving people because it’s selective,” said Rhee in a 2008 U.S. News interview. 39 The TFA alumni in D.C. are gaining more and more attention from TFA supporters and critics alike. Rhee and others are seen as potential game-changers in terms of education reform. The small size of D.C.’s school system, if successfully reformed, could be a model for others. “Way back when we were corps members, we used to say, ‘If we ran this place, if we were in charge…’ And now, 10 or 12 years later, we are in charge, we are the principals, sitting on school boards, working for D.C. public schools. We can no longer turn around… we need to do it,” said Baltimore alumni Susan Schaeffler (’92), who now heads a D.C. charter school – started by two other TFA alumni. 40 The experience of being alumni is shaping many careers to focus on education reform. Nancy Waymack (’95) is the director of policy and resource management for the San Francisco Unified School District. She said she now builds on her classroom experience as a Teach For America elementary school teacher in Houston to tackle urban education budgeting issues. “It helps me know which questions to ask, and it helps me to remember to include teachers and principals and other folks who are in schools every day.” 41 38 Alumni Impact 8. 39 Graves, Lucia. “The Evolution of Teach For America.” US News and World Report. 17 Oct. 2008. 40 Graves. 41 Kelly 5. 20 There are also alumni who challenge the educational system by creating their own schools. Michael Feinberg (’92) and David Levin (’92) met when they were corps members in Houston. By 1993, the two were working extra hours at night to create a school that answered their call for more. KIPP, or the Knowledge is Power Program, was designed by Feinberg and Levin while they were working as TFA teachers. KIPP Academy Houston and KIPP Academy New York emerged shortly after their two year TFA commitment was up. Today, there are 66 KIPP schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia. 42 More than 40 percent of KIPP teachers are TFA alumni. Of the 688 students who have completed KIPP eighth grade (the schools are mostly for fifth through eighth graders) 576 have gone to college, an 84 percent matriculation rate. 43 Levin and Feinberg’s experience as TFA teachers has led them to create a system of schools that demands much from both students and teachers. But the demands come from an understanding of what it will take to close the gap. Great teaching is central to this success. The high quality of the instruction was evident…In part, the right people were hired; in part, talent is nurtured; and in part, the teachers are freed to teach. ‘The administrative headaches are gone. The lunch duty is gone. The paperwork is gone. Teachers are in school a very long day, but we build in a minimum of two and a quarter hours of lesson planning time,’ KIPP’s Levin explained 44 Alumni Michael Lach (’90) went to work for Teach For America after three years in the classroom in the Greater New Orleans region. After a return to the classroom, Lach decided to do something else with his passion. “It became clear that the school wasn’t 42 Matthews, Jay. “Ivy League Aspirations.” Newsweek. (26 Jan. 2009) 74. 43 Matthews 74. 44 Foote 50. 21 going to change as fast as I wanted it to go.” 45 In 1999 he earned the Albert Einstein Fellowship to work on science and education policy in the U.S. Congress for Rep. Vernon Ehler (R-MI). “Members of Congress and high-schoolers aren’t that different. You have to manage [congressmen] very much how you manage kids.” 46 Although Lach takes a humorous approach to his comparison, his time as a TFA corps member is impacting the work he now does. Lach has helped to institute a research-based curriculum in the Chicago school district, as well as working to train teachers and principals across the district to support the programs. 47 This year, TFA expects to have more than 300 alumni in school leadership positions. There are 15 elected officials – mostly elected to school boards in a variety of cities. There are 500 alumni working on Capitol Hill and dozens of others have gone on to found innovative social enterprises – impacting both education and the business world. 48 According the alumni survey, 8% of alumni were in law, 4% in business, 4% in medicine, and 2% in politics. Considering that one in 10 Teach For America incoming corps member reports that teaching is one of his/her top careers, the Alumni Impact Report makes some important conclusions about the power of two year service in a high- need classroom. While 90 percent of TFA recruits don’t think of education as a career, after being a part of TFA, many stay. While not all alumni work directly for school districts or educational institutions, many use the corps member experience to inform another career. Maureen Milligan (’99) 45 Kelly 7. 46 Kelly 7. 47 Kelly 7. 48 Alumni Impact. 22 is now the Assistant City Attorney and Community Prosecutor for the city of Dallas. She said Teach For America and her experience as a Washington D.C. corps member impacted her decision to go to graduate and law school and focus on policy issues. Honestly, before I joined Teach For America, I didn’t realize to what extent the education system was in need of change. But after I’d been teaching for a bit, I realized there were structural and systemic issues in public education that had to be addressed, aside from what I was doing in the classroom. When I went for my master’s in education, I focused on policy so that I could look at the bigger, overlying questions that were affecting our kids. 49 Milligan said in law school she not only used the practical skills she gained from teaching but also “perspective and maturity.” Lauren Severs, who taught high school biology in Las Vegas, (’05) sees that even though her decision to go to medical school was made before she joined Teach For America, her experience in the classroom is affecting the decisions she is making now as a medical student. “I feel like my experiences in Vegas changed my priorities for what I want to accomplish as a doctor.” She said she sometimes feels “selfish” for studying all the time, but knows “that in the end I will be able to apply the work I'm doing now to help teenagers in underserved areas to be as healthy as they can. 50 49 “Alumni in Law.” Teach For America Website. <http://www.teachforamerica.org/alumni/alumni_law.htm>. 50 Severs, Lauren. E-mail interview. 6 Jan. 2009. 23 Severs goes on to explain the impact the two year commitment is having on the rest of her life. TFA has completely changed my vision of myself as a physician. Before TFA I think that I wanted to go into medicine because it was the most challenging profession I could think of. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I now know that nothing will be as hard as my first few months teaching. I still want to pursue medicine as a career because I think that it fits my talents better, although I question this sometimes when I get a bad grade on a test, but because of my experiences teaching and coaching in Las Vegas I am now planning on working in adolescent medicine, psychiatry, or community health in a low-income area. I also have a much higher interest in working with the Latino-American population because my experiences with my students and their parents. 51 Teach For America also leverages its successful alumni as a key component in the marketing of TFA. 52 Because the recruitment of college seniors often focuses on leaders on campus, many of whom express desires to continue their own education, TFA has created partnerships with many medical, law, business, and graduate programs. Accepted students can defer their entrance to post-graduate schools until after their two year commitment is over. Teach For America employs alumni who’ve gone back to school to help recruit the next generation of teachers – their experience influences every day activities they engage in, and they become ambassadors to recruit students of all different academic backgrounds. Severs explains her own involvement. I give tours of [the University of Michigan medical school] to prospective students and the fact that I did TFA always seems to come up. People always want to hear about what it was like and I try to give them at least a little perspective on some of the things that are needed in the areas that TFA serves. The more people who hear this message, the better. I’ve also gotten to help recruit students to teach math and science through TFA here at [the University of] Michigan. It has been nice to see the enthusiasm that these students have. 53 51 Severs. 52 Foote 88. 53 Severs. 24 Chapter 3 The Alumni Network As It Is Teach For America’s alumni programs are created on two fronts. At the national level there is an Alumni Affairs division – with Vice President Dena Blank at the helm. Blank, who was not a TFA corps member, but has years of experience running non- profits as an Executive Director, was drawn to TFA’s reputation and specifically to alumni programming because, “alumni are lifelong leaders and advocates for education.” 54 Blank calls the alumni movement the “final frontier” and believes some of the best work TFA does is happening at the alumni level. The national alumni team for TFA sets over-arching goals for all the regions to work toward. These goals align with strategic priorities as set by TFA officials. One of the main goals for the alumni team is to “foster the leadership [of alumni] as a force for social change.” 55 By 2010 the vision is to have 800 school leaders, 100 political leaders, and 12 new social ventures launched, as well as policy and advocacy leaders. Additionally, the organization’s goal is to have 50 percent of alumni donating time or money to TFA. 56 Members of the regional alumni affairs teams are in most placement regions as well as other regions with specific alumni presence. The national team establishes an overall vision, strategy, and provides resources and tools. It is the regions that have most direct contact with alumni. Blank adds that each region has a “landscape” in which they 54 Blank, Dena. Telephone interview. 6 Feb. 2009. 55 Alumni Impact 12. 56 Alumni Impact 22. 25 find programming and tactics that works for the region’s needs. 57 For instance, the Philadelphia alumni can be broken down into three groups: (1) a group of alumni living there before there was a corps; (2) alumni who are in Philadelphia for graduate school (a year or two); and (3) alumni who worked as corps members at one point in the city and have stayed. 58 As Blank notes, the Philly alumni team must look at its alumni and ask “how do our national TFA goals play out in Philadelphia?” 59 For the Los Angeles region that job belongs to Director of Alumni Affairs Kate Farrar (’94) and her team. A Los Angeles corps member herself, Farrar has stayed involved with TFA throughout her tenure as a teacher and administrator. More than a year ago she decided to rejoin TFA in Los Angeles and lead the alumni movement there. Farrar said the alumni programming in Los Angeles starts with talking to alumni. She said many alumni “wanted a way to connect with one another.” 60 The team came up with the simple idea of TFA “Happy Hours,” usually monthly and held in different parts of he city. While the idea is relatively simple, the process of alumni getting together is something that wasn’t happening before a simple idea like this came forward. “If alums are going to work together, they need to meet each other.” 61 Farrar recognizes that with so many alumni invested in schools here in Los Angeles the simple act of connecting alumni can be a powerful tool toward change. What she calls “alumni dating” is the 57 Blank. 58 Blank. 59 Blank. 60 Farrar, Kate. Personal interview. 6 Feb. 2009. 61 Farrar. 26 informal “I know someone there.” Or “You should meet this alum who is doing this.” Mere introductions can lead to partnerships, job opportunities and ideas grown out of simple “happy hours.” Another successful alumni program organized by the LA region is “First Year L.A.” After a small pilot program last year, Farrar’s team asked any new corps members coming to Los Angeles if they would be interested in having an alumni “mentor.” The partnership between an alumnus and a new corps member “made a lot of sense.” 62 Farrar said the overwhelming interest from new corps members worried her at first because she didn’t know if they would be able to get enough alumni support. But she was pleasantly surprised. “Our alums were anxious to help. And I think that speaks to the movement.” 63 Farrar’s team is currently working on an Alumni Summit for this spring to be hosted by the Los Angeles region. The summit works in collaboration with the national team and draws thousands of alumni to either connect or reconnect with the movement through speakers, seminars and breakout sessions. But there are also alumni in parts of the country that TFA does not currently place corps members. Some of these cities have alumni programs set up to help expand their network. Alumni in Austin have organized to create a local group. Blank said the group was formed through a grant provided by the Alumni Initiative Fund. The grant provided some funding for Austin alumni to host programs and meet. Blank also added that the Austin alumni were helpful in making connections for TFA to start a placement region there next year. 62 Farrar. 63 Farrar. 27 Alumni involvement has taken a new direction in the past couple of years. Blank notes that “historically [TFA] has not asked alumni for money.” She said TFA generally has gone after larger corporations for donations and has not been “small-gift” based. Blank adds that there has also been a “feeling of reticence” inside TFA to ask alum for money. That is changing as alumni are starting to be tenured in their professions and looking for other ways to give back. What TFA leaders hope to build on is alums’ “commitment to the cause” and create a “commitment to the organization.” 64 “What we’ve come to believe is that if we are going to achieve our goals of growth, effectiveness, and support then we need these alumni as stewards for the movement.” These engagement goals, as staff has named them aren’t just about money, but alumni time too. Blank said the “participation” part is key and the right goal for TFA because “it gets at the notion that it’s not just about dollars raised. We would rather have $50,000 raised from 5,000 alumni, instead of just two $25,000 donations.” 65 She said it’s a signal that there is broad and continued support for TFA’s movement with alumni engagement. Additionally, it’s a powerful message to larger donors when they see the alumni commitment at a high percentage. “Ultimately it’s about building a robust and reliable stream of revenue. This will become, sooner or later, a significant piece.” With an expected 55,000 former TFA corps members by 2020, alumni gifts of money will become an important source of financial support. This alumni giving is part of the national alumni team’s priority of building “an enduring American institution.” “Our engagement goal was developed with the 64 Blank. 65 Blank. 28 knowledge that we cannot reach our aspirations as an organization without signals and evidence of alumni ownership over our organization.” 66 TFA leaders point to college and universities who use alumni giving as a key signal of broad support. Just as the Harvard endowment or the University of Southern California’s donor base comes from its alumni, the national team at TFA understands this will be a critical growth area of the movement. “Over the past two years, we have seen a 161% increase in alumni engagement with TFA, from approximately 2,000 alumni gifts in 2006, to over 5,200 alumni gifts in 2008.” 67 The goal for 2009 has been set at more than 7,000 gifts – a big goal for the organization, but one that could start to move it into a whole different development program. Teach For America has also created leadership initiatives to support alumni and foster social change. These initiatives are focused on school leadership, political leadership, policy and advocacy leadership, and social entrepreneurship. These are areas that alumni have shown interest in through TFA’s alumni surveys. 68 Each initiative has its own support system set up by TFA or alumni, including partnerships with graduate schools, education reform movements, and school districts. 66 Alumni Impact 23. 67 Alumni Impact 22. 68 Alumni Impact 13. 29 The Leadership for Educational Equity organization is just one example of a practical way to help strengthen the movement through politics and policy. Currently an online forum, corps members and alum are connected through an online community that connects them to resources and opportunities throughout the country. 69 69 Alumni Impact 19. 30 Chapter 4 The Teach For America Brand What Teach For America has paid careful attention to, from the very beginning is its brand. Kopp and the initial TFA team knew that the culture of the corps, who they selected, was key to developing an identity. But beyond the people TFA attracted, it defines itself as more than just a non-profit. Kopp recounts in One Day, that even when she had no budget and no one to serve as a brand manager, she wanted uniformity with the look and feel of Teach For America documents. When she visited Fortune 500 companies she presented herself as a leader of a professional organization. While it began “basically as a garage start-up; as it grew and matured, it took on many of the characteristics of a successful, results-driven corporation.” 70 Furthermore, the process of running what is now a multi-million dollar organization takes professionalism any large company would require. Leading marketing consultant and author Joe Marconi said branding comes from being the best, but it’s also about a strategic plan from the very beginning. Organizations that have an identifiable brand have a clear vision of their purpose at all levels. Think of the best names in the business – any business. How did they get to be the best names? Imagination, innovation, quality, and style had a lot to do with it. But considerable energy was devoted to defining what people think of the brand and how people think of the brand. 71 Kopp knows that the brand of Teach For America depends on those that join the corps. The list of characteristics for a successful teacher was also helping to define the Teach For America brand. Before she started to look for teacher, Kopp had to know what would 70 Foote 60. 71 Marconi, Joe. Brand Marketing Book: Creating, Managing, and Extending the Value of Your Brand. (Chicago: NTC Business Books, 1999) xi. 31 inspire those people to serve and how they would connect themselves with Teach For America. In turn those personalities would help drive the vision and brand that TFA expressed to its audiences – potential donors, prospective recruits, or new districts with whom to partner. Marconi explains that in a highly competitive market, a company cannot waste time. Similarly, TFA is recruiting the top graduates at the most competitive colleges in the country. For several reasons, TFA must make itself important enough to gain the attention of those highly sought after graduates. “A marketer must know what the public wants. This may seem like a rather sweeping statement – and it is. In the highly competitive environment of the 21 st century, anything less will not be sufficient.” 72 This statement has a lot of bearing on TFA. Although they are not marketing themselves to the entire public all the time, their specific public or audiences and its wants are important. For that, TFA has to reinforce its mission with different messaging of what it means to be a corps member and what the movement means. Research and Development In the beginning Kopp wanted to connect the “Me Generation” with something bigger than themselves. Kopp, being a part of that generation herself, knew that it would take the “aura of selectivity” and the passion of being a part of something good that would help drive the right people to apply for Teach For America. Today, one of the most defining characteristics of the current generation of college students is its use of technology. Dubbed “digital natives,” Generation Y uses the Internet as an essential tool 72 Marconi xi. 32 for socializing, communication, and accessing information. 73 Teach For America has identified this as a new way to reach potential applicants. Using Facebook, in 2006 TFA conducted a study of college campus awareness, knowledge of TFA, and consideration for applying. The survey of was conducted at 40 of the 400 major college campuses at which TFA recruited. The results showed that 62 percent of respondents were aware of TFA, 41 percent had a significant knowledge of what TFA does, and 23 percent would consider joining. The takeaway: TFA was missing whole groups of potential corps members. 74 Marconi describes research as an important component to establishing brand identity. On the research front, Joe Klein, writing for Newsweek noted that ‘for the past quarter century, American business has been great at R(esearch), but too impatient to be very good at D(evelopment). It’s been left to the Japanese, and others, to take American ideas – the VCR – and figure out how to manufacture them.’ 75 On a different level, the same analysis belongs inside non-profits like Teach For America. If TFA just goes out and does whatever it thinks will work for recruiting, impacting and changing the educational establishment it will be left with a guessing game. Instead, TFA understands the importance of varied research – from Facebook to annual surveys to connecting with leaders in the educational community – all avenues are used and focused on improving the organization. 73 Foote 196. 74 Foote 278. 75 Marconi 229. 33 Marconi points out that many times there is a reluctance of organizations to invest in research, because they believe that it would only tell them things they already know. “Unfortunately, the level of corporate arrogance has not been reduced to a level where common sense can prevail.” 76 For Teach For America, research is a priority. It relies heavily on twice-yearly corps member surveys for insight into satisfaction levels regarding training and support, as well as its alumni survey to produce information about potential alumni opportunities and the greater corps impact throughout time. 77 Teach For America also knows the research regarding its actual impact inside schools is important for donors and the media outreach it does. It has worked with several independent research agencies to prove effectiveness and increased student achievement. This research also is an important piece in fighting claims about the ineffectiveness of TFA teachers. In 2001, the Center for Research Education Outcomes at the Hoover Institute, Stanford University, studied student outcomes in Houston public schools and compared TFA results with those of other teachers; it found that the TFAers “performed as well as, and in many cases better than, other teachers hired [by the district].” 78 TFA also worked with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., who studied TFA’s effectiveness. The study concluded that TFA offered an appealing pool of “academically talented teachers” who contributed to the academic achievement of their students. According to the study, 76 Marconi 229. 77 Foote 278. 78 Foote 200. 34 employing a TFA recruit amounted to risk-free hire. 79 In a 2007 survey of principals who hired TFA corps members conducted by Policy Studies Associates, nearly all principals (95 percent) rate TFA corps members as effective as, if not more effective than other beginning teachers in terms of overall performance and impact on student achievement. 80 Additionally, 61 percent of principals regard them as more effective compared with other beginning teachers in their schools with respect to their impact on student achievement. 81 A major strength for TFA officials is the organization’s ability to constantly assess itself and make necessary changes. In Molly Ness’ review of Teach For America’s first 14 years, lessons to learn, she highlights TFA’s transforming power in the book’s introduction. “It is difficult to capture the precise essence of Teach For America, since it is an organization that is constantly evolving. In a million different ways, Teach For America has matured, refocused, and transformed.” 82 The ability of TFA to be a flexible and growing organization shows how successful it can continue to be in an ever-changing society. Brand Czar Melissa Golden became TFA’s “brand czar” in 2001. She was one of the first non-alums to join TFA’s top leadership team, and her input was key. 83 Golden helped to reposition the brand by making sure that potential recruits and supporters understood that 79 Foote 200. 80 “Corps Impact.” Teach For America Website. <http://www.teachforamerica.org/mission/our_impact/corps_impact.htm>. 81 Corps Impact. 82 Ness, Molly. lessons to learn: voices from the front lines of teach for america. (New York: Routledger Falmer, 2004) xvi. 83 Foote 194. 35 there were two parts to the TFA mission. 84 Once TFA better articulated its theory of change, “it moved quickly to bring uniformity to the look and feel of the brand.” Before Golden, each region was left to its own devices in creating recruiting materials. The result was that TFA was sending mixed messages. One region might focus on the impact a corps member can make, while another might underscore the opportunities after serving the corps. Under Golden’s policing, the marketing team developed general talking points to keep everyone within the organization on message. Recruiters and selectors were provided with scripts to use when interacting with potential candidates. 85 TFA adopted a uniform color palette for internal and external use, and it centralized the creation of all its promotional material. It also built up its website, using it as a key recruitment tool for a generation that had grown up on the Internet. 86 The growth during this period of time tells the tale of a small movement that had finally hit its mark. In 2000, the number of Teach For America applicants was 4,100. Five years later, 17,000 people applied, and the numbers keep increasing. 87 How Teach For America defines itself While Teach For America is not a corporate entity, it very much models itself in corporate structure. TFA now has several vice presidents who manage staffs of employees in various regions throughout the country. Additionally, each region has an executive director who oversees operations inside the placement city. This structure 84 Foote 194. 85 Foote 195. 86 Foote 195. 87 Foote 197. 36 allows for the organization to reach many different parts of the country – some with their own unique needs – and still act as one entity. How TFA defines itself is just as important as the work that is done – they go hand in hand. If the people inside the ranks don’t believe in the mission, then it will never become a reality. The important thing to note is that a non-profit does not have to act any differently than a Fortune 500 company in terms of brand establishment and successful operations that support its mission statement. For Teach For America, that mission statement is a delicate balance between education reform and the unique perspectives that come to be a part of TFA. “TFA had been labeled messianic by some: recruits worked long hours, are expected to lead disciplined lives governed by a set of values that included humility and respect, and believed passionately in their mission.” 88 While the spectrum of belief among corps members varies greatly, they must believe in the basic mission statement to ever have a chance at being successful inside the classroom. TFA regional leaders spend time and energy throughout the two years making sure that corps members understand their roles and responsibilities as guests of communities, their unique perspectives and their complete devotion to helping their classroom succeed. This set of values can’t be forced upon corps members; rather, it must be agreed upon. In the same way that the values of a corps member demonstrates someone who believes in the mission and never quits – TFA staff should uphold the same ideals as corps members in the classroom. As Farrar notes, “there is a reason I come back to this organization. People here are driven and that’s an exciting place to work.” 88 Foote 7. 37 Above all, the work and urgency, the structure, and focus comes a mission for all that are a part of Teach For America. When people truly believe in that mission then the value structure comes into place. Current President of Teach For America, Matt Kramer outlines this theory to Foote. “High-performing organizations are not nice places to work, but they are very challenging places to work, and because of that, they attract people who like challenges. The question is always: What’s good for the kids?” 89 The organization’s culture at the higher levels of TFA is also influenced by the fact that many are alumni themselves. Though in recent years TFA has increasingly gone outside the organization to fill positions in its top team (only 35 percent of its senior operating team are alums), 60 percent of its 800-member staff came from its own rank and file. 90 This set of cultural values is not only taught on day one, but also learned throughout workers time with the organization. It’s reinforced day in and day out, but the retention and dedication in staff moving up in the ranks and helping new corps members at every level contributes to TFA’s success. For TFA, the mission is educational equality, but the job is placing trained corps members into classrooms. This has to be reinforced by having a variety of alumni at all levels to help lead this change. Marconi reiterates this point when he talks about individuals and organizations being “aware of a deeper purpose or mission before they come into contact with the vision. A vision without a mission often results in loss of focus and wasted energy. 91 89 Foote 189. 90 Foote 60. 91 Marconi 23. 38 Chapter 5 High Expectations Wendy Kopp and Teach For America garner the attention of the mainstream media because the success of the program and it’s recruitment efforts across the country. Kopp was recently named by Time magazine one of 2008’s world’s most influential people. This attention sparked many articles in national newspapers and newsmagazine, including profiles of alumni and Kopp. The New York Times editorial board credits TFA teachers with helping children achieve at the highest levels in math and science and says that the United States must foster such programs if it is to continue to be a world power. 92 A 2008 Wall Street Journal editorial praised TFA, noting that while teachers only make between $25,000 (South Dakota) and $44,000 (New York City), it “offers smart young people something even better than money – the chance to avoid the vast education bureaucracy.” 93 In fact, according to U.S. News, no major publication “has penned a serious take-down of TFA” in 2008. 94 A Blogger’s Idea The online community of education bloggers has increased coverage of Teach For America’s success and its mission. Slate.com’s Sara Mosle (herself a 1990 alum) wrote a piece in 2008 about TFA’s development over time. She lauds TFA for “placing a 92 Editorial. “Teach For America.” New York Times. 16 May 2008. 93 Review & Outlook. “Amazing Teacher Facts.” Wall Street Journal. 14 June 2008. 94 Blog: On Education. U.S. News. “Plenty of Praise for Teach For America.” 20 June 2008. <http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2008/6/20/plenty-of-praise-for-teach-for- america.html?s_cid=etRR-0301>. 39 premium on results rather than mere good intentions.” 95 Robert Pondiscio, a successful communications professional who has worked for Business Week, Time, NBC and public relations agency Hill & Knowlton, left his career to teach in the South Brox as part of the New York Teaching Fellows. He wrote an open letter to Teach For America’s Wendy Kopp on The Core Knowledge Blog in May 2008, which not only sparked a heated online discussion afterward, but also a response from Kopp herself. Below is an excerpt from Pondiscio’s blog and Kopp’s response. You’re well on the way to establishing the premier brand in education reform. Heck, you’re already there. That’s why you made this year’s TIME 100 list… It’s a good time to be Wendy Kopp and Teach For America. You’ve earned every accolade. Because of all this success, you have built up a boatload of political capital. You and I both know that the big knock on TFA is always going to be that its teachers are “two years and out.” Sure, you’ve got data to show that your smart, well-trained, new teachers improve student outcomes. That’s great stuff. We also know that a third of corps members stay past their two-year commitment, and that’s even better. Even those who teach for just two years often go on to leadership positions, both in and out of education, deeply affected and energized by their experience. Bonus! But the more cache TFA gets the more it’ll be used by some as a blue-chip resume item to catch the eye of recruiters on Wall Street, in the best law firms and corporations, and in top grad schools. Face it, that’s already an issue. These kids are no dummies after all. So here’s how we solve the “two and out” problem and kick TFA’s impact into the stratosphere: Instead of throwing TFAers into the worst teaching situations in the cities you serve, place them in some of the best, highest-performing schools. (Stick with me, Wendy, here’s the beauty part). Place them in that high- functioning school for two years as pinch-hitters for some of our best, most experienced teachers, and send those master teachers to the same schools to which you’re sending TFA corps members now. We can call it the Teach For America Fellowship, and throw in a nice chunk of change to incentivize those master teachers without worrying about whether it’s merit pay…. 95 Mosle, Sarah. “Teach For America Grows Up.” Slate. (19 Mar. 2008) <http://www.slate.com/id/2191551/>. 40 Remember your book, One Day, All Children…? Why wait for one day to give kids a great teacher when you can leverage the power of the ed reform megabrand you’ve built to make it happen right now? Before discussing Kopp’s response, which she emailed over the weekend after he posted, I think it’s important to highlight some of Pondiscio’s language. First off, he acknowledges Teach For America as a “megabrand” and the “premier brand in education reform.” He then goes on to explain what TFA is using arguably the same messaging that would come from any TFA official. This messaging includes the two-year commitment; the many who stay in the classroom longer than two years; the high quality of recruits; and the leadership potential for those who do leave the classroom. These points are important for a couple reasons. One, Teach For America works strategically to be consistent with its messaging. The success of a brand depends not on what message the organization sends out, but how that message is transferred through different mediums. We know a message has saturated not when a spokesperson is quoted as saying what the brand stands for, but rather when the writer himself adopts it as fact. In this case, Pondiscio, a blogger, finds the information about TFA mainstream for this blog. He doesn’t waste time or space on redefining Teach For America. Below is Kopp’s response. Many thanks for all the generous sentiments in your blog entry, which I appreciate. As for your recommendations, as you might guess, I don’t think this would be a good thing for urban and rural kids. It is a rare person who has what it takes to excel as a teacher in a low-income community, and it’s not at all a given that teachers who do it well in more privileged communities will do well in urban and rural areas. The most important thing for kids in low-income communities is that we recruit as many people as possible – whether new or experienced – who have the personal characteristics that differentiate successful teachers in high- poverty communities, and that we train and support them to be effective in meeting the extra needs of their students. The individuals who come to Teach For America are coming because they want to work with the nation’s most 41 disadvantaged children (and it’s unlikely that most of them would decide to channel their creative energy toward teaching in more privileged contexts), and in fact their motivation to the level the playing field for them is one reason for their success…. Moreover, in addition to providing a critical source of excellent teachers for disadvantaged kids, our strategy of channeling the energy of the nation’s future leaders into urban and rural schools is important for the long-term effort to ensure educational excellence and equity. Teach For America is building a pipeline of leaders who are deeply committed to educational equity and deeply understand what it will take to ensure that children in low-income communities have the educational opportunities they deserve. Their initial teaching experience in under-resourced communities is foundational to their lifelong commitment to affecting the systematic changes necessary to ensure educational opportunity for all. Again, an analysis of Kopp’s response shows the consistency of the message. She highlights the importance of a corps of effective teachers who are motivated by the mission. She also touches upon the second phase of the movement when she cites the “pipeline of leaders” who are committed to education equity at other levels. She’s making Teach For America stand for more than just bodies in a classroom, but rather a movement of people who are gaining experience and a “lifelong commitment.” The timeliness of her response shows an acute awareness by TFA staff of the importance of every level of communication and response. Potential recruits could be looking online for information on Teach For America and stumble upon this blog, or more importantly in this case, potential donors or district officials examining TFA in the future. As TFA continues to expand it’s going to need to manage its image on all fronts. Not just the mainstream media, but also the internet where blogs and personal websites are just as likely to be searched for background. Kopp’s commitment to responding to the ideas of education reform with a TFA angle is important if the organization is to continue to build its brand and become more vocal in education reform. It’s also a powerful 42 statement that the message comes from Kopp herself, not TFA, or any other media relations spokesperson. Kopp’s response shows her direct involvement in the movement. It’s time for big goals But there’s got to be more. In the future, the alumni movement has to become more focused, with more direction and a larger presence in more places across the country. The movement it not just about getting more principals in classrooms, but leaders in every sector of business who understand what’s going on in America’s classrooms. It’s about connecting more lawyers with doctors with reporters with business owners. This will enable TFA to build a movement of people who are concerned about solving educational inequality. This movement is about getting people who don’t necessarily talk about the achievement gap to talk and ask questions. It’s about becoming a movement of voices dedicated to education reform. It’s about getting these voices together, so that as a nation we’ll have no choice but to listen. Currently, there are 14,000 potential ambassadors for this message. While not all will continue to work on behalf of TFA, the success of TFA means the alumni base will continue to grow. It is my belief that now is the time for that growth. By focusing on just certain populations of alumni – future principals and politicians – TFA risks losing the most dedicated among its alum. As alumni get further away from their experience and the classroom they start to become a lost population – or at least harder to reach. Finding meaningful ways to engage them, and expanding the role of alumni is going to mean devoting more resources to the alumni movement. But that’s smart growth. Wendy Kopp’s original thesis was a two-pronged theory of change. Now is the time to look at that second part and really decide how TFA alum can do more. 43 When corps member Ness wrote her own book, she spoke with over 150 former corps members, staff and education experts to talk about Teach For America. She included alumni’s stories of being in the classroom and the effects it has on their lives. Toward the end of the book, an alumni reflects on TFA and its potential impact. Except for the timeliness, I think this could summarize some of what alumni are still feeling today. The first ten years of Teach For America were about laying the seeds for long- term change to be brought about by this powerful alumni network. Those seeds are just beginning to grow and the blossoms are barely visible. What we need to see next is what those seeds will grow into. Teach For America instilled the idea that we, as alumni, need to forward opportunity for underserved children and districts. Over a lifetime, we could and had to make a difference. I know that it’s not just me in this part of the battle, but I am joined by 10,000 alumni who have become catalysts. The questions we must now ask are, how can we put our power together? How can we take more deliberate action? 96 (’91 Alum Kim Jacobsen) Jacobsen’s observations are still relevant today. There are small alumni sectors who have joined together to help move other alumni forward. Washington D.C. has alumni in powerful positions who work together as TFA alum to impart new policy and change. There are new charter schools, and alumni writing policy on Capitol Hill, but where’s the movement? How can the power of all these alumni together be harnessed for greater change and larger impact? Of course there is success among those who stay in education. Former Baltimore corps member Katrina Scott (’03) said she became involved in TFA because of her interest in teaching. She said she personally knows many alumni who are working to end the achievement gap, “even if they are no longer in a classroom or working in a school system. I have heard of tremendous things alumni are doing to end educational inequity 96 Ness 157. 44 through their chosen professions.” 97 But she warns that TFA may be at-risk of losing its main goal if too many people are selected because of their higher ambitions. “I think TFA is recruiting newer corps members who are not as interested or invested what it means to be a teacher,” adding that they “want the benefits of saying that they are ‘TFA’. There do not seem to be as many corps members remaining in the education profession past their two year commitment.” 98 This continues to be a fine line TFA will have to monitor, especially in guaranteeing the success of the second phase. If newer corps members aren’t as dedicated to the mission then they likely won’t be dedicated alum. Severs acknowledges that including alumni from different sectors into the movement is important, highlighting that even though she and her colleagues aren’t in the classroom, they are still affected by the achievement gap. I didn't feel like I knew the best way to help with the movement when I ‘graduated’ from TFA and I still don't really. I have my own ideas, but it would be nice to have some general guidelines about what the most pressing issues are. This is especially true for alumni in the medical field as there is little to no poverty curriculum at most medical schools. This means [medical] students are graduating not knowing what the issues are that their low-income patients are facing and how to best help them. 99 97 Scott, Katrina. E-mail interview. 18 Dec. 2008. 98 Scott. 99 Severs. 45 Severs said she’s heard from other alumni who feel a disconnect. “I have talked to several corps members about their experiences in TFA that feel disheartened now” adding that while they did not feel that the classroom is where they could make their biggest impact personally, they now feel like they are having “no impact on closing the achievement gap in their current positions.” 100 Even alum who are still in the classroom can feel apart from TFA after their two year commitment is up. Alum Robbie Gill (’06) taught special education students in a variety of subjects in the Las Vegas Valley region. Still at his placement school, he said he feels a newer placement region like Las Vegas is missing a true alumni movement and “a drive.” 101 He adds that as a corps member, “I was never told what was expected or needed of me after I matriculate out.” Gill believes there needs to be a vision and “maybe we should be introduced to this alumni movement before we matriculate out. That way when we leave the corps, we know what it is and feel we are a part of it.” 102 Gill brings up important issues that the alumni movement faces. Each region has its own alumni base and some are very small and new. But he also has a passion and interest in helping the movement. Alum like Gill or Severs who are reaching out to help, should be a part of the movement, if not a leader in the cities they live. I have much higher expectations of myself and a drive to move up in education so that I may affect change from a better vantage point. I now have aspirations to be a principal and maybe more. The structure and intensity of TFA has pushed me to work hard to realize my potential. 103 100 Severs. 101 Gill, Robbie. E-mail interview. 24 Jan. 2009. 102 Gill. 103 Gill. 46 Although Gill’s story is different than Severs, which are different than Scott or Farrar, each has their own desire to do more for children and the nation’s educational system. That common bond is incredibly important and must be turned into something tangible. 47 Chapter Six A Force For Change The time has come for Teach For America’s alumni movement to have an action plan. The ideas outlined here can be used to help transform the progress already made into that movement the organization and its alum are talking about. It will likely take more input from all parts of TFA – development, each of the 29 regions, current staff, the board, and of course, the alumni themselves. Strategic planning takes the investment of an entire organization. It’s important to build a plan from a variety of perspectives and with a timely process that allows for engagement and input. However, not all departments in TFA can devote a month, or even a week to planning for an alumni movement; recruiters have to keep meeting with potential corps members, regional staff need to keep supporting current corps members, and other team members have designated roles and accountability for their positions. A successful strategic planning process will examine and make informed projections about environment realities to help an organization anticipate and respond to change by clarifying its mission and goals; targeting spending and reshaping its programs, fundraising and other aspects of operations. 104 It’s likely that even the Alumni Affairs team is already working on projects and deadlines for its several priority goals in place. This plan then creates a challenge for TFA to open new positions and expand the roles of Alumni Affairs. While the input and ideas from all parts of TFA will be important, the proposed ideas start from the very beginning in creating new resources and information for TFA to draw upon. 104 Mittenthal, Richard A. “Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders.” (2002) <www.tccgrp.com>. 48 In places where there may be limited information, I’ve included the potential questions to ask. The main purpose of this section is to outline a task force, or alumni committee, to be created to engage alumni in the movement. The task force’s first goal could be to complete a strategic plan for the alumni movement. The strategic plan would include goals and objectives for Teach For America. Rather than coming from inside TFA, this plan would come from the alumni themselves. But it should not just be an alumni project, but rather the mission of all at TFA to make the second phase stronger and more in tune with the overall mission of TFA. At one point or another, all important stakeholder groups should have a voice in the planning effort… But a strategic plan should not become the exclusive responsibility of a small cadre of stakeholders. If the planning process is to succeed, it must incorporate the views of all the constituencies that will be affected by the plan or have a role in its implementation. 105 I. Statement of Problem Teach For America must find new and significant ways to reconnect these 14,000 people to the vital second-phase of Wendy Kopp’s intended goal. With thousands of former teachers spread throughout the country, many are serving directly in classrooms of low-income students. But hundreds more are doctors or lawyers. They are opening up their own businesses, or running for political office. They are helping to draft legislation on environmental policy, school board measures, and community laws. There are alumni leading school districts, starting their own non-profits, or continuing their own education. Ultimately, they are connected, no matter how removed they are from the classroom they once served. They remember the names of the kids who gave them the most trouble, and the ones who stayed after class to figure out the assignment. These former teachers think 105 Mittenthal. 49 back to their first success and the greatest failures. Some feel guilty for leaving the classroom; others know they are doing more and making a bigger impact moving forward in their careers. But Teach For America can do more to connect them. It can ask more of them. It can bring them as medical professionals, as lawyers, as parents, as community leaders, and seek a greater impact in all fields. Teach For America has the challenge to be the game changer in the name of educational opportunity, but it needs more voices, with a clearer message, and well-crafted vision that can be implemented. II. Situation Analysis Strengths o Strong brand recognition – TFA has received more coverage, more applicants, and is expanding into more regions. It is still recruiting from the nation’s top universities and being touted as the premier post-graduate program. o Outreach efforts – TFA has a strong presence across more than 400 college campuses, and established connections in 29 urban and rural cities in the U.S. The reputation of TFA in these cities and with school districts is strong. The regions are also partners with top corporate entities donations and business relationships. o No political alignment – TFA has a non-profit status that legally limits its political involvement. However, it does have connections with past U.S. presidents, receives AmeriCorps funding, and depends on government and local officials’ support. o Experience - There are thousands of former teachers who've seen what happens in public schools and while each has his or her own experience, all are linked 50 through their experience as corps members. They are familiar with TFA’s message and its goals and many believe deeply in the mission. o It's in the mission statement - Wendy Kopp's original thesis talked about the importance of this second phase. It’s already a part of key messaging and there are already several ways alumni can stay connected, which means there is a foundation to draw upon. Weaknesses o Losing contact with alumni – As noted, the majority of former members have decide to pursue careers in something other than education, and for hundreds more than 10 years have passed since they’ve been in the classroom. There is a percentage of alum who keep in contact or are a part of the movement (35% responded in the last survey), but more will need to be done to reconnect those who haven’t been involved. o Attention is directed at individuals – Right now the focus is on getting individuals elected to political office or in school leadership positions, but it’s going to take groups to make significant change. For example, Chancellor Rhee in D.C. has TFA alumni in her office and running schools throughout D.C. This model will have to be expanded to include leaders in all types of industries. o Minimal expertise in areas outside of education – When targeting messages toward different professional groups the message can get confusing. TFA has to find ways to link education with different professions alumni may be a part of now. 51 o TFA is still young – The 1992 alumni are entering late 30s/early 40s and are just starting to be the leaders in their careers. That means that a majority of alumni are still in their late 20s, either pursuing careers or still in higher education. Opportunities o Teach For America can become the leader in the educational reform discussion. By influencing those writing policy it can potentially make changes in local, state, and national levels through the election of alum, the creation of strong networks, and the advocacy of educational equity. There is a fine line between political activism and advocacy, but TFA can become a thought leader and built upon its respected position. o Connecting teachers with doctors, business leaders, and lawyers in the similar pursuit to close the achievement gap will take more than just influencing a classroom; it takes a community to support children’s education. TFA has that community, and it needs to identify the ways to mobilize its citizens. o TFA can create new partnerships with other industries for a chance to broaden the support it gives to its alumni in medicine, law, business, etc. This expansion creates the vital conversations between industries in reforming society on more than just one level. o By broadening its outlook, TFA can attract new donors and education philanthropists with a wider call to action – the more impact TFA is making, the more donors will want to be a part of it – including successful alumni themselves. 52 Threats o Too much attention on alumni in other professions might weaken TFA's hardest argument to fight: corps members only in the classroom for two years and take away from the most important part of the mission – relentless pursuit in the classroom. o Becoming too “political” may hinder effectiveness of program by “picking a side.” The education debate ranges from teacher pay to charter schools to No Child Left Behind. As an organization, TFA hasn’t expressed its own reform methods, rather it finds ways to work within the systems it’s a part of. o The vision for attracting and supporting successful corps member is vital in keeping with the mission of TFA, therefore corps members must be about more than just the “brand.” How does TFA promote exceptional post-corps opportunities without touting "resume" boosters? o Does TFA risk ever becoming too popular? Pop culture has already started to recognize TFA as it has shown up in the New York Times bestseller, The Devil Wears Prada and teen television drama Gossip Girl. o There is always the risk of expanding too much and too quickly that might lessen the value of TFA's primary goal and take resources away from placing recent college graduates in at-risk classrooms. III. Action Plan The first step in developing a stronger alumni movement is to assemble a task force designed to connect alumni together from a variety of regions and backgrounds. The task force should be alumni who are involved in the TFA movement currently, but 53 not necessarily in staff positions. It’s important to get input from alumni who have pursued other careers, as they will likely be able to give important advice on getting like- minded professionals involved. The task force should establish a timeline, with specific goals set for each meeting and progress through out the year. This task force should report directly to TFA management at specific and pre-determined milestones. There are several ways TFA can reach out to alumni to join the task force. Teach For America has a database which can provide information on alumni’s current professions. The annual surveys issued by TFA often ask alumni their levels of interest and ways in which they would like to get involved.. Personal outreach from the VP of Alumni Affairs should also be used to communicate with alumni. TFA can identify potential candidates, but it should be an open call for any alum to join the task force. Opening this opportunity up brings potential for new alumni investment. During outreach, an understanding about the time commitment and the intended outcome will help alumni better decide if they want to elect to be a part of the committee. The task force should be composed of alumni from different years and regions because there are going to be a variety of elements of the alumni movement. At this point, the task force is only making recommendations, and therefore should represent a strong sample of alumni. However, the task force should not be so large that it cannot meet regularly (possibly monthly) and discuss important issues and progress. TFA should plan on supporting this task force in a variety of ways, including coordinating meetings, possible expansion of alumni research, and dialogue about potential ideas. It may be important to expand the office of alumni affairs, or create a liaison staff-person to help support this task force. It’s important, however, that the task force remains a separate 54 entity from TFA itself. As the task force develops more concrete ideas it can then think about expansion within the TFA structure. IV. Objectives for Teach For America 1. Increase alumni involvement in all regions. 2. Determine current alumni involvement in each region and leverage possible links between alumni who are connected to the movement and those who aren’t involved. 3. Grow program offerings for alumni not currently in education sector. 4. Expand alumni impact in all regions of the country. V. Strategies for Teach For America 1. Establish a task force with representation from a variety of Teach For America alumni. 2. Create messaging and communications plan for specific target audiences for rollout of task force appointments. 3. Charge the task force with creating strategic vision for alumni movement and possible goals for the alumni in different sectors within a year of the creation of the committee. 4. Provide support and necessary tools for task force to accomplish its intended goals. VI. Key Audience Alumni in specific industries – excluding education (i.e. medicine, law, etc). This group ranges from professionals who have entered other industries to those who are going back to graduate programs to pursue another career. Finding ties between their interests and the communities TFA serves will be important. While not everyone will want to stay connected to the movement, many have chosen professions with an emphasis on serving low-income communities, an expertise in education, or making an 55 impact in children’s lives. These may be alumni who are already a part of main contact for TFA, and might be looking for more engagement with the movement. Tactics for engaging this audience o Industry Ambassadors - Outreach for getting these professionals involved in the task force will start with identifying successful alums in careers outside teaching. Ambassadors from each of the main professional sectors (law, business, medicine, science) should be used to communicate the messages about the task force opportunity. o Impact Report - Alumni officials should expand TFA’s existing alumni impact report to reflect the impact being made in other professional sectors. Even with a small percentage of alums in other professional sectors there are several opportunities to highlight achievements. A focus on those serving low-income communities, or in placement regions will help expand the network of engaged alum. Alumni in education These alumni are the most connected to the movement. TFA reports 90% of the alumni still in education are serving in low-income communities. Many are well- connected, strong leaders who are hearing messages from TFA already and may have mobilized in certain regions already. The alumni in leadership positions already will be important to get information from and the task force will need to gather much more information from this group. 56 Tactics for engaging this audience o Regional Information Sessions from Wendy Kopp or high-level TFA Representative – Kopp or a national level representative should reach out personally with “town hall” style meetings for alums to get involved in the task force. The most likely alum to attend these events are those already involved in education. Her personal appearance will establish the importance of the “second phase” and possibly interest more who’ve not been involved. o Working Together E-mail/Correspondence – At the very beginning of this process there should be an e-mail sent to all alum outlining the plan ahead. The e- mail should focus on the “two-prong theory of change” and use messaging outlined below to engage alumni and send a message of collaboration between alumni from all sectors – including those still in the classroom. Alumni completing their two-year commitment Connecting with the newest alumni early on will be important in setting the stage for years to come. These are the latest to come out of the classroom and are reading all about TFA in the mainstream media. Engaging them early on in the second phase of the movement will ensure a link between the first and second phase. While they won’t have the experience of seasoned alumni, they will provide a much needed link between the classroom experience today and the movement ahead. Tactics for engaging this audience o Media outreach with alumni focus – While TFA and Wendy Kopp have been featured in the past several years in the pages of major magazines and national newspapers, a new media campaign about alumni efforts should be pursued. 57 Regional attention on former corps members and what they are doing now will not only highlight those working in the education sector, but also other industries. o Impact Report Presentation – The impact report should be presented to alums at this stage. A complete understanding of the many different sectors alums are involved in and the work being done in different regions. Before the latest corps completes their two-year commitment, outreach should be made on behalf of the region’s alumni team to present this information. If no alumni team is in a region then the national alumni team may want to create a presentation for others to use. Current corps members Each person who joins Teach For America will become an alum. It’s important for TFA to have discussions with current corps members about ways in which alumni can help the movement. Some regions already have mentorship programs ranging from classroom help to support in finding your way around a new city. Current corps members should be included in information gathering. The shifting attitudes of corps member’s reasons for joining TFA can also help identify changes in motivation and potential issues with being too popular. Tactics for engaging this audience o Research Expansion – Questions should be added to TFA’s annual survey of corps members to gauge levels of interest in the movement and changing attitudes. This research can then be available for the task force’s use. o Alumni-Hosted Events – Alumni should be encouraged to host more events throughout the regions they are placed. These events can be small and specific to classroom experience, or can be simple “happy hours” to encourage interaction. 58 The use of TFA’s website and a calendar of events can expand the groups of people who attend the events. Teach for America staff currently recruiting new corps members The recruitment staff for future corps members is important because in many ways they are the face of the movement. When college students first learn about the program, it is usually through former corps members who now serve as recruiters. Staff should be aware of the task force’s progress, as well as TFA’s plan for the future. Any shift in messaging should be directed toward these ambassadors with instructions on how to talk about alumni and the alumni movement. Tactic for engaging this audience o Liaison to task force – The creation of a liaison position will allow recruiters access to up-to-date on the progress made by the task force. Their experience in the field recruiting new members will also be an important contribution to the task force. VII. Key Messages You left the classroom, but the classroom never left you. In this message we are appealing to most alumni’s desire to keep giving. While some may have applied to TFA because of the prestige and “aura,” many applied because they wanted to do something meaningful. And while many left the classroom, their experience in the classroom is no doubt impacting what they do today. In this message we strive to instill in the alum that sense of still being a part of TFA, even if not directly in the classroom. It’s being a part of something larger – an ideal that we all want to be a part of the next phase of TFA. 59 The movement still needs your help. This message brings a sense of urgency and stays true to the feeling that this is really a movement. It’s not about a person in a classroom, but rather the larger organization as a whole. The message can also be applied to those who have recently left the classroom, showing that even though the commitment is up, there is still a lot that can be done to help TFA. Again, it’s calling on TFA alumni to do more and be a part of something lasting. 14,000 strong and ready for that day when all American children have an excellent education. This message serves as more of a call to action. Most of the alumni are going to need to be shaken and motivated again by something they found years ago. The number highlights that its more than just a few alumni starting a school or running a district – although admirable – this showcases the power of the force. It’s a call to action that uses the language of Wendy Kopp, but is a collective front. The focus is on the original mission that TFA is about giving children the opportunity for an excellent education no matter where they live. VIII. Potential Strategies for the Alumni Task Force Target alumni in sectors outside education to find common ground and ways in which they can impact the movement. The most important part of this plan is getting more alumni involved. Many alum don’t live in the 29 urban and rural placement areas that TFA serves. Splitting the country into regional areas, not placement regions, can help identify where alumni are around the country. Using the annual alumni survey as a starting point, the task force can start to use 60 demographic data to find connections between alumni in certain regions. Meeting with representatives from major industries (medicine, law, politics, etc.) can help to get anecdotal information about the issues that concern these professions and how they relate to TFA’s larger mission. This part is probably the most imperative and time consuming, because in some ways the organization is starting from scratch. The data gathering done at this level will be invaluable to any future progress. The identification of the “common ground” will be important in finding ways in which alumni from different sectors can work together. In the beginning it will be important to keep things as simple as possible. TFA shouldn’t go into healthcare advocacy and policy, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t care about the issues because they have a direct relationship to how children perform in a classroom. Kids who go to school hungry or sick impact classrooms and teachers – they miss more school or they get other kids sick. But connecting these doctors is the first step. Finding out the issues they see impacting not just their practice, but education will help TFA in finding places where they can make a difference. While TFA should not get involved in the healthcare debate, they may find that advocating for nurses on school campuses might be a step toward smaller education reform. Develop a plan using information gathered from a variety of alumni and taskforce’s findings. This plan should outline what the alumni movement is going to encompass. Combining the information gathered and suggestions made, the plan can be divided into parts – communications, development, strategies, influencers, etc. Who will need to get involved? What kinds of resources will it take for TFA to embark on this phase of the 61 movement? What will the staffing levels need to be? What regions will be instrumental in putting this together? What support will be necessary? The plan should include timelines and measuring devices to assess the progress. It should make room for changes and new information that may make a difference in the outcome. A strategic plan allows for different outcomes and has built in assessment dates where the task force can come together to make adjustments as necessary. The plan should highlight the vision. Most importantly it will be used as a starting point for the alumni involved. It will need to be a call to action – like Wendy Kopp’s original plan. People will need to understand the motivation behind the alumni movement and this plan will help to outline that motivation. By spending time and resources on building a strategic plan that thoroughly outlines the motivations and expectations of the alumni movement, everyone involved will have a better idea of what needs to be done and the outcomes expected. Reconnect alumni who’ve either moved away from TFA or haven’t been involved in TFA programs for any reason. The alumni movement ultimately depends on getting more people involved. This is going to take an extraordinary outreach effort. While TFA currently has operations to engage alumni in certain sectors, officials will have to enact specific programs designed to bring alumni of different backgrounds together. Of course, there has to be something significant to bring these alumni back. While TFA currently seeks monetary and volunteer time donations, TFA should embark on a plan to collect additional information from alumni. Time and money are going to need to be spent getting research done about alumni. Focus groups should be conducted and used to gain further insight into what 62 alumni want and support they are willing and able to give. While research has been done to find out where alumni are and their engagement in low-income communities and impact they are making in education, more can be done to talk about ideas surrounding the alumni movement. In the same way TFA recruits recent college graduates, it needs to develop a plan for recruiting alumni to be a part of this phase. This will be the critical piece for the task force to recognize. The experiences of each committee member will help identify barriers that prevent alums from getting involved. These different professions coming together mark a new way of thinking about the alumni movement. They can work toward finding common ground, but also identifying where there will be differences in these professionals and their attitudes or beliefs. Create momentum for the second phase that can co-exist with first phase of teachers in the classroom. An excitement needs to surround the second phase of the movement. So much new and positive attention is being paid to Teach For America. Officials must use this opportunity to capture audiences and ask more of them. When TFA recruits it talks about the second phase, but there isn’t always a clear picture of what that means. When corps members leave the movement, some may find themselves in regions that have programs for alumni to stay involved, but what about if they move out of the 29 placement regions. With technology and the advancements in communication, TFA can build networks that corps members become aware of while a part of TFA. These networks can exist regardless of where alums live, but rather what their interests are and future goals they have. Most of all, there is an engagement with the alumni movement from the very 63 beginning. The transition then becomes seamless when recruits become corps members and when corps members become alumni. Find ways in influence policy at local levels to bring about change in schools and districts where TFA serves and has alumni presence. The ultimate goal for Teach For America’s second phase is to influence. It’s too early and too presumptuous to know exactly what that may entail. In some cases it might be different at each level. However, TFA can play a major role in starting the debate. The task force can identify other aspects of community policy that affect classrooms. Even the most talented and driven teachers are stopped short because of textbook shortages, decaying schools, and reduced funding for education. What do these advocates for education find in common? Where can TFA play a part in changing the “landscape” and what are other possible organizations can it align itself with? The task force should consult with not only those at the top of educational ladders, but the community leaders who work each day to impact society. Instead of the connections being made by TFA officials, the alumni task force should start to find ways to bridge the educational community with influencers and community leaders throughout the country. 64 Chapter Seven Conclusion What Wendy Kopp started nearly 20 years ago was more than just a thesis – it was a call to action. Today, we are surrounded by a generation of Americans who’ve been called to action by the 44 th President of the United States. Barack Obama has made service the new commitment for each U.S. citizen. In his acceptance speech in Chicago’s Grant Park this January, President-elect Obama called upon each American to do their part. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can. 106 It’s that same call to action that will attract more alumni to reconnect with their original motivations. Whether it was two years ago or 20 when they first stepped into a classroom, many know that the achievement gap still exists and a need for more involvement is critical – that Kopp’s original belief still stands true. The week after the Alumni Summit, I overheard a discussion among some of our organizational leaders. ‘You know,’ someone said, ‘I looked at the vision statement as I walked into the office this morning. And I realized something: I actually believe it's possible. 107 106 Obama, Barack. “Acceptance Speech.” Grant Park, Chicago. 4 Nov. 2008. 107 Kopp 152. 65 What Teach For America has is a movement of people who have worked toward the same belief. That’s a powerful motivator and it’s not something that has to be taught. It’s stronger than a vision statement. The challenge then is how to use that belief to do the most good. Teach For America leaders shouldn’t be afraid of taking sides in the debate on education. They shouldn’t be afraid of becoming a leader in education reform. The truth is, there doesn’t seem to be a one-size-fits -all solution. That’s why it’s not necessarily about legislative reform or pouring more money into school districts. What an alumni movement can be, rather, is a force of people who engage in the debate. A group of leaders who come together with the greatest minds of their generation to think through the problems from every angle. Teach For America can provide that place, the direction, and perhaps in the future advocate on behalf of the solution. Most importantly, the timing for Teach For America is now. The majority of TFA’s alumni leaders were corps members in the 1990s. At that point the organization was still small and didn’t have the current support or the reach.. There are 3,476 alumni who were a part of TFA in the ’90s. Compare that to the alumni from 2000-2009: 13,482. 108 With an organization that’s growing at this speed there’s a direct need to put more attention toward its alumni impact. Every year more and more former corps members join the ranks as alum, and TFA should anticipate alumni becoming a force for change. There are always going to be critics, just like there are going to be new recruits who only join TFA to help them get into law school. There are many in the educational community who are watching and waiting for someone like Michelle Rhee to fail. What 108 Alumni Impact 6. 66 we cannot do is allow that to slow TFA down. There are thousands of alumni who’ve been impacted by their time in the classroom. They’ve felt that sense of urgency and they gave in ways they never thought they could. It’s about asking more of each other. More of our communities, more from our schools and the people who run them. Teach For America doesn’t have to be the one to reform the schools, but it should be the one that demands the conversation takes place. Teach For American is gaining the attention of the country. The question is what will it do with that attention? What lessons can this organization teach to a nation that still isn’t willing to put education at the top of the list? How can it mobilize thousands of alumni who have all seen the state of our schools and the potential of our youth? With alumni in every sector of American industry – the potential is tremendous. With expectations set high, we can create a system built for all children to receive and attain an excellent education. That’s a day we can all believe in. 67 Bibliography “2008 Corps Profile.” Teach For America. http://www.teachforamerica.org/research/index.htm. “2008 Alumni Social Impact Report.” Teach For America. 2008. “Alumni in Law.” Teach For America. http://www.teachforamerica.org/alumni/alumni_law.htm. Aperia, Tony, and Rolf Back. Brand Relations Management: Bridging the Gap Between Brand Promise and Brand Delivery. Sweden: Copenhagen Business School Press, 2004. Blank, Dena. Telephone interview. 6 Feb. 2009. “Corps Impact.” Teach For America. www.teachforamerica.org/mission/our_impact.htm. Farrar, Kate. Personal interview. 6 Feb. 2009. Foote, Donna. Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches With Teach For America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. “Fostering Alumni Impact.” Teach For America. Nov. 2008. Gill, Robbie. E-mail interview. 24 Jan. 2009. Graves, Lucia. “The Evolution of Teach For America.” US News and World Report. 17 Oct. 2008. Kelly, Bridget. “Connecting the Dots: Staying Power- Teach For America Alumni In Public Education.” Education Sector. Feb. 2006. Kopp, Wendy. One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For American and What I Learned Along the Way. New York: Public Affairs, 2001. Kopp, Wendy. “Wendy Kopp Responds.” The Core Knowledge Blog. May 27, 2008. www.coreknowledge.org/blog/2008/5/27/wendy-kopp-responds/. Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2005. Marconi, Joe. Brand Marketing Book: Creating, Managing, and Extending the Value of Your Brand. Chicago: NTC Business Books, 1999. 68 Matthews, Jay. “Ivy League Aspirations.” Newsweek 26 Jan. 2009: 74-75. Matthews, Jay. “Maverick teacher’s key D.C. moment.” Washington Post. 18 Jun. 2007. Mittenthal, Richard A. “Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders.” www.tccgrp.com. Mosle, Sarah. “Teach For America Grows Up.” Slate. 19 Mar. 2008. http://www.slate.com/id/2191551/. Ness, Molly. lessons to learn: voices from the front lines of teach for america. New York: Routledger Falmer, 2004. Nissim, Bill. “Non Profit Branding: Unveiling the Essentials.” Oct. 2004. http://www.marketingsource.com/articles/view/1647. Obama, Barack. “Acceptance Speech.” Grant Park, Chicago. 4 Nov. 2008. “Our nation’s greatest injustice.” Teach For America. http://www.teachforamerica.org/mission/greatest_injustice.htm. Pondiscio, Robert. “A Memo to Wendy Kopp.” The Core Knowledge Blog. 22 May 2008. www.coreknowledge.org/blog/2008/05/22/. “Pulse of Democracy: Education.” Gallup. 2009. Review & Outlook. “Amazing Teacher Facts.” Wall Street Journal. 14 June 2008. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1213397550373623.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. Ripley, Amanda. “Rhee Tackles Classroom Challenge.” Time. 26 Nov. 2008. Rossetti, Abigail. E-mail interview. 14 Dec. 2008. Rothstein, Richard. Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic, and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap. New York: Teachers College Columbia University, 2004. Sacks, Peter. Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education. Berkley: University of California Press, 2007. Schultz, Majken, Yun Mi Antorini, and Fabian F. Csaba. Corporate Branding: Purpose/People/Business. Denmark: Copenhagen Business School: 2005. Scott, Katrina. E-mail interview. 18 Dec. 2008. 69 Severs, Lauren. E-mail interview. 6 Jan. 2009. Simmons, John. The Invisible Grail: How brands can use words to engage with audiences. London: Marshall Cavendish Business, 2006. “Teach For America.” Editorial. New York Times. 16 May 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/opinion/16fri4.html. Thernstrom, Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom. Closing the Racial Gap in Learning. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. U.S. News Staff. “Plenty of Praise for Teach For America.” 20 Jun. 2008.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Teach For America recruits outstanding recent college graduates to commit to teach for at least two years in urban and rural public schools throughout the country. This paper looks at what happens after teaching in some of the nation’s most challenging classrooms. The "alumni movement" for Teach For America is quickly becoming an important piece in the organization's mission.
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
Asset Metadata
Creator
Mitchell, Shannon Anne
(author)
Core Title
Teach For America: we have their attention, now where do we go from here? A plan for the alumni movement
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Strategic Public Relations
Publication Date
05/06/2009
Defense Date
04/01/2009
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
achievement gap,American education,communications plan,non-profits,OAI-PMH Harvest,Public Relations,Teach For America
Place Name
USA
(countries)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Floto, Jennifer D. (
committee chair
), Celis, William (
committee member
), Smith, Erna (
committee member
)
Creator Email
shannoam@usc.edu,shannon.mitchell@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2158
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UC1306068
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etd-Mitchell-2809 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-226308 (legacy record id),usctheses-m2158 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-Mitchell-2809.pdf
Dmrecord
226308
Document Type
Thesis
Rights
Mitchell, Shannon Anne
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Repository Name
Libraries, University of Southern California
Repository Location
Los Angeles, California
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
achievement gap
American education
communications plan
non-profits
Teach For America