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Civic engagement of Teach For America alumni in Los Angeles

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Civic engagement of Teach For America alumni in Los Angeles

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Content CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 1

Civic Engagement of Teach For America Alumni in Los Angeles

by

Avery M Seretan

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2019

Copyright 2019 Avery M Seretan
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 2

Acknowledgements

A sincere thank you goes out to all of those who made this dissertation study a reality. A
huge thank you goes out to the participants of this dissertation study. I could not have done this
research study without you. Thank you for your time and for detailing your decision to join the
corps. I am honored to have heard about your Teach For America experiences and your thought
processes leading up to the decision to serve in public office. You have given me a lot to
consider as I reflect upon on my own personal and professional journey.
Thank you to my dissertation chairs, Dr. Tobey and Dr. Combs, as well as my University
of Southern California classmates. Thank you for your support, your feedback, and for sticking
with me through the many long nights of class and seemingly endless dissertation drafts. I
appreciate your grit and your drive to impact the education system.
To my parents, this dissertation is as much yours as it is mine. Thank you for listening to
me throughout these three years and for still taking my calls. Thank you for your financial
support, your emotional support, and your endless love. I would be absolutely nothing without
you. Thank you for always investing in me and for supporting my thirst for additional academic
degrees. I promise this is the last one.
Finally, thank you to my partner. David, you have been my rock, my love, and my coach
throughout this process. Thank you for always pointing out the positives, for reading every draft,
and for always being in my corner. I could not have completed this dissertation study without
you. I love you.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 3

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….…………...2
List of Tables…………………………………………………………….…………….………….8
List of Figures…………………………………………………………….…………….…………9
Abstract…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….………10
Chapter One: Overview of the Study…………………………………………………………….11
Teach For America………………………………………………………………………12
Leadership for Educational Equity…………….……………………………...................14
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………...14
Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………………..16
Research Questions………………………………………………………………………17
Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………...17
Limitations and Delimitations ……………………………………………………………18
Definition of Key Terminology………………………………………………………….19
Organization of the Study………………………………………………………………..22
Chapter Two: Literature Review………………………………………………………………...23
The Teach For America Debate…………………………………………………………23
Literature Supporting TFA………………………………………………………24
Literature Critical of TFA……………………………………………………….25
Teacher Retention for TFA Corps Members and Traditionally
Trained Teachers…………………………………………………………………28
Studies Evaluating the Effectiveness of TFA……………………………………………32
Narratives about TFA…………………………………………………………................35
Studies Addressing TFA Alumni Engagement and Career Decisions…………………...41
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 4

TFA Alumni and Corps Members as Social and Political Actors……………………….42
Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks………………………………………………..46
Putnam’s Declining Social Capital Theory………………………………............46
Teach For America’s Conceptual Framework…………………………………...48
Policy Entrepreneurs……………………………………………………..49
Power Networks………………………………………………………….49
Managerial Leadership Qualities………………………………………...50
Critical Race Theory……………………………………………………..51
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory…………………………………..52
Summary and Discussion………………………………………………………………...56
Chapter Three: Methodology…………………………………………………………………….58
Study Design……………………………………………………………………………..58
Research Questions………………………………………………………………………58
Research Design and Methods…………………………………………………………...59
The Rationale for Qualitative Methods…………………………………………..59
The Rationale for Case Studies…………………………………………………..59
Selection Criteria………………………………………………………………………...60
Selection of the Organization…………………………………………………….62
Selection of Region………………………………………………………………62
Selection of Participants…………………………………………………………63
Role of Researcher……………………………………………………………………….64
Researcher Assumptions…………………………………………………………………64
Data Collection Approach……………………………………………………………….64
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 5

Ethics and University IRB Permission…………………………………………..65
Gatekeepers………………………………………………………………………65
Interviews………………………………………………………………………...66
Document Analysis………………………………………………………………67
Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….68
Categorizing, Connecting, and Pattern Identification ……………………………69
Threats to Credibility and Trustworthiness………………………………………………69
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………70
Chapter Four: Results…………………………………………………………………………....72
Study Context ……………………………………………………………………………72
A Review of the Participants…………………………………………………………….75
Roberto…………………………………………………………………………...75
Brittney…………………………………………………………………………..76
Eva……………………………………………………………………………….77
Kaitlin……………………………………………………………………………77
Alice……………………………………………………………………………...78
James……………………………………………………………………………..79
Grace……………………………………………………………………………..79
Research Findings………………………………………………………………………..80
Theme 1: Importance of Public Service…………………….…………………....82
Category 1: Family Matters……………………………………………...82
Category 2: Why TFA?.……………………………………………….....83
Theme 2: Belief in TFA………………………………………………………….85
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 6

Category 1: Connection to the Mission …………………………………85
Category 2: Closing the Achievement Gap……………………………...87
Category 3: Changing Mindsets………………………………………….89
Category 4: Acknowledging TFA………………………………………..91
Theme 3: The Hometown Connection…………………………………………...92
Theme 4: Creating a Broad Impact………………………………………………95
Category 1: The Power in Public Service………………………………..95
Category 2: Creating Change…………………………………………….99
Category 3: Advocating for Local Issues……………………………….101
Theme 5: Role of Networks…………………………………………………….103
Category 1: TFA Network……………………………………………...103
Category 2: LEE Network……………………………………………...105
Theme 6: Transferable Knowledge & Skills…………………………………...108
Category 1: Practitioner Skills………………………………………….108
Category 2: TFA Advantage……………………………………………111
Category 3: Teaching Disadvantages…………………………………..112
Summary………………………………………………………………………………..115
Chapter Five: Discussion…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….…117
Overview of the Study………………………………………………………………….118
Summary of Findings…………………………………………………………………...119
Implications for Practice………………………………………………………………..122
Future Research………………………………………………………………………...124
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...124
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 7

References………………………………………………………………………………………126
Appendix A: IRB Approval…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….135
Appendix B: Theoretical Framework Alignment Matrix…………….…………….…………..136
Appendix C: Appointed Official Interview Protocol…………….…………….…………….…137
Appendix D: Elected Official Interview Protocol…………….…………….…………….……140
Appendix E: Document Analysis Protocol…………….…………….…………….…………...143
Appendix F: List of Codes…………….…………….…………….…………….………………144

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 8

List of Tables
Table 1: Profile of Interview Participants………………………………………………………..73
Table 2: Participant Website Association………………………………………………………..74
Table 3: Document Analysis Matrix……………………………………………………………..75
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 9

List of Figures
Figure A: Teach For America Conceptual Framework………………………………………….48
Figure B: Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory………………………………………..53

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 10

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand the corps member experience of Teach For America
(TFA) alumni and how it motivated their political and civic engagement in the greater Los
Angeles area. This study used Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and the TFA
Conceptual Framework to understand alumni decisions to serve in public office. The study used
a qualitative case study methodology using a semi-structured interview protocol and a document
analysis protocol. The seven participants, TFA alumni currently serving in public office,
included a municipal leader, school board members, and neighborhood council members.
The results of this study revealed several key components of the TFA corps member experience,
as well as trends in personal backgrounds and beliefs, that impacted their decision to seek public
office. Additionally, this study revealed parts of the TFA experience and network that assisted
alumni in successfully seeking office, obtaining office, and holding office. Previous research
studies were limited, so this study played an important role in expanding the literature on TFA
and its impact on policy and civic engagement. Finally, findings will inform TFA-provided
placement and professional development supports for corps members. It will also inform
campaign supports and training opportunities provided by Leadership for Educational Equity
(LEE) for TFA alumni, given that both organizations collaborate and seek to maximize TFA
alumni impact on educational inequity.
Keywords: Teach For America, Leadership for Educational Equity, educational equity,
civic engagement, political engagement, alumni experience, alumni network, public office,
policy, professional development, leadership training, Los Angeles
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 11

Chapter One: Overview of the Study
As an organization, Teach For America (TFA) seeks not only to place high-quality
teachers in low-income schools, but also to develop the impact of its alumni. In her book, One
Day, All Children, TFA Founder Wendy Kopp described her vision of TFA as not only
influencing children, but also significantly shifting our nation’s consciousness (Kopp, 2001, p.
23). Kopp knew that while some alumni would undoubtedly stay in the field of education, others
would become doctors, lawyers, and businesspeople who would continue to advocate for social
change and education reform. She believed that after their time in the classroom, TFA alumni
would become engaged in local and state politics as school board members, mayors, state
legislators, and members of Congress (Kopp, 2001, p. 182). Kopp thought that these alumni
would make better decisions and advocate for sound policies and legislation due to their
experience teaching in low-income communities (Kopp, 2001, p. 182). She also understood
TFA’s role in fostering alumni leadership and collaboration. She asserted that the organization
needed committed and informed advocates in every sector and at every management level in
order to realize TFA’s vision (Kopp, 2001, p. 182).
Today, TFA placement regions around the country create leadership development
opportunities that accelerate the organization’s impact at both systems and governance levels
(TFA Our Vision, n.d.). TFA alumni have moved beyond their two-year classroom commitments
and have taken on leadership roles at their school sites, in their communities, and within
businesses across multiple sectors. Some alumni have even secured positions within the
government and work to transform the everyday realities of students and communities through
policy and systems change.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 12

The current research study examined the perspectives and experiences of these TFA
alumni. Specifically, this study focused on TFA alumni who had entered elected or appointed
leadership with two goals: 1) to better understand their experiences as corps members and 2) to
identify the factors behind their respective decisions to run for public office.
Chapter One provides an overview of the study and background on TFA and Leadership
for Educational Equity (LEE). It explains the purpose and significance of the study, explores
limitations and delimitations, and defines key terminology.
Teach For America
Wendy Kopp founded Teach For America (TFA) in 1990. From its inception, the
organization has been rooted in the belief that all children deserve the opportunity to obtain an
excellent education. Kopp’s innovative senior thesis launched TFA as a social justice
organization charged with combating the long-term effects of racism and poverty on the public
education system (TFA Our History, n.d.). In order to address deeply rooted injustices, TFA
focused on getting great leaders into the classroom. Kopp recruited high-performing college
graduates to teach in high-needs urban and rural schools across the country.
After 25 years, TFA remains committed to expanding opportunities for children by
effecting profound systemic change. As an organization, TFA finds, develops, and supports a
diverse network of leaders in order to shape the broader system in which schools operate. While
TFA was founded more than two decades ago as an alternative teacher-preparation and
placement program, it has grown into an organization that transforms its corps members into
social and political activists who create systems change well beyond their time in the classroom
(Scott, Trujillo, & Rivera, 2016).
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 13

The mission of TFA today is not only to close the achievement gap for low-income and
minority students by providing a critical source of talented and committed teachers, but also to
nurture a talented alumni pool with the experience and conviction essential to creating long-term
systemic change. In addition to working in every level of the educational system, TFA stresses
the importance of their alumni’s ability to work to create positive change for students from
outside the traditional education system (TFA, 2010). Teach for America alumni shape the
priorities and policies of the organization in their roles as advocates, policy advisers, elected
officials, and influencers in many sectors.
After 27 years of operation, TFA has 53 placement regions nationwide and more than
55,000 alumni and current teachers known as “corps members” (TFA, n.d.). Given the growing
alumni network, TFA has focused significant resources on supporting its alumni members’
individual and collective leadership, relationships, and professional growth. From 2017 to 2018,
2% of TFA’s 50,000 alumni were employed by government, political, policy, and advocacy
organizations (TFA, n.d.). Furthermore, according to the TFA website, 150 alumni currently
serve as elected officials and 500 alumni act as policy, advocacy, and organizing leaders (TFA,
n.d.). Notable TFA alumni who have gone on to successfully run for public office include Kevin
Huffman, former Tennessee Commissioner of Education; Sekou Biddle, former member of the
Washington, D.C., Board of Education; Reginald Bolding, member of the Arizona House of
Representatives; Bill Ferguson, member of the Maryland Senate; Takashi Ohno, member of the
Hawaii House of Representatives; and Mike Johnston, former Colorado State Senator and 2018
Colorado Gubernatorial candidate (LEE, n.d.; St. John, 2010).

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 14

Leadership For Educational Equity
Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) is a nonprofit leadership development
organization founded in 2007 as an outgrowth of TFA (Cersonsky, 2012). LEE aims to engage
and support a diverse movement of leaders who participate in their communities and work to end
existing educational inequities (LEE, n.d.). The organization, comprised of TFA corps members
and alumni, develops leaders by offering fellowships, one-on-one coaching workshops, and other
resources. Members are developed both as individuals and collectively as a movement, across
disciplines such as public policy, advocacy, government, and community organizing in order to
more broadly impact the larger movement for educational equity (LEE, n.d.).
Currently, LEE has more than 30,000 members (LEE, n.d.). The organization invests
heavily in the leadership development of former classroom teachers, encouraging them to pursue
both civic and political engagement. LEE believes that when its members are organized and
reach positions of leadership, they will work to transform the education landscape for all
students. LEE believes that as more TFA corps members complete their two-year teaching
experience in the classroom, the number of alumni interested in public office and local politics
will continue to grow. Additional research is needed to understand how these corps member
experience contributes to TFA alumni’s civic engagement.
Statement of the Problem
Existing research that focuses on TFA typically falls into four main categories of: (a) the
conceptual debate over the organization itself, (b) corps member effectiveness, (c) first-person
narratives of the corps member experience, and (d) alumni engagement and career decisions.
Critics and supporters of TFA have long debated the merits and deficiencies of the organization’s
structure and its mission to place teachers in high-need classrooms, often composed primarily of
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 15

students of color. Some researchers criticize TFA for placing high-achieving college graduates in
low-income schools with very little training (Blumenreich & Rogers, 2016). Others argue that
the organization’s summer training closely parallels the support of traditional teacher preparation
programs (Schneider, 2013).
Many research studies have examined the extent to which TFA corps members actually
increase student achievement, again with conflicting results. For example, the Center for
Research in Education Outcomes at Stanford University published a report which found that
TFA corps members performed better than traditionally-trained, non-TFA teachers in Houston
(Raymond, Fletcher, & Luque, 2001. Other researchers in the same geographic region found that
traditionally-trained teachers produced stronger student achievement gains than TFA corps
members (Darling-Hammond, Holtzman, Gatlin, & Heilig, 2005).
Existing first-person narratives and qualitative studies presented a range of perspectives
on the successes and shortcomings of the organization and highlighted the wide range of corps
member experience. These narratives often demonstrate the intense emotions experienced by
corps members, including feelings of shame and failure which lead to teacher burnout (Matsui,
2015). The fourth category of research focused on TFA alumni and highlighted the importance
of informal networks in shaping corps members’ professional and career choices after leaving
the corps (Mandel, 2015).
Some researchers have shifted their attention away from corps member effectiveness
studies and have, instead, focused on TFA’s ability to develop exceptional educational leaders
(Jacobson & Linkow, 2014; Scott et al., 2016). However, despite the growing interest in the
long-term impact of TFA alumni and the political influence of the organization, little empirical
research has actually been conducted. While research related to the corps member experience is
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 16

vast, few studies have focused specifically on TFA alumni and their civic engagement after their
time in the classroom. There is little information available regarding the perspectives of TFA
alumni regarding their corps member experience, or why some ultimately decide to run for
public office and/or serve as appointed officials. Additionally, there are gaps in the literature in
understanding the support TFA alumni receive during their campaigns and how their public
service connects to TFA’s mission.
While Jacobson and Linkow (2014) investigated TFA’s involvement in local elections to
determine the spread of a national agenda, there is a gap in the literature related to TFA alumni
who serve in elected or appointed positions in the greater Los Angeles region. Understanding the
corps member experience and subsequent civic engagement decisions of alumni at the micro-
geographic level is critical not only to the organization, but also to the larger field of education as
alumni move beyond the classroom and enter policy and advocacy roles in the community.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine the TFA corps member experience and the role
it played in alumni’s decisions to run for elected office and/or serve as appointed leaders in large
urban centers like Los Angeles. To better understand politically and civically engaged alumni
and their corps member experience, this dissertation utilized four core concepts:
 Putnam’s Declining Social Capital Theory (Putnam, 1995)
 Two components of Teach For America Conceptual Framework, including the concepts
of policy entrepreneurs and elite power networks (Scott et al., 2016)
 Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1994)
This research study utilized qualitative research methods, including instrumental case
studies, to provide a rich description of the corps member experience of TFA alumni. Given the
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 17

large number of TFA alumni who served as elected or appointed officials living in Los Angeles,
as well as the organization’s regional commitment to cultivating political leadership, this
research study focused solely on the greater Los Angeles region. This study focused specifically
on TFA alumni who successfully ran for public offices, including school boards, city councils,
and local neighborhood councils.
Research Questions
The current research study was guided by the four research questions. These questions
explored TFA alumni’s experiences as corps members as they shaped their commitment to civic
engagement.
1. What are TFA alumni’s perspectives on their corps member experience?
2. How do TFA alumni perceive the impact of the corps member experience on their own
civic engagement?
3. How do Teach For America alumni describe their decision to serve in public office?
4. How do TFA alumni perceive the connection between their role in public office and
TFA’s mission to pursue educational equity?
Significance of the Study
The overall aim of this study was to explore the influences on civic engagement of Los
Angeles TFA alumni who had successfully run for or had been appointed to public office,
particularly those related directly to the corps member experience. This study joined a growing
body of research that reframes TFA as more than an alternative teacher-preparation and
placement program or a community service opportunity for elite college graduates. There has
been a notable increase in the number of TFA alumni holding public office. The integral role
these alumni play in creating educational policy and systems change ultimately impacts the field
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 18

of education. Therefore, the results of this study will inform people interested in running for
public office in the future as well as those already elected or appointed (LEE, n.d.). Additionally,
TFA more broadly, as well as the Los Angeles region specifically, can use the results of this
research study to improve the ongoing training, support, and leadership development of their
corps members. Furthermore, LEE can use the insights gathered during this research study to
strengthen their support strategies as they develop their members to engage civically within their
communities to end educational inequity.
Finally, researchers can build upon these findings and conduct more detailed research
into the extent to which TFA alumni impact the broader national movement for educational
equity through their involvement in policy, advocacy, elected office, and community organizing.
While this study focused on TFA alumni in Los Angeles who served in public office, additional
national studies are necessary. Further research is needed to examine TFA alumni roles in the
education reform movement and their involvement in shaping education policy both locally and
nationally.
Limitations and Delimitations
This study was limited to TFA alumni. All participants completed the two-year teaching
requirement for TFA; they participated in corps member training and leadership development.
While participants may have taught in regions outside of Southern California, all of them were
civically or politically engaged in the greater Los Angeles area at the time of this research. The
participants in this study all served in public office; some served on a local school board or
neighborhood council while others were appointed to a public service leadership position. While
the research could have included all TFA alumni in Los Angeles who ran for public office, this
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 19

study included only those who were successful in their attempts to gain elected or appointed
offices.
Because this study was limited to participants who actually served in public office, the
pool of potential participants narrowed from more than 100 alumni to 13 alumni. Defining the
list of potential participants enabled targeted outreach and intentional follow-up with each TFA
alumnus. This also ensured that interviews were intentional and focused specifically on an
alumni’s decision to serve in public office and their perspectives about their corps member
experience. Because this study narrowly focused on TFA alumni who were civically and
politically engaged in Los Angeles through public leadership service, the generalizability of this
study is limited. Given the small population of TFA alumni that served in public office in Los
Angeles during the time of this research, the small sample size of this study presented another
limitation.
While the term “civic engagement” may include political and non-political processes—
volunteering, voting, membership in a group or association, protesting, or campaign
contributions, among other activities—this study narrowly defined the term to include only the
decision to seek public office.
Definition of Key Terminology
In order to fully understand the current research study, it is necessary to clarify the
meaning of terminology that is widely used, with many nuances of meaning. For the purposes of
the current research study, the following key terms are defined:
Achievement Gap
Disparities in standardized test scores between Black and White, Latina/o and White, and
recent immigrant and White students (Ladson-Billings, 2006).
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 20

Best and the Brightest
The attempt by an organization to attract the most desirable group of people
(Blumenreich & Rogers, 2016).
Civic Engagement
Working to make a difference in communities and developing the combination of
knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make a difference. Civic engagement involves
promoting increased quality of life in a community through both political and non-political
processes (Ehrlich, 2000).
Critical Race Theory
The belief that discussions of race and racism are often left out of analysis of education
policy. The notion that race is used as a static variable when analyzing education policy, omitting
awareness of context and power allocation within a community (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995).
Institute
TFA’s summer training program (TFA, n.d.).
Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE)
A nonprofit leadership development organization founded in 2007 which aims to engage
and support a diverse movement of leaders who will participate in their communities and work to
end existing educational inequities (LEE, n.d.)
Managerialist Leadership
Corporate conceptions of leadership represented in the discourse and literature on
educational reform and leadership (Gunter, 2005).

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 21

Policy Entrepreneurs
Individuals who advocate to impact policies from outside of formal policy-making
processes. They have oriented debates over public education independent from questions of
resources and their equitable distribution, focusing on questions of government management and
accountability (Mintrom, 2000).
Power Networks
Elite power networks create both social change and policy change. The four power
networks include 1) the policy-planning process, 2) the special-interests process, 3) the candidate
election process, and 4) the opinion-shaping process. Together, the people and organizations
within these four power networks make up the political arm of the upper class and corporate
community (Domhoff, 1967).
Social Capital
Features of social organizations such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate
coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit (Putnam, 1995).
Teach For America Alumnus
Any person who has completed the two-year teaching requirement for Teach For
America (TFA, n.d.).
Teach For America Corps Member
Any current teacher who is trained and placed by Teach For America in a specific region
located in the United States (TFA, n.d.).

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 22

White Privilege
The material and tacit advantages accrued to those who are identified by a White racial
identity (Leonardo, 2004).
Organization of the Study
The current research study is composed of five chapters. Chapter One provides an
overview of the study and contains background information, specific context related to the
problem identified, and the purpose for conducting this research study. Chapter Two is a review
of the literature pertaining to the research questions for this study; it examines relevant literature
and explores gaps in the research. Chapter Three details the methodology and data collection
methods. Chapter Four includes an analysis of interview and observation data. Finally, Chapter
Five discusses the key findings, implications, and recommendations for future research.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 23

Chapter Two: Literature Review
TFA has been the focus of numerous articles in mainstream media and significant
research in academic journals and dissertations. Supporters and critics of TFA have debated the
virtues of the program since its inception in 1990. The resulting literature and research on TFA
fall into four main categories. The first category includes the general debate over TFA’s value
(Blumenreich & Rogers, 2016; Darling-Hammond, 1994; Schneider, 2013; Stern & Johnston,
2013). The second category of literature focuses on TFA’s impact on student achievement
(Boyd, Grossman, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2006; Darling-Hammond et al., 2005; Raymond
et al., 2001). The third category includes TFA narratives and qualitative accounts of the corps
member experience (Brewer & deMarrais, 2015; Cody, 2012; Veltri, 2008). Finally, the fourth
category includes a small collection of studies related to TFA corps members and alumni as
social and political “actors” (Jacobsen & Linkow, 2014; Scott et al., 2016).
Chapter Two of the current research study discusses a synthesis of the literature. It details
the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that were used to guide this study (Putnam, 1995;
Scott et al., 2016). Finally, this chapter summarizes the general controversies, questions, and
research gaps that support the need for this study.
The Teach For America Debate
The most robust literature focuses on the conceptual debate around TFA as an institution.
Research in this category either supports TFA for its ability to place corps members in hard-to-
staff sites or expresses concern about dropping inexperienced and unqualified teachers into low-
income schools.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 24

Literature Supporting TFA
Supporters of the organization argue that TFA not only provides a highly skilled
workforce of teachers to high-needs schools but, also, provides a level of support, hands-on
experience, and apprenticeship to the teachers. Schneider (2013) argued that TFA’s summer
training program, referred to as “Institute,” adequately prepares corps members to become
classroom teachers and is comparable to traditional teacher preparation programs. He found that
the curriculum instruction training, classroom management support, and student engagement
techniques paralleled the training and support that occurs in traditional education programs
across the county (Schneider, 2013, p. 425). Schneider (2013) also found that as an organization,
TFA continuously and consistently worked to improve the summer Institute training by
developing a clear framework for unit planning, lesson planning, classroom management,
mentoring, and collaboration with other teachers (p. 425).
Additionally, in designing TFA, Kopp (2001), understood the importance of training,
support, and leadership development not only during the summer Institute but also throughout
the two-year corps member experience. Kopp (2001) detailed how corps members participate in
the extensive summer training curriculum where they learn about classroom management, lesson
planning, and cultural competence. Training was constantly re-evaluated and revised to ensure
TFA corps members had access to the most up-to-date professional development and teaching
pedagogy. Kopp and her team worked to improve the training at Institute and established specific
measures of success, detailing specific skills, mindsets, and practices that corps members should
master by the end of their summer training in order to make an impact on their students’
academic (Kopp, 2001, p. 58). TFA continues to develop new curriculum and provide corps
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 25

members with a road map for success, rather than simply arming them with a toolkit of teaching
strategies for effective summer instruction.
Finally, in addition to Institute, corps members are supported throughout their two years
in the classroom. TFA not only provides professional development and prescribes measures of
success for their new teachers but also engages corps members in professional learning
communities to improve their practice and collaborate with other teachers.
In addition to the belief that corps members are provided with quality training and
continued support, TFA proponents assert that corps members have the potential to greatly
influence academic outcomes for students (Schneider, 2013; Kopp, 2001). They find that corps
members often have a positive effect on student achievement, largely due TFA’s rigorous
recruitment and selection process as well as the ongoing training and credentialing support it
provides. Because corps members are selected from the nation’s top universities, TFA advocates
believe that corps members possess skills and qualities that uniquely predispose them to
instructional leadership that will increase their student’s motivation and academic achievements,
ultimately closing the achievement gap (Scott et al., 2016, p. 10). Therefore, supporters argue
that TFA is successful not only because the organization selects high-achieving corps members
through a rigorous selection process but, also, because it provides ongoing, high-quality training,
and support for corps members that ultimately impact higher student outcomes.
Literature Critical of TFA
Critics of TFA argue that the organization drops inexperienced and unqualified teachers
into high-needs communities with little support (Blumenreich & Rogers, 2016; Darling-
Hammond, 1994; Stern & Johnston, 2013). Darling-Hammond (1994), one of TFA’s earliest and
most outspoken critics, maintained that TFA provided inadequate training for its teachers,
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 26

perpetuated the cycle of under-serving urban students, and de-professionalized the field of
teaching (p. 21). Darling-Hammond (1994) discussed TFA recruitment, training, costs, and
teaching pedagogy arguing that the organization’s shortcomings ultimately harm students,
schools, and communities (p. 22). Darling-Hammond is just one of numerous critics of the
program.
More recently, Blumenreich and Rogers (2016) criticized TFA for its teacher preparation
program and its efforts to recruit the “best and brightest” as an attempt to attract the most
desirable group of people into the teaching profession. Additionally, Blumenreich and Rogers
(2016) asserted that TFA believed that it corps members were highly and uniquely qualified to
teach due to their backgrounds, academic degrees, and personal characteristics, even if they had
no prior knowledge of or experience with teaching. They concluded that TFA continued to
operate under the assumption that “smart people somehow do not need deep preparatory
experiences and ongoing mentoring and support for development in the classroom”
(Blumenreich & Rogers, 2016, p. 4). They suggested that these assumptions were harmful for
students because TFA corps members were ultimately ill-prepared to teach in high-needs
classrooms.
Researchers also question TFA’s ability to turn high-achieving college students into
effective and culturally competent teachers. Stern and Johnston (2013) argued that TFA’s model
to recruit highly successful college students with leadership experience, many of whom attended
liberal arts colleges, was highly ineffective. The authors believed that a liberal arts degree was
insufficient preparation for new teachers entering the classroom (Stern & Johnston, 2013, p. 4).
While a liberal arts degree can help equip teachers with a wealth of knowledge and skills, Stern
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 27

and Johnston (2013) emphasized the importance of adequate training, ongoing support, and
mentorship, which they did not believe TFA adequately provided its corps members.
In addition to arguing that TFA corps members lack training and support, critics of the
program also believe two years is not enough time to positively impact student achievement.
Researchers assert that the short two-year commitment is actually detrimental to educational
equity and closing the achievement gap (Miner, 2010; UPI, 2009). For example, Miner (2010)
questioned the lasting effects of TFA. She argued that recruiting the best and the brightest out of
college, training them briefly over a single summer, and placing them in low-income
communities to teach for two years ultimately worsened the problem of educational inequity that
TFA works to eradicate (Miner, 2010). Keith Johnson, president of the Detroit teachers union,
asserted that TFA corps members were “educational mercenaries,” who ride in on white horses
to share their knowledge and expertise with low-income students before quickly riding out to
become business executives in the corporate world (UPI, 2009, p. 1). Overall, these critics took
issue with Ivy League college graduates who completed their two-year TFA experience and
moved on to careers in other fields, leaving students behind and in worse condition than they
were in before.
Moreover, critics argue that the organization focuses solely on student achievement,
rather than a holistic approach to education reform. For example, Zeichner and Peña-Sandoval
(2015) disagreed with one of TFA’s central goals, which is to strive for at least one year of
student growth within each corps members’ first year of teaching. They argued that, rather than
focusing on holistic instruction and creative and innovate solutions to close the achievement gap,
TFA focuses rigidly on student academic outcomes. They asserted that there was no evidence to
suggest that TFA and other alternative teaching education programs were as bold and innovative
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 28

as they claim to be (Zeichner & Peña-Sandoval, 2015, p. 31). Additionally, they believed that
simply training teachers to raise the quantitative achievement of their students was insufficient
for teachers to be successful in the classroom. Rather, they believed that teachers should be
trained on a range of instructional strategies that impacted more than just standardized test
scores. Finally, Zeichner and Peña-Sandoval (2015) stressed that TFA should prioritize holistic
student learning and overall teaching performance, rather than focusing solely on student
performance.
In addition to advocating for a holistic approach to teaching, TFA critics also believe that
the organization threatens traditional teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher
education across the country. For example, Stitzlein and West (2014) questioned the
sustainability and effectiveness of education reform programs like TFA and their partnerships
with credentialing institutions. They argued that these alternative teacher preparation programs
not only ignored the contributions of theory on successful teaching practices but, also,
significantly changed the understanding and assumptions of the teaching profession itself.
Stitzlein and West (2014) argued that TFA and other education reform organizations threaten the
goal of accessible public education in a democratic society, a central concept guiding traditional
teaching programs and higher education institutions across the county (p. 1). Overall, these
critics contend that programs like TFA not only threaten traditional teacher preparation
programs, but also provide differing levels of instruction that threaten the national teaching
workforce and, ultimately the students they teach.
Teacher Retention for TFA Corps Members and Traditionally Trained Teachers
Critics of TFA cite low teacher retention as TFA’s pivotal organizational flaw. Retaining
teachers has been a historical problem that continues to impact the education system in the
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 29

United States (Haberman, 2004). Today, one third of the teaching force turns over each year,
with the highest rates of attrition occurring in urban and rural schools with predominantly
minority and low-income students (Hunt & Carroll, 2003). Using data from the Houston
Independent School District (HISD), Darling-Hammond (2005) examined teacher and student
data collected during the 1995–1996 school year through the 2001–2002 school year. The data
set included a total of 271,015 students and 15,344 teachers. Based on the data from HISD,
Darling-Hammond (2005) concluded that the rates of attrition for TFA corps members were
nearly twice as high as the rates of attrition for traditional teachers. Additionally, she found that
corps members who were credentialed after their second or third years in the classroom
performed about the same as traditionally certified teachers in supporting the academic
achievement of their students (Darling-Hammond, 2005). She noted, however, that the numbers
of second or third year TFA teachers included in the study were low because many left within
three years.
However, a study conducted by MacIver and Vaughn (2007) compared the retention rates
of TFA corps members who participated in alternative certification programs to the retention
rates of traditionally trained and conditionally certified teachers in Baltimore City Public Schools
from 1999 to 2004. They found that TFA teachers were 3% less likely than the other two groups
of teachers to leave the field within the first two years (MacIver & Vaughn, 2007). However,
these TFA corps members were far more likely to leave after their two-year corps member
commitment. MacIver and Vaughn (2007) documented that about 60% of corps members left
after their third year in the classroom and nearly 80% left after five years in the classroom.
Overall, they reported that a high proportion of TFA-prepared teachers departed from the
teaching profession after just two years in the classroom. Because TFA only requires a two-year
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 30

teaching commitment at any given placement school site, McConney, Price, Woods-McConney,
NZPPTA, and Murdoch University (2012) asserted that the program creates a “revolving door
approach to teacher retention” (p. vii).
Many additional studies utilize school district data to inform the literature related to the
persistence and attrition of TFA corps members. For example, Heineke, Mazza, and Tichnor-
Wagner (2014) utilized a mixed-method study comprised of qualitative interviews and a
quantitative survey to examine TFA retention and attrition rates in one of the 43 TFA placement
regions in 2012. Based on the data collected, Heineke et al. (2014) separated corps members into
three categories they called “leavers,” “lingerers,” and “lasters” (p. 757). Corps members in the
“leavers” group left their placement site after their two year commitment concluded. “Lingerers”
stayed beyond the required two years, typically into a third year as they solidified their next steps
for a professional career outside teaching. Finally, TFA corps members in the “lasters” group
reported that they planned to stay in the classroom long-term. Of the 73 total participants in the
study, 31.5% were categorized into the leavers group, 17.8% fell into the lingerers group, while
50.7% reported that planned to stay in the classroom long-term (Heineke et al., 2014). Overall,
these findings are consistent with previous quantitative studies that indicate that about half of
TFA corps members leave after two or three years in the classroom.
In a study conducted in New York, Boyd et al. (2009) compared TFA corps members to
teachers who completed traditional preparation programs. They found that teachers from
traditional preparation programs had the lowest short-term and long-term turnover rates,
followed by temporarily licensed teachers (Boyd et al., 2009). Attrition rates were substantially
higher for TFA corps members, however. By their second year in the classroom, TFA corps
members left the classroom at a rate three times as high as traditionally trained teachers. By their
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 31

fourth year, 85% of TFA corps members had left the district, while just 37% of traditionally
trained teachers left (Boyd et al., 2009). Overall, Boyd et al. (2009) concluded that 15% of TFA
corps members remained in the New York City School District compared to 63% of traditionally
trained teachers. These results indicate that there were higher rates of turnover among TFA corps
members than among traditionally trained teachers.
Finally, Donaldson’s (2008) longitudinal, retrospective study utilized an online survey
administered to three TFA cohorts to examine attrition rates. Of the 2,029 corps members
surveyed, they found that 61% of TFA corps members remained in teaching and 44% remained
at their initial placement school for more than two years (Donaldson, 2008). They also found
differences across demographic groups when the data was disaggregated. Donaldson (2008)
found that female, Black, and Latino teachers were generally less likely to leave their initial
placement site or the teaching profession compared to male, Asian, and White teachers. So,
while TFA attrition rates vary by cohort and placement site, they also vary by demographics.
While TFA critics like Darling-Hammond (1994; 2005) and Blumenreich and Rogers
(2016) believed that the TFA training and supports were inadequate to prepare teachers for the
challenges they would face, Schneider (2013) and Kopp (2001) asserted that the program’s
summer Institute compared favorably to traditional training programs and offered an innovative
and current approach to professional development. Critics of TFA cited high corps member
turnover and a singular focus on student achievement on standardized test scores as major flaws
of the program. Supporters touted TFA’s rigorous selection process and ability to place the best-
and-brightest college graduates in high-needs schools. While the TFA debate literature is robust,
research on TFA effectiveness also account for a significant amount of research on the
organization.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 32

Studies Evaluating the Effectiveness of TFA
In addition to the conceptual debate over TFA, a second category of literature focuses on
the effectiveness of TFA corps members in the classroom (Boyd et al., 2006; Darling-Hammond
et al., 2005; Raymond et al., 2001). Many of these studies focus on whether or not TFA corps
members actually impact the academic achievement of their students. Results from these
research studies are mixed. Some literature indicated that TFA corps members positively
increased student outcomes, while others found that TFA teachers did little to impact student
achievement. Some critics went further, arguing that TFA corps members may even have done
harm in the classroom.
First, opponents of the program argue that TFA corps members do not positively impact
student achievement (Boyd et al., 2006; Darling-Hammond et al., 2005; Raymond et al., 2001).
A study published in 2005 examined the effects of teacher preparation on student achievement to
measure TFA corps members’ effectiveness in the classroom. Darling-Hammond et al. (2005)
utilized regression analysis to examine fourth- and fifth-grade student achievement gains on
reading and math exams over a six-year period. They found that traditionally trained teachers
consistently produced stronger student achievement gains than uncertified TFA corps members
(Darling-Hammond et al., 2005). The authors asserted that TFA corps members were less
effective than traditionally trained teachers; they suggested that TFA corps members were not
only unqualified but, ultimately, exacerbated educational inequity:
What TFA says is that society should not try to make good on its promise to African-
American and Latino students that they deserve teachers who are as qualified as those
that teach elsewhere. The evidence is very clear that kids who are taught by uncertified
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 33

teachers perform less well. TFA perpetuates that inequality. (Raymond et al., 2001, p.
viii)
Boyd et al. (2006) utilized data collected by the New York City Department of Education
(NYCDOE) to examine the effectiveness of TFA corps members in the classroom. They used the
data provided by NYCDOE to create a database which included student exam scores as well as
information related to their schools and teachers, including teachers’ credentialing and pathways
into teaching. This quantitative study concluded that students who were taught by TFA corps
members performed significantly lower in reading and English Language Arts compared to
students who had a teacher who graduated from a traditional teaching preparation program
(Boyd et al., 2006). However, Boyd et al. also found that scores in math were comparable for
both sets of students (Boyd et al., 2006). Given these findings, TFA critics argued that first year
corps members did not teach English Language Arts as well as traditionally trained teachers in
New York City. While results indicated that teacher effectiveness of TFA corps members
increased over time, particularly in math, many TFA teachers left the classroom before they were
able to positively impact student achievement.
TFA supporters on the other hand, highlighted research studies that showed positive
corps member impact on student performance. A 2001 national evaluation conducted by
Mathematica Policy Research examined the impact of TFA trained elementary school teachers
on student learning. The evaluation included 17 low-income schools in six TFA placement sites.
Students were randomly assigned to classrooms and a standardized test was administered.
Student performance results from TFA corps members were compared to the performance results
of non-TFA teachers. Unlike the studies conducted by Darling-Hammond et al. (2015) and Boyd
et al. (2006), Mathematica found that TFA corps members had a positive impact on students'
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 34

math achievement (Mathematica, n.d.). Additionally, the study indicated that, on average,
student math scores were higher in classrooms that were taught by TFA corps members than in
classes taught by non-TFA teachers.
A study conducted by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at
Stanford University found that TFA corps members performed better than traditionally trained
teachers in Houston (Raymond et al., 2001). This report was the first independent evaluation of
TFA teachers’ impact on student performance. Using data from the Houston Independent School
District, Raymond et al. (2001) examined the performance of TFA corps members. Their
quantitative analysis compared the average test scores of students taught by TFA corps members
to of students taught by non-TFA teachers. The study also compared the highest-performing TFA
corps members and the lowest performing TFA corps members against the highest-performing
and lowest performing non-TFA teachers to see if the degree of variation differed. Overall, the
CREDO study concluded that TFA corps members were as effective as or more effective than
traditional teachers when measuring student achievement (Raymond et al., 2001, p. viii).
Researchers found that results were the strongest in math for both elementary and middle school
students. Their findings called into question Darling-Hammond et al.’s (2005) assertion that TFA
corps members do little to positively impact student achievement compared to traditionally
trained teachers.
Finally, Glazerman, Mayer, and Decker (2006) conducted a randomized experiment to
study the impact of TFA corps members on student achievement. They used a control group of
non-TFA teachers with similar students in a similar teaching environment in six of the 15 regions
where TFA corps members were placed at the time the study was conducted. The regions
selected were Baltimore, Chicago, Compton (Los Angeles), Houston, New Orleans, and the
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 35

Mississippi Delta. Their findings indicated that TFA corps members positively impacted the
math achievement of their students (Glazerman et al., 2006). The average math scores of
students taught by TFA corps members were higher than those of the group of control students
who were taught by non-TFA teachers. The difference in scores was statistically significant and
the size of the impact on math scores was equal to about one month of increased instructional
time (Glazerman et al., 2006). However, Glazerman et al. (2006) also found that TFA corps
members did not have an impact on reading achievement. In other words, the average reading
growth of students with a TFA teacher was comparable to the growth of those with a non-TFA
teacher (Glazerman et al., 2006). These findings indicated that TFA corps members were more
effective at teaching math than teaching English Language Arts.
Overall, TFA effectiveness studies reported mixed results. While Darling-Hammond et
al. (2005) and Boyd et al. (2006) argued that corps members did not positively impact student
achievement, studies conducted by Mathematica Policy Research (n.d.) and CREDO (Raymond
et al., 2001) both found that corps members did in fact have positive effects on student
performance.
Narratives about TFA
The third category of TFA literature includes perspectives on the successes and
shortcomings of the organization from corps members themselves (Brewer & deMarrais, 2015;
Cody, 2012; Veltri, 2008). Literature in this category often highlights the variability of the corps
member experience. While the TFA experience may change from region to region and from
classroom to classroom, corps member narratives show consistent themes of immense pressure
and accountability from the organization, first-hand experiences with recruitment and training,
systemic issues that plague districts and schools, challenges with racial and cultural competence
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 36

challenges, and corps members’ professional goals and aspirations beyond their two year
classroom commitment.
First, corps member narratives highlight the immense pressure and accountability TFA
teachers face during their two years in the classroom. For example, Veltri (2008) conducted a
qualitative longitudinal study that examined the complex issues surrounding TFA. She utilized
teacher interviews and researcher field notes from 10 years of research with over 300 participants
who candidly discussed their TFA corps member experience. Snowball sampling led to
interviews with TFA corps members from 1997 through 2007. Findings indicated that some
corps members often felt pressure to take on a “rescuer” role in which they were charged with
saving other people’s children (Veltri, 2008).
Brewer and deMarrais (2015) provided first-person narratives, reflections, and analysis
from TFA corps members regarding their experiences. One corps member in particular reported
that her biggest challenge was the unrelenting pressure to hold high standards that were not her
own, but rather were pushed upon her by the organization (Brewer and deMarrais, 2015). These
narratives indicated that corps members face an immense amount of pressure from the
organization itself and are confronted with accountability measures that create challenges during
their time in the classroom.
In another first-person narrative, Cody discussed the hyper-accountability, burnout, and
blame he experienced during his TFA commitment. Cody (2012) asserted that TFA was,
“unknowingly working within a false sense of reality and thereby creating a recipe that fosters
disillusionment and burnout” (p. 1). He accused the organization of setting “its corps members
up for failure” and demanding “that corps members take full blame for failing schools” (p. 1).
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 37

Matsui (2015) detailed similar experiences. She conducted a survey of 26 corps members
in the Greater Philadelphia region. Matsui (2015) reported that due to mounting pressure and
accountability from the organization, corps members described their TFA experience using terms
like “shame,” “failure,” and “isolating.” Her inquiry highlighted corps member fatigue, teacher
burnout, alcohol dependency, and trauma during their two years with TFA. Together, these
narratives highlighted the extreme emotions associated with teacher burnout and depression that
TFA corps members experienced.
Other literature detailed first-hand corps member experiences with the recruitment
process as well as the ongoing training and support received during the corps. Brewer and
deMarrais (2015) aimed to expose the truth about TFA in their book, highlighting the voices of
critics and dissenters of the program. They focused on the organization’s recruitment, training,
and support structure. Corps members described their recruitment and training experience as a
“bait-and-switch phenomenon” in which TFA told them that they had the potential to make a
difference in the lives of underserved students, but did not provide them with necessary training
or teach them the appropriate skills to make this difference a reality (Brewer & deMarrais, 2015).
These narratives highlight the disillusionment of corps members when the reality of their
teaching experience did not match the expectations they formed during the recruitment process.
Fouts (2008) also highlighted the TFA corps member experience with regard to ongoing
training and support. They utilized a qualitative approach to examine the perspectives of TFA
corps members in Oahu, Hawaii, one of TFA’s placement sites. Fouts (2008) concluded that
TFA corps members realized that their summer Institute training did not appropriately prepare
them for their teaching experience. Corps members believed that they were not equipped to
handle the low academic expectations that students had for themselves in the classroom.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 38

Furthermore, these TFA teachers felt that they were ill-equipped to change the trajectory of their
students’ lives without the involvement of the larger community. These corps members
understood the need for a collective and shared consciousness in the community and the
importance of producing progressive, independent thinkers in their schools (Fouts, 2008). These
narratives illustrated how corps members felt ill-prepared to enter the classroom and needed
additional ongoing supports in order to impact the academic outcomes of their students.
Systemic issues and site-based barriers also challenged corps members and were the
central focus of several published TFA narratives. For example, Veltri’s (2008) longitudinal
qualitative study found that corps members often faced site-specific and systematic barriers
including large class sizes, lack of resources, and administrative turnover (Veltri, 2008). One
corps member framed the problems:
I never knew all the policies, the politics. How things—it’s just a mess. It really is a mess
and my students are labeled underperforming or failing. So the pressure’s there and the
teachers . . . and it’s just a mess. I guess I didn’t really have an idea. I was expecting it to
be very, very difficult. So, I was imagining it to be terrible, absolutely terrible and for me
to be miserable. And, so, I was . . . sometimes I was, but I’ve just learned a lot about how
to relate to people and how the school system is just so incredibly—I don’t know how to
put this eloquently—messed up. (Veltri, 2008, p. 517)
Furthermore, corps members described the challenges of racial and cultural competence
they faced as they entered classrooms in low-income communities. Veltri (2008) found that
many corps members lacked training and support in order to better understand the backgrounds
and cultural identities of their students. While many TFA corps members attempted to include
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 39

culturally responsive teaching practices and pedagogy in their classrooms, some worried about
the long-term impact of their teaching experience in a low-income community (Veltri, 2008).
Racial and cultural competence challenges were detailed throughout the corps member
experiences of four teachers at Locke High School in South Los Angeles (Foote, 2008). Phillip
Gedeon, an African-American TFA corps member, described his experience with race conflict in
his classroom. Understanding that racial tensions could pose an issue, Gedeon decided to use a
seating chart and arrange the desks in rows as a classroom management strategy. Before he
allowed students to engage with group work, he wanted to ensure that his classroom was under
control. He admitted that his strategy appeared to work, as he did not struggle with the racial
conflict that his TFA colleagues experienced (Foote, 2008). He believed that his experience as an
African-American teacher was very different than those of his White counterparts.
Brewer and deMarrais (2015) went further, asserting that, as an organization, TFA does
not recognize or acknowledge how the corps members themselves reinforce identified racial and
structural class divisions in low-income communities. They argued that TFA contributes to
issues of race and class in the very communities in which they place their corps members. Their
corps member narratives highlighted the challenges associated with race, class, and privilege
when entering low-income classrooms in underserved communities.
Finally, corps member narratives focused on the professional goals and aspirations of
TFA teachers themselves beyond their two-year classroom commitment. For example,
Straubhaar, Rolf, and Gottfried (2016) discussed the perceptions of TFA corps members using
ethnographic interviews of 25 TFA teachers. This study focused on the experiences of corps
members in Los Angeles specifically. Open-ended interviews regarding teachers’ experiences at
their placement schools, teacher turnover, and future career plans were conducted with TFA
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 40

corps members in their first, second, and third years of teaching. Straubhaar et al. (2016) found
that corps members saw themselves as idealistic, energetic, professional, relentless, and high-
quality contenders for future employment opportunities (Straubhaar et al., 2016). Many
participants believed that their two-year teaching commitment with TFA served as an interim
period to consider future career pathways. Furthermore, Straubhaar et al. (2016) found that 68%
of participants perceived their teaching experience as a valuable opportunity to reflect on their
future career choices, rather than a long-term career in the classroom (p. 640). One corps
member described this apparent misalignment:
The mission of TFA is not to create lifelong teachers, it took me awhile to accept that,
that two years wasn’t enough . . . TFA is interested in systematic change by any means
possible, that you’ll stay in the cause, invested in closing the achievement gap through
other means . . . The achievement gap, TFA knows this, it won’t close by just our two
years in the classroom. . . . (Straubhaar et al., 2016, p. 640).
TFA corps member narratives provide a rich description of the overall TFA experience
and often highlight the unique challenges these teachers face. These narratives shed light on the
experiences both inside and outside the classroom as corps members face immense pressure and
accountability from the organization as well as racial and cultural tensions with their students.
Additionally, some corps members report feeling stressed, anxious, and unprepared while others
focus on planning their future professional and career aspirations. Together, the literature
focusing on the conceptual debate regarding TFA, corps member effectiveness, and TFA
narratives comprise the majority of research literature related to the organization. Far fewer
studies highlight the TFA alumni experience, once corps members complete their two-year
commitment.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 41

Studies Addressing TFA Alumni Engagement and Career Decisions
While there is a wealth of literature related to the conceptual debate over TFA, corps
member effectiveness, and corps member narratives, there are fewer empirical studies that focus
on TFA alumni after they have completed their two years in the classroom (Scott et al., 2016).
Additionally, much of the TFA alumni research has been conducted for dissertation research
studies, rather than for peer reviewed journals. These studies highlight the impact of the corps
member experience on alumni involvement, explaining the career options alumni pursue and
alumni perceptions of their own unique qualifications as applicants (Maloney, 2015; Mandel,
2015; Mitchell, 2009). For example, Mitchell’s (2009) dissertation examined the growing
number of TFA alumni and proposed a plan for strengthening the alumni movement through
potential messaging and marketing. She concluded that while not all TFA alumni work in the
classroom or for school districts long-term, many use their corps member experience to inform
their professional and career choices once they leave the classroom (Mitchell, 2009).
On the other hand, Mandel’s (2015) dissertation utilized a qualitative, multi-case
comparative study, analyzing how 15 recent TFA alumni used the process to determine future
career choices after five months of their initial two-year teaching commitment. He concluded
that rather than deliberate support and mediated reflection, it was informal networks and
connections that actually influenced the career choices and professional decisions of TFA alumni
(Mandel, 2015, p. 4). In other words, TFA alumni utilized their networks and the relationships
they built during the corps member experience to inform their professional and career decisions,
rather than the formal supports provided by the organization.
Maloney (2015) sought to understand the ways in which alumni believed their TFA
experience informed their personal and professional identities. Her dissertation research used
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 42

ethnographic data collection methods to examine the experience of 17 TFA alumni from the
2007 TFA cohort. Maloney (2015) reported that alumni who were no longer professionally
connected to the field of education felt disconnected from the mission of TFA and did not
perceive themselves playing a role in ending educational inequity (Maloney, 2015, p. 182).
Overall, she concluded that the connectedness and/or disconnectedness of alumni to the
organization was tied to the level of success they felt in the classroom during their corps member
experience and how well their current profession lined up to TFA’s views on education reform
(Maloney, 2015).
Finally, Straubhaar et al. (2016) found that TFA corps members perceived themselves to
embody personal characteristics that prior research would support as less common among
teachers in urban schools. These characteristics included being competitive, high performing,
and enthusiastically committed to ending educational inequality. They collected data using
ethnographic interviews with 25 current TFA corps members. They concluded that participants
tended “to come from privileged backgrounds and colleges” and that, as a consequence, they
viewed “their time teaching in urban schools as an interim period before pursuing other more
‘high prestige’ careers” (Straubhaar et al.. 2016, p. 627). Overall, studies related to TFA alumni
focused on their involvement after the corps and the decisions they made regarding their
profession or career once they left the classroom.
TFA Alumni and Corps Members as Social and Political Actors
While literature related to TFA alumni is limited, there is even less literature about the
role TFA alumni play in educational policy making and local politics (Jacobsen & Linkow,
2014; Scott et al., 2016). There are a small number of studies that focus on social capital and the
civic and political involvement of corps members, but there is a gap in the literature specifically
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 43

examining TFA alumni. Again, many of the research studies that have been conducted are
dissertation studies, rather than peer reviewed journal articles.
For example, Snell’s (2009) dissertation focused on the civic engagement of TFA alumni.
She utilized a quasi-experimental design and collected data from a comprehensive survey of
TFA alumni and a control group comprised of individuals who applied and were accepted to
TFA, but did not ultimately participate in the program. Snell (2009) found that 75% of both the
TFA alumni group and the control group reported high levels of civic participation. While the
two groups both reported high rates of civic participation, the comparison group was more likely
to educate themselves about candidates and ballot initiatives, vote in national elections, volunteer
for organizations, and make monetary donations to candidates they supported (Snell, 2009). This
study indicated that non-TFA individuals were more likely to get involved in local and national
politics than their TFA alumni counterparts.
While not focused on TFA alumni specifically, Berry’s (2006) empirical study examined
how TFA corps members’ social networks created social capital in the Mississippi Delta. Her
findings suggested that corps members address educational inequity in the Mississippi Delta
because they helped create social capital and stimulate local development (Berry, 2006, p.77).
This study showed that corps members had the potential to influence change locally and impact
educational equity in the Mississippi Delta.
Additionally, Reddy’s (2016) dissertation study described the ways in which TFA and its
alumni were involved in education policy and how the corps member experience factored into
alumni life and career choices. This study collected data from 45 semi-structured interviews with
TFA alumni who went on to work in public policy. Reddy triangulated interview data with news
sources, public statements, and press releases from TFA’s leadership and other publicly available
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 44

materials (Reddy, 2016). Reddy concluded that most alumni focused on impacting policy issues
including charter schools and school choice, teacher evaluation and accountability, and teacher
preparation.
McAdam and Brandt (2009) utilized survey data from all accepted TFA applicants
between 1993 to 1998 in order to assess the long-term effect of the corps member experience on
alumni’s civic attitudes and behaviors. They concluded that TFA alumni scored higher than two
comparison groups on items related to specific attitudes which measured civic commitment
(McAdam & Brandt, 2009, p. 945). While personal views and attitudinal differences may not be
reflected in actual civic behavior, McAdam and Brandt (2009) reported that TFA alumni voted at
lower rates than the two control groups and had lower rates of employment in positions that
impacted social change (McAdam & Brandt, 2009). In other words, TFA alumni believed they
had high rates of civic engagement, but data showed that these alumni actually voted at lower
rates than their peers.
Jacobsen, White, and Reckhow (2016) conducted a panel study of 2012 corps members
in four mid-sized TFA placement cities. They sought to understand whether and how corps
members were politically involved in their placement regions during their corps member
experience. Specifically, Jacobsen et al. (2016) examined corps members’ attitudes toward local
politics, their involvement in local elections, and how their perceptions changed throughout the
two-year TFA experience. Overall, they found a significant shift in corps members’
commitments to local politics. While some participants reported an increased commitment to
local politics, a sizable group of TFA corps members actually became less involved and
enthusiastic about local politics during their corps member experience (Jacobsen et al., 2016).
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 45

Results from this study indicated that corps members may become less politically involved and
less optimistic while teaching with TFA.
Finally, Jacobsen and Linkow (2014) investigated TFA’s involvement in local elections
to determine the spread of the national TFA agenda. Using document analysis of candidate
websites and online campaign information, they examined campaign messages for TFA alumni
candidates as well as their non-TFA alumni opponents. They concluded that TFA alumni
included TFA-aligned messaging at significantly higher rates than their opponents (Jacobsen &
Linkow, 2014). Jacobsen and Linkow (2014) also asserted that TFA alumni cited three times as
many TFA messages as their opponents. These messages included the practice of working
toward measurable results and the inclusion of diverse perspectives in education policy and
decision-making. Results-driven work ethic was linked to TFA’s former core value of “relentless
pursuit of results,” while including diverse perspectives was aligned with the former core value
of “respect and humility” (Jacobsen & Linkow, 2014). Overall, results indicated that TFA alumni
running for local positions often included TFA’s mission—either verbatim or closely worded—
and the organization’s core values in their campaign materials, which lead to the spread of the
national TFA agenda.
While there is ample literature surrounding the political involvement and engagement of
corps members, there are far fewer empirical studies focusing on the civic and political
engagement of TFA alumni. Furthermore, what studies there are indicate a mismatch between
corps member and alumni perceptions and perspectives versus their actual engagement. For
example, both TFA corps members and alumni believe they are more politically engaged and
civically involved, but results show that their non-TFA peers actually vote and participate in
their communities at higher rates (Reddy, 2016; Jacobsen et al., 2016). The current dissertation
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 46

research study sought to fill this gap in the literature, adding to the growing body of research by
focusing on the civic and political involvement of TFA alumni.
Theoretical & Conceptual Frameworks
The following section critiques Putnam’s (1995) Declining Social Capital Theory. It
analyzes Scott et al.’s (2016) Teach For America Conceptual Framework. Finally, it explores
Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) Ecological Systems Theory as it pertains to the current dissertation
research focused on the public service of TFA alumni living in Los Angeles.
Putnam’s Declining Social Capital Theory
Putnam (1995) detailed the general erosion of civic engagement and decline of social
capital, arguing that while education levels have risen sharply over the last generation, society's
direct involvement in government and politics has declined steadily. Furthermore, he asserted
that Americans not only take less direct action when it comes to politics but that they are also
disengaged psychologically from governmental systems. He believed that this “democratic
disarray” is linked to a “broad and continuing erosion of civic engagement that began a quarter-
century ago” (Putnam, 1995, p.76).
The accuracy of Putnam’s theory was evident during the 2016 Presidential campaign, in
which just 55.7% of the voting-age population cast ballots (Desilver, 2017). This was slightly
greater than the number of votes cast during the 2012 Presidential election but much lower than
the record high 2008 election. The U.S. continues to fall below the average voter turnout levels
compared to most other developed democracies, including Belgium, Sweden, and Denmark
(Desilver, 2017).
While voter turnout remains relatively low, civic engagement and social activism are on
the rise (Sydell, 2017). There are a growing number of activist movements and social media
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 47

campaigns that have taken shape as a response to the national political climate. For example, the
#MeToo Campaign, #BlackLivesMatter, and #MarchForOurLives have garnered massive public
support, both nationally and locally. Contrary to Putnam’s argument regarding decreased
political engagement, Los Angeles residents are increasingly engaged. For example, roughly
55,000 people attended the March For Our Lives rally in downtown Los Angeles in March 2018.
In the wake of a mass shooting at a high school in Florida that claimed the lives of 17 students
and teachers, March For Our Lives attendees in Los Angeles called for stricter gun laws
(Lozano, 2018).
In addition to growing levels of social activism and civic engagement among the general
public, growing numbers of TFA alumni are now running for public office. Contrary to Putnam’s
theory, growing education levels among those who have completed TFA correspond to
increasing numbers of alumni involved in government and politics. As of May 2018, 226 of the
30,000 Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) members, all of whom are either TFA alumni
or current staff members, held public office nationally (J. Mansoori, personal communication,
April 24, 2018). Their positions included seats on state legislatures; school boards; city councils;
and local boards such as neighborhood councils, county supervisor boards, judicial seats, labor
seats, and political party seats (J. Mansoori, 2018). Seventeen of these members served in office
throughout the greater Los Angeles region, including Los Angeles County, Orange County, San
Bernardino County, Ventura County, and Santa Barbara County (J. Mansoori, 2018). The
growing political engagement of TFA alumni nationally and in Los Angeles indicates that these
individuals take direct political action and are increasingly engaged in governmental systems,
contradicting Putnam’s argument.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 48

Teach For America’s Conceptual Framework
Scott et al. (2016) argued that, contrary to the organization's external apolitical stance,
TFA is a political and social movement with implicit and explicit ideological and political
underpinnings. They asserted that TFA’s primary impact occurs when corps members finish their
two years of teaching and move into positions outside of the classroom. These assertions are
based on triangulation of document and literature reviews; observations at TFA’s 20th
Anniversary Summit; and insights from their ongoing study of current TFA corps members,
prospective corps members, and alumni.
In order to better understand the impact of TFA alumni, Scott et al. (2016) created the
Teach For America Conceptual Framework. The four components of the framework are: 1)
policy entrepreneurs involved in the creation of education policy, 2) the utilization of power
networks by TFA alumni, 3) the promotion of managerial leadership qualities, and 4) the
inclusion of the racial and social class identities of TFA alumni (Scott et al., 2016). The
intersection of ideology, identity, and social networks of TFA alumni is at the center of the
framework (see Figure A).

Figure A. Teach For America Conceptual Framework. (Adapted from Scott, Trujillo, & Rivera,
2016)
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 49

Policy entrepreneurs. The first component of Scott et al.’s (2016) Teach For America
Conceptual Framework utilizes Mintrom’s (2001) concept of “policy entrepreneurs.” The term
policy entrepreneur describes individuals who influence the creation of policy from outside
Federal and state government structures (Mintrom, 2001). Using advocacy and innovation,
policy entrepreneurs are able to impact policy apart from the formalized policy process and
implement new ideas into the public sector (Roberts & King, 1991). Furthermore, Mintrom
(2001) argued that policy entrepreneurs focus on public education, highlighting accountability
and government management rather than prioritizing issues related to the distribution of
resources (p. 2).
Additionally, successful policy entrepreneurs are creative and insightful, have developed
high degrees of social perceptiveness, are able to mix in a multitude of social and political
settings, argue persuasively, are strategic team builders, and lead by example (Mintrom, 2001).
Mintrom (2001) concluded that policy entrepreneurs seek to introduce specific policy
innovations that have the potential to drive subsequent policy and systems change once adopted
by policymakers. Therefore, Scott et al. (2016) included the policy entrepreneur concept in their
Teach For America Conceptual Framework in order to demonstrate how the organization focuses
on both the management and accountability of their corps members and alumni, rather than
focusing on issues relating to equitable resources in education (Scott et al., 2016).
Power networks. The second component of Scott et al.’s (2016) conceptual framework
utilizes the concept of power networks detailed in the work of Domhoff (1967). Domhoff (1967)
argued that power networks, created and utilized by the elite in American society, have the
ability create both social change and policy change. Additionally, Domhoff (1967) detailed four
elite power networks: 1) the policy-planning process, comprised of think tanks and foundations;
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 50

2) the special-interests process, including wealthy families and the business sector; 3) the
candidate-selection process, which involves the election of a specific candidate by the elite who
work to support their political agenda; and 4) the opinion-shaping process, which seeks to shape
public opinion and the public agenda (Scott et al., 2016). When taken together, the organizations
and individuals within each of these four networks comprise the political action segment of the
upper class and corporate community (Domhoff, 1967, p. 16).
Scott et al. (2016) argued that these power networks are at the center of TFA’s mission
and practice of recruiting elite college graduates who end up teaching in low-income
communities for two years. They believed that TFA is more effective than civil rights groups and
community-based organizations when it comes to advocating for specific educational strategies
and policy change. The authors argued that TFA’s success is due, in large part, to its elite corps
members and alumni, many of whom graduated from Ivy League universities. They believe that,
when it comes to advocating for education policy, TFA’s power overshadows that of smaller
organizations. In other words, TFA wields more power due to its elite membership, while
organizations with less elite members struggle for influence in the field of education. Finally,
Scott et al. (2016) found that these power networks ground TFA’s efforts to identify and support
alumni who enter the field of policy and advocacy. Alumni are able to draw upon these elite
power networks as a strong base of support when running for public office and advocating for
specific policies.
Managerial leadership qualities. The third component of the Teach For America
Conceptual Framework includes Gunter’s (1997) managerial leadership model, which promotes
individual problem-solving and performance. Scott et al. (2016) argued that the managerial
leadership model is often utilized in the educational reform movement and within organizations
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 51

like TFA. They asserted that, as an organization, TFA cultivates individualized leadership styles
that are highly directive and focused on strategic planning, ambitious goal setting, and effective
performance (Scott et al., 2016). Scott et al. (2016) also believed that this model excludes the
social and political contexts in which schools exist. They argue that TFA supports individual
school leaders who prioritize creative and evidence-based solutions to closing the achievement
gap, which diverts attention away from issues such as funding disparities and racial and
socioeconomic gaps within the education system (Scott et al., 2016). Scott et al. (2016) asserted
that this model leaves out the importance of relationship-building, civic participation, and social
justice amongst leaders in the field of education.
Critical race theory. Finally, Scott et al. (2016) relied on critical race theory for the
fourth component of their framework. Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) argued that discussions
of race are often omitted when analyzing education policy. Ultimately, they found that race was
used as a static variable when analyzing education policy, leaving out context and allocations of
power within a community (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995).
Additionally, Leonardo (2004) argued that the literature regarding “white privilege” was
not sufficient to fully understand inequality. He believed that educators must understand the
infrastructure that sustains white dominance. Scott et al. (2016) agreed with Leonardo's
“discourse of privilege,” which highlighted the advantages that white people receive in society,
rather than focusing solely on the process of appropriation. The authors observed these
advantages at Teach For America’s 20th Anniversary Summit in Washington D.C. in which
predominantly white corps members and alumni were in attendance.
Together, these four concepts— policy entrepreneurs, power networks, critique of
managerial leadership, and critical race theory—comprise a framework to better understand
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 52

TFA’s role in supporting its corps members and alumni to reform public education. While Scott
et al.’s (2016) conceptual framework illustrates the intersection of ideology, identity, and social
networks with its four components rooted in the literature, this dissertation study utilized only
the first two components of the Teach For America Conceptual Framework. This research study
drew upon the notions of policy entrepreneurs and elite power networks, applying these concepts
to TFA alumni in Los Angeles who had successfully run for or been appointed to public office.
When conducting research related to the concept of policy entrepreneurs, Scott et al.
(2016) found that, as an organization, TFA focused on management and accountability rather
than equitable resources. Additionally, they asserted that TFA’s social and political power
stemmed from elite power networks focused on policy planning, candidate selection, and opinion
shaping. This dissertation examined these two components of the Teach For America Conceptual
Framework and applied them to specific case studies in Los Angeles to better understand the
civic engagement and political involvement of TFA alumni.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
Bronfenbrenner (1994) argued that the entire ecological system in which growth occurs
must be considered in order to fully understand human development. He asserted that human
development occurs as a result of the reciprocal interactions between an individual and the
people, objects, and surroundings in the environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Bronfenbrenner
(1994) believed that these interactions, called proximal processes, vary for each individual based
on the immediate and more remote external environment. He stressed the importance of
understanding an individual’s tiered ecological systems, or environments, in order to fully
understand his or her growth and development. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 53

(1994) illustrated how environments impact people and how people, in turn, influence their
environments.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model conceives of the environment as a set of nested
systems moving from the innermost circle to the outside circle (Figure B). This ecological
system is comprised of five socially organized subsystems that guide and support human growth.
They include the microsystem, or the immediate environment; the mesosytem, which connects
the various microsystems; the exosystem, the indirect environment; the macrosystem, including
social and cultural values; and the chronosystem, which tracks the changes in a person’s
environment over time (Bronfenbrenner, 1994).

Figure B. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems. (Adapted from Bronfenbrenner, 1994)

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 54

The first level of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory microsystem is the
smallest, the most immediate environment that impacts an individual. This environment includes
a person’s home, school, workplace, and community. Microsystem interactions occur between an
individual and his or her family members, partner, coworkers, and peers. These interactions go
back and forth with each, in turn, affecting how a person grows (Perron, 2017). Teach For
America corps members experience a major shift in microsystems when they enter the
classroom. They are adjusting to the school schedule, planning daily lessons, and weekly grading
as well as managing new interactions with students, fellow teachers, and administrators. Another
shift in the microsystem occurs when TFA alumni leave the classroom, entering new
microsystems as they enter other professions and leadership positions. These individuals must
once again adjust to a new work schedule, new colleagues, new expectations, and new
performance outcomes.
The second level is the mesosystem, which connects the various microsystems that
surround an individual. This subsystem encompasses the linkages and interactions between an
individual’s home life, personal relationships, workplace, and community (Bronfenbrenner,
1994). As corps members enter the classroom for the first time, they shift the interactions and
elements of the mesosystem; these include the school site, social connections, professional
learning communities, and continued education courses. The transition from TFA corps member
to TFA alumni also shifts the mesosystem elements to include a new workplace, leisure
activities, and family. While TFA alumni interact with their environment, they also have the
ability to affect those around them (Perron, 2017).
The third level, the exosystem, constitutes the indirect environments that impact an
individual’s development, over which they have no control. This includes additional people and
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 55

places that a person may not directly interact with, but which may still impact their growth and
development. The exosystem includes political and economic systems, government systems,
educational systems, and mass media (Perron, 2017). Teach For America alumni may experience
the exosystem through changing expectations at their place of employment or shifting policies in
their community that impact them indirectly.
The fourth level is the macrosystem. This subsystem represents the largest and most
distant influences on an individual, including the norms and values of a person’s culture as well
as social ideologies and dominant beliefs (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Social and cultural influences
within the macrosystem include state and Federal government as well as the societal value placed
on education. For example, Teach For America alumni may or may not qualify for loan
repayment options due to shifting Federal grant allocations. Additionally, the value of their
experience in the classroom may decline depending on the culture of the alumni’s subsequent
professional field.
Finally, the chronosystem includes the dimension of time, which illustrates changing
environments and transitions throughout a person’s lifetime (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Life
transitions are either normative or non-normative according to the ecological theory (Perron,
2017). Normative transitions take place during typical developmental milestones such as
puberty, starting college, and getting married. Non-normative transitions, on the other hand,
include unexpected disruptions that impact a person’s developmental progress over time. For
example, the death of a loved one, divorce, or major changes in income are non-normative
transitions (Perron, 2017). The unique changes and stress associated with becoming a TFA
alumnus are non-normative transitions that affect the individual’s growth.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 56

As TFA alumni leave the classroom and take roles outside of the school setting, they are
not only influenced by their environment, they, in turn, impact their environment. In order to
fully understand the connection between the TFA corps member experience and the decision to
serve as a public official, the ecological systems of TFA alumni must be identified and analyzed.
Therefore, this dissertation study utilizes Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory to frame
the environments of TFA alumni living in Los Angeles who currently hold public office.
Summary and Discussion
This chapter reviewed the research literature on TFA, which falls into four main
categories: the conceptual debate of the program, the impact of corps members on student
achievement, qualitative accounts of the corps member experience, and literature related to TFA
alumni. While much of the literature discussed corps member retention, teacher training and
credentialing, and TFA’s role in education reform, research studies focused on TFA corps
member effectiveness revealed a lack of consensus. Some studies asserted that corps members
had positive impacts on student achievement, while others concluded that TFA teachers actually
produced lower student outcomes or had no effect on academic achievement whatsoever.
Additionally, research related to TFA alumni and their social and political engagement after their
corps member experience was limited. Studies often highlighted the political involvement of
TFA teachers during their corps member experience, or focused on the subsequent professional
and career decisions of alumni after their two years in the classroom. There remains a gap in the
literature when focusing specifically on TFA alumni and their decisions to run for local public
office.
The current dissertation research study added to existing TFA literature and contributed
to filling the literature gap by focusing specifically on TFA alumni and their public service in
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 57

Los Angeles. It used three theoretical frameworks: Putnam’s (1995) Declining Social Capital
Theory; the Teach For America Conceptual Framework created by Scott et al. (2016); and
Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) Ecological Systems Theory. Contrary to Putnam’s argument regarding
the decline of both civic and political involvement, there are growing numbers of TFA alumni in
Los Angeles who have become directly involved in local politics. In fact, 13 alumni held a public
office in the greater Los Angeles area at the time of this research. Positions included local school
board membership, neighborhood council membership, city council membership, and judicial
seats. This research study used the first two components of Scott et al.’s (2016) framework—
policy entrepreneurs and elite power networks—to examine the corps member experience of
TFA alumni who hold public office in Los Angeles. Finally, Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Systems Theory was critical in illustrating the interactions between TFA alumni and the various
environments in which they exist. This dissertation study applied this theory to better understand
the corps member experience of TFA alumni who currently hold a public office. Chapter Three
of this dissertation study will focus on the research methodology, including the specific research
methods, sampling, and data collection and analysis.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 58

Chapter Three: Methodology
Chapter Three outlines the overall research design, selection criteria, data collection
methods, data analysis methods, and potential threats to validity associated with this dissertation
study. The gaps in the literature, presented in the previous chapter, were taken into consideration
in selecting the specific research methodologies with a goal of addressing the research questions
guiding this dissertation study.
Study Design
The overall aim of this study was to explore the critical influences on civic engagement
of Los Angeles TFA alumni who had successfully run for or had been appointed to public office
with a focus on the relationship to their corps member experience. Despite an increased interest
in the political influence of TFA, little empirical research has been conducted on this topic. Few
studies have focused specifically on TFA alumni and their civic and/or political engagement
after their corps member experience. This dissertation research contributes to the limited
literature that seeks to extend the research on TFA and its interaction with public policy.
Research Questions
Because little research focuses specifically on TFA alumni and the role they play in
education policy-making in local politics, this study sought to answer the following research
questions.
1. What are TFA alumni’s perspectives on their corps member experience?
2. How do TFA alumni perceive the impact of the corps member experience on their
own civic engagement?
3. How do TFA alumni describe their decision to serve in public office?
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 59

4. How do TFA alumni perceive the connection between their role in public office and
TFA’s mission to ensure educational equity?
Research Design and Methods
This research study utilized qualitative data collection methods in order to describe the
personal perspectives and experiences of participants. Using an inductive design allowed the
analysis to emerge from patterns identified in specific cases without hypothesizing what these
overlapping components were ahead of time (Patton, 2002). This dissertation also utilized
qualitative case studies to detail the experiences and perspectives of Los Angeles TFA alumni
who have run for public office.
The Rationale for Qualitative Methods
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016), qualitative researchers are interested in
studying how people make sense of the world. They believe that experiences shape the meaning
people have constructed. Rather than uncover a particular outcome or product, qualitative
research seeks to understand and describe how people interpret their experiences. The goal of
qualitative research was to understand a specific phenomenon of interest from a participant’s
perspective, rather than from the perspective of the researcher (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This
approach allowed the researcher to use words to describe the context, participants, and activities
in a natural setting (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). A qualitative approach was the most appropriate
research method for this study because it yields richly descriptive data based on participant
experiences.
The Rationale for Case Studies
Case studies are a specific method of inquiry where the researcher develops an in-depth
analysis of a case or individual (Creswell, 2002). Cases are bounded by time and activity, with
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 60

researchers collecting data using a variety of research and data collection methods. Yin (2018)
asserted that case study methodology is appropriate when investigating a phenomenon in depth
within its real-life context, particularly when the phenomenon is not easily separated from its
context. The overall goal of case study research is to analyze a specific context and process,
which provides insights into the specific theoretical issues studied (Cassell & Symon, 2004).
Finally, Cassell and Symon (2004) asserted that a case study is a research strategy in which
context is specifically included in the design.
This research study utilized the instrumental case study methodology. According to
Mills, Durepos, and Wiebe (2010), in instrumental case study research, the actual case itself is
secondary to understanding a particular phenomenon. An instrumental case is carefully selected,
providing a rich description of a particular site, individual, or group. Often, purposeful sampling
occurs before selection of the case to ensure that each case in the study yields robust findings
related to the research questions (Mills et al., 2010). This study utilized instrumental case study
research because it aimed to examine perspectives and decision-making beyond the actual
phenomenon of running for public office.
Selection Criteria
Case selection and design are extremely important to any research investigation.
Seawright (2008) asserted that case selection has two primary objectives. First, selected cases
must provide a representative sample; second, they must have appropriate variation related to the
factors of theoretical interest (Seawright, 2008, p. 296).
Yin (1981) described two types of design when pursuing case study research: single-case
and multiple-case design. Single case design is used to test a theory. Multiple-case design is used
when the phenomenon of interest may exist across multiple situations. In multiple-case design,
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 61

each individual case is rigorously studied; the inclusion of several cases provides the researcher
with an opportunity to replicate, compare, and confirm the results (Yin, 1981). The direct-
replication design is one of the most common multiple-case designs. Yin (1981) asserted that this
design requires the researcher to identify the phenomenon in each of the cases and then develop a
general explanation for all the cases in the study.
This research study utilized multiple-case design. Rather than focus on one particular
school site or organization to test one specific theory, multiple cases were selected in order to
more fully explore the phenomenon of TFA alumni in Los Angeles who have successful run for
or been appointed to public office.
In addition to multiple-case design, this research study utilized purposeful selection.
Maxwell (2013) argued that purposeful selection provides the researcher an opportunity to
establish productive relationships with participants to best answer specific research questions.
Additionally, purposeful selection is based on the assumption that the investigator wants to
discover, understand, and gain insight; therefore, the researcher must select a sample from which
the most can be learned (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Lavrakas (2008) referred to this sample as an
expert sample. He found that this type of sampling is commonly used when samples are limited
to a specific geographic area or are limited in definition. He believed that expert sampling is
appropriate when the study does not prioritize inference to the population as a whole (Lavrakas,
2008, p. 2).
Additionally, Merriam and Tisdell (2016) asserted that qualitative purposeful sampling is
both powerful and logical because it places an emphasis on in-depth understanding of specific
and information-rich cases. It provides an opportunity to learn about central issues related to the
purpose of inquiry. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) believed that specific selection criteria should be
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 62

identified first. Purposeful sampling criteria should directly reflect the purpose of the study and
identify cases of study that are rich with information (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Once specific
criteria are established, the researcher must select cases that meet the identified criteria. Selection
criteria pertaining to the organization, region, and participants of this dissertation study are
detailed in the following sections.
Selection of the Organization
As detailed earlier in this study, TFA was the sole organization of focus for this
dissertation. Specifically, this study highlighted the civic and political involvement of TFA
alumni. Today, there are more than 50,000 TFA alumni working in a variety of sectors across the
country, many that expand educational opportunities for children. Additionally, 320 alumni work
as advocacy, policy, or organization leaders nationally (TFA, n.d.). Furthermore, there were 90
TFA alumni who served as elected school board members and 15 City Council members across
the country at the time of this research (J. Mansoori, personal communication, April 24, 2018).
Selection of Region
Los Angeles began placing TFA corps members in schools in 1990; the city continues not
only to train and place corps members but also to produce a growing number of alumni each
year. Currently, there are over 2,500 alumni in the Los Angeles region (TFA, n.d.). This means
that approximately 5% of TFA alumni nationwide live in the greater Los Angeles area.
Additionally, TFA has made a regional commitment to cultivating political leadership. In
order to create lasting policy and systems change, the Los Angeles TFA region developed a key
initiative focused on developing public, civic and systems leaders by the year 2020 (TFA Our
2020 Vision, n.d.). At the time of this research, there were seven current elected or appointed
school board members, one City Council member, and five Neighborhood Council members who
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 63

were TFA alumni in the greater Los Angeles area (J. Mansoori, 2018). Therefore, the greater Los
Angeles region was selected for this dissertation.
Selection of Participants
Yin (2018) found that when a researcher is selecting specific participants for a case study,
sampling logic and guidance regarding sample size do not apply. He noted that statistical
methods are not utilized and that the case studies do not attempt to separate the unique variables
associated with the case. Rather, the role of the researcher in case studies is to understand and
document the ways in which variables are used to construct the context in which the
phenomenon of study occurs. In this dissertation study, participants were selected with the
ultimate aim of reaching what Maxwell (2013) calls purposeful maximal sampling. Purposeful
maximal sampling involves selecting participants who not only represent the setting but, also,
capture the diversity of experience that exist within the group (Maxwell, 2013).
Additionally, Patton (2002) asserted that a maximum variation allows the limitations of a
small sample size to be turned into a relative strength because the researcher is able to select
cases that provide rich information for the study. For this dissertation study, two specific criteria
were utilized. First, the TFA alumni had to live in Los Angeles County at the time of the study.
Second, the TFA alumni must have successfully run for or have been appointed to public office,
including school boards, neighborhood councils, and city councils. Eligibility was determined by
consulting with the Executive Director of TFA in Los Angeles and a staff member at Leaders for
Educational Equity (LEE), both of whom had knowledge of the TFA alumni who fit the specific
criteria of this study.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 64

Role of Researcher
The role of a qualitative researcher entails pursuing a deeper level of conversation, asking
probing questions, and deep listening. A qualitative researcher is an objective viewer who seeks
to construct an image using ideas and theories from a range of sources (Punch, 1988). For the
purposes of this study, the qualitative researcher utilized a research journal as a means to
organize observation notes, personal reactions and reflections, interview insights, and further
questions throughout the research process.
The researcher in this dissertation study is a TFA alumnus. She served as a 2010 Los
Angeles corps member who taught high school special education. After two years in the
classroom, the researcher worked on the national TFA recruitment team before returning to her
school site and as a Special Education Coordinator. As a former corps member and previous
TFA staff member, the researcher had deep background knowledge and firsthand experience not
only the with the corps member experience, but also with TFA as an organization.
Researcher Assumptions
All research is founded on researcher assumptions. The current dissertation study was
based on the following assumptions:
1. Participants would have sufficient understanding of all interview questions.
2. Participants would provide honest responses to all interview questions.
3. The interview instrument selected for this research study would accurately measure
the attitudes and behaviors aligned with the variables in this study.
Data Collection Approach
In order to obtain access to the target population of interest, the participant selection for
this dissertation involved numerous conversations with key gatekeepers, including staff members
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 65

at TFA Los Angeles and LEE. Research methods included interviews with elected and appointed
officials who were TFA alumni living in Los Angeles. Finally, this study analyzed source
documents and artifacts including campaign websites and school board website, triangulating
data for reliability and validity.
Ethics and University IRB Permission
Permission was obtained from the University of Southern California (USC) Internal
Review Board to conduct this research (see Appendix A). Prospective participants were
informed that USC had approved the survey. Participants were assured that no personally
identifiable information would be associated with their responses to the interviews in any reports
of the data. They were informed that participation in the research was both voluntary and
anonymous. They were given the primary researcher’s contact information in case they had
questions.
Research must be conducted in an ethical manner in order to ensure validity and
reliability (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Merriam and Tisdell (2016) detailed a checklist of 12
ethical practices to utilize during a research study. Such ethical practices include fully explaining
the purpose of the inquiry and methods used, confidentiality, informed consent, data access and
ownership, and ethical and methodological choices (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Throughout the
study, the researcher utilized these five ethical practices. Prior to each interview, a disclaimer
statement regarding the purpose of the study and the confidential nature of the data collected was
read to each participant.
Gatekeepers
Maxwell (2013) described “gatekeepers” as individuals who can assist or interfere with a
research study (p. 82). This dissertation involved numerous gatekeepers in Los Angeles who not
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 66

only served as access points but, also, helped determine the approach for data collection. Due to
alumni data protection and issues related to confidentiality, it was not possible to obtain a list of
all alumni living in Los Angeles who had successfully run for public office. However,
gatekeepers at LEE were able to confirm the number of alumni who serves in public office in
Los Angeles at the time of the research. Once the alumni were identified, gatekeepers served as
connectors. A staff member at LEE used his work email address to write introductory emails.
The email included a virtual introduction to the researcher and a brief description of the
dissertation study.
After the initial introductions were made, the researcher sent follow-up emails including
a further explanation of the purpose of the study and an invitation to participate in the in-depth
interview process. Alumni received a total of three follow-up emails as a reminder to respond.
The researcher contacted those who chose to participate in the study and scheduled interview
dates and times.
Interviews
Interviews were the primary data collection tool for this dissertation study. Patton (2002)
asserted that interviews allow the researcher to find out things from the participants that cannot
be directly observed. They allow the researcher to enter into another person’s perspective.
Additionally, Rubin and Rubin (2005) believed that interviews allow the researcher to
understand experiences and reconstruct events that they were not a part of, which is especially
valuable in describing both social and political processes. This dissertation utilized interviews to
understand the alumni’s corps member experience and their decision-making process as well as
various support networks leading up to their time in public office.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 67

The researcher created and used two semi-structured interview protocols to guide the
interview conversations, one protocol for appointed officials and a second for elected officials.
The researcher utilized interview questions related to each of the four research questions guiding
this study to elicit participant responses (see Appendix B). Additionally, the researcher utilized
interview questions that were aligned to the first two components of Teach For America
Conceptual Framework presented in Chapter Two, policy entrepreneurs and elite power
networks. The semi-structured interview protocols probed the participant’s perspectives of their
TFA corps member experience, asked about their decision to run for public office, and inquired
about the extent to which their public service connected to TFA’s mission (see Appendix C and
Appendix D).
Document Analysis
In addition to participant interviews, document analysis was utilized. Bowen (2009)
asserted that document analysis is used to examine and interpret the meaning of, gain
understanding of, and develop empirical knowledge of written and/or electronic materials. These
documents provided additional information outside of interviews, as they contained specific
words and images that were recorded and distributed without interference from the researcher
(Bowen, 2009). This study included the document analysis of specific campaign websites from
participants as well as current pages on city and/or school board websites. Documents were
skimmed, read, and interpreted through an iterative process that combined elements of content
analysis and thematic analysis (Bowen, 2009).
First, consistent with content analysis, websites were given a first-pass review where
relevant text and messages were identified. Relevant information was recorded using a document
analysis protocol created for this dissertation study (see Appendix E). The protocol included
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 68

elements from Benoit and Benoit’s (2005) criteria for evaluating internet website campaign
pages; this protocol was previously applied to the Bush/Gore campaign websites in the 2000
presidential election. Elements included readability, information accessibility, interest level,
information breadth and depth, support, and the interactive nature of the website (Benoit &
Benoit, 2005). The protocol also detailed a summary of the campaign website’s contents, an
overview of the issues and images, and TFA-related language. The researcher revisited websites,
coding and categorizing the data consistent with thematic analysis. Finally, the researcher
applied codes and themes generated from participant interview transcripts (see Appendix F).
Data Analysis
Data analysis is the process of making meaning and synthesizing information related to
linguistic or visual material (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 195). In other words, analysis is the
process of making meaning of the data. In order to effectively analyze data, systems of
organization must be established. One such system involves coding.
Coding is the process of summarizing salient information by assigning words or short
phrases to language or visual data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 195). Harding (2013) argued that
coding involves summarizing, selecting, and interpreting collected data. Additionally, Harding
(2013) asserted that codes draw attention to commonalities or patterns in data.
The current research study utilized this approach to inform the selection of key words and
short phrases that were used as codes, known as empirical codes. This type of coding involved
reading through the data and assigning codes as points of importance and commonality are
identified (Harding, 2013). Data was also analyzed using the Atlas.ti online data analysis
software for qualitative data.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 69

Categorizing, Connecting, and Pattern Identification
After the initial codes were established, the researcher synthesized the list of keywords
and identified specific patterns. This process is known as pattern coding or the “second cycle
method” (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014). It involved grouping words or short phrases into
a smaller number of categories, themes, and constructs (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014).
The researcher identified codes during the pattern coding process, considering concepts for
specific themes throughout the coding and grouping process. In order to develop ideas and
collect insights in real time, the researcher also drafted and used memos to support the
development of themes and descriptive categories of data (Maxwell, 2013).
Next, the researcher utilized pattern codes to construct assertions and propositions, which
are detailed in Chapter Four of this dissertation research. According to Miles et al. (2014),
assertions make a declarative statement about a summary of synthesized information (p. 99).
They are also supported by confirming evidence from the data collected. Additionally,
propositions are statements that put forth a conditional event (Miles et al., 2014). Propositions
show cause and effect, making connections from the data to the assertions. The researcher
utilized assertions and propositions, supported by data collected in order to present the findings
of this study.
Threats to Credibility and Trustworthiness
Internal validity answers the question of how research findings match reality, while
external validity is concerned with the extent to which the findings of one study can be applied to
other situations (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Reliability, on the other hand, refers to the degree to
which research findings can be replicated (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 70

The researcher utilized specific strategies throughout this dissertation study to ensure
both reliability and validity. For example, the researcher used triangulation to examine and cross-
check the collected data using varied methods and sources. Additionally, the researcher
triangulated data with both qualitative interview transcripts and document analysis.
Participants included current school board members, local neighborhood council
members, and city council members—all of whom were TFA alumni. They may have brought
their own biases to their answers to interview questions. Document analysis utilizing campaign
websites and current office websites provided further alumni perspectives as well as a source of
triangulation and cross-check. Finally, the researcher utilized reflexivity, systematically
approaching the construction of context knowledge at every step of the research process in order
to ensure credibility.
Furthermore, the researcher also used member checks and peer review to maintain
credibility throughout the study. The researcher followed-up with each participant to conduct
member checks and to solicit their feedback on the preliminary findings (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016).
Finally, the researcher participated in a peer review process with members of her
dissertation group at the University of Southern California. They participated in online class
discussions and email correspondence to engage in peer editing, including discussions with
colleagues about the process of the study and congruency of findings (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Summary
The overall aim of this study was to explore the critical influences on civic engagement
of Los Angeles TFA alumni who had successfully run for or had been appointed to public office
with a focus on the relationship to their corps member experience. Participants were, therefore,
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 71

purposefully selected TFA alumni in the greater Los Angeles area who had successfully run for
or been appointed to public office. Institutional Review Board approval was attained from the
University of Southern California and ethical considerations were carefully considered.
This research study utilized a qualitative case study methodology in order to describe the
personal perspectives and experiences of participants. Data collection included interviews and
document analysis. Using an inductive design allowed the analysis to emerge from patterns
identified in specific cases without hypothesizing what these overlapping components were
ahead of time. Lastly, triangulation, member check, and peer review were utilized to minimize
bias and to ensure both reliability and validity.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 72

Chapter Four: Results
This chapter presents the findings from an analysis of qualitative interviews, campaign
websites, and current public office websites of TFA alumni serving in the greater Los Angeles
area at the time of this study. The results presented in this chapter provide insights into the
perspectives of TFA alumni regarding their corps member experience, the role of their corps
member experience on their decision to serve in public office, and the connection between their
role in office and TFA’s mission. Analyses of these findings are framed by Putnam’s Declining
Social Capital theory (1995), the Teach For America Conceptual Framework (Scott et al., 2016),
and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1994).
Study Context
Utilizing gatekeepers in the Los Angeles offices of TFA and Leadership for Educational
Equity (LEE), the researcher emailed 13 TFA alumni: seven current elected or appointed school
board members, one city council member, and five current neighborhood council members. Of
the 13 potential TFA alumni, seven alumni agreed to participate in the qualitative interviews as a
part of this dissertation study. The researcher interviewed these participants face-to-face, by
phone, or via online meeting platforms including Google Hangout and Zoom. Participants
answered a series of 23 interview questions related to their corps member experience, their
decision to serve in public office, and the connection between their role in office and TFA’s
mission (see Appendix C and Appendix D). Table 1, below, provides a profile of the seven
interview participants included in this dissertation study. The profiles include demographic data
and background information on participants’ TFA corps member experience, as well as
information related to their current role in public office.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 73

Table 1
Profile of Interview Participants
Participant Demographics Background/Context
Number: 1
Pseudonym: Roberto
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino
Age: 33
Corps Year: 2007
Corps Region: Los Angeles
Subject: 8
th
Grade Science/History
Elected/Appointed: Elected
Position Type: Municipal
Number: 2
Pseudonym: Brittney
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino/a
Age: 30

Corps Year: 2011
Corps Region: Los Angeles
Subject: 6
th
& 7
th
Grade Science
Elected/Appointed: Elected
Position Type: School Board
Number: 3
Pseudonym: Eva
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino/a
Age: 28

Corps Year: 2012
Corps Region: Los Angeles
Subject: 7
th
Grade ELA/Social
Studies; 6
th
Grade Math/Science
Elected/Appointed: Elected
Position Type: School Board
Number: 4
Pseudonym: Kaitlin
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White/Non-Hispanic
Age: 47

Corps Year: 2002
Corps Region: Los Angeles
Subject: 5
th
Grade
Elected/Appointed: Appointed
Position Type: School Board
Number: 5
Pseudonym: Alice
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White/Non-Hispanic
Age: 29

Corps Year: 2012
Corps Region: South Louisiana
Subject: 6
th
, 7
th
, 8
th
Grade Science
Elected/Appointed: Appointed
Position Type: Neighborhood
Council
Number: 6
Pseudonym: James
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White/Non-Hispanic
Age: 33

Corps Year: 2008
Corps Region: Los Angeles
Subject: 7
th
& 8
th
Grade English as a
Second Language (ESL)
Elected/Appointed: Elected
Position Type: School Board
Number: 7
Pseudonym: Grace
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White/Non-Hispanic
Age: 48
Corps Year: 2003
Corps Region: Los Angeles
Subject: History
Elected/Appointed: Elected
Position Type: Neighborhood
Council

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 74

In addition to conducting qualitative interviews, the researcher analyzed participant
campaign websites, current school board websites, city council websites, and neighborhood
council websites. Table 2 details the type of website associated with each participant in this
research study. Of the seven participants, five had at least one website. Two participants had both
a campaign website and a current office website. Two participants had no website.

Table 2

Participant Website Association
Participant Interview Campaign Website School Board/City
Council/Neighborhood
Council Website
Participant 1 X X
Participant 2 X X X
Participant 3 X X
Participant 4 X
Participant 5 X
Participant 6 X X X
Participant 7 X X

The researcher utilized a document analysis protocol (included in Appendix E) to analyze
readability, information accessibility, interest level, information breadth and depth, and the level
of interactivity of each website. The protocol helped to identify TFA related language and the
inclusion of each participant’s TFA corps member experience, personal education history, and
teaching experience on each website. This information is listed in Table 3, below.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 75

Table 3
Document Analysis Matrix
Participant Website Type
TFA
Listed
Education
History
Teaching
Experience Images Videos
TFA
language
Participant
1 City Council Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Participant
2
School Board
Campaign No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Participant
2 School Board No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Participant
3
School Board
Campaign No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Participant
6
School Board
Campaign No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Participant
6 School Board No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Participant
7
Neighborhood
Council No No Yes Yes No Yes

A Review of the Participants
A brief description of each participant is below. The alumni are listed in order of
participant number using self-selected pseudonyms. This section is followed by a detailed
description of each finding from this dissertation study.
Roberto
Roberto was a 33-year-old male and identified as Latino. He was a 2007 TFA corps
member in Los Angeles where he taught 8th grade science and history. Initially drawn to TFA
due to his desire to continue the community-oriented work he engaged in during high school,
Roberto had a passion for volunteering in low-income schools as a young man. His experience as
a TFA corps member changed his awareness and understanding of the achievement gap and
helped him realize the need for equitable opportunities for excellent education.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 76

Roberto left the classroom after his two years as a TFA corps member and decided to run
for public office in his hometown after he saw dishonest and unethical behavior from his elected
officials. He believed that his experience as an elected leader was colored by his experiences in
the classroom and connected to the larger movement to fight for equity.
Brittney
Brittney was a 30-year-old female and identified as Latina. She grew up in an immigrant
family and was the first in her family to attend college. Brittney was a 2011 TFA corps member
where she taught secondary science in her hometown in Los Angeles. She was inspired to join
TFA after having a conversation with a Latina TFA recruiter who talked about the connections
she made with her students of color. Brittney was motivated to be a role model at the front of the
classroom for students of color and sought to build powerful relationships. As a first generation
college student, Brittney understood the challenges her own family faced. Her time as a TFA
corps member opened her eyes to the broader set of challenges in her own community. Including
her years as a corps member, Brittney had taught for three years before accepting a position
outside of the classroom in Washington, D.C.
When she initially considered running for office, Brittney made the connection between
what was happening in the school where she had taught, and how specific school board policies
directly impacted students. She believed that in order to address these challenges, she would
have to take her activism to a broader level. Brittney is currently serving as a school board
member in the greater Los Angeles area. She is most passionate about working to close gaps for
English Language Learners, immigrant students, students in foster care, and those involved in the
juvenile justice system.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 77

Eva
Eva was a 28-year-old female and identified as Latina. She grew up in the greater Los
Angeles area and was the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Eva graduated college in just three
years and joined TFA in 2012. She knew she wanted to serve her community and become a
teacher. She taught 7th grade English and social studies in her first year; she taught 6th grade
math and science in her second year. Having grown up in a low-income community, Eva
understood the value of having a dedicated teacher who fought for educational equity. She had
strong ties to her community during her TFA corps member experience and found that her time
in the classroom made her a stronger champion for students.
Eva sought to make transformative change outside of the classroom as a member of a
local school board. She was most passionate about college readiness and college access for
students. As a school board member, she sought to ensure that all students were prepared to
graduate from high school and had pathways and opportunities for future success.
Kaitlin
Kaitlin identified as a White, non-Hispanic female. She was 47 years old and joined TFA
in 2002 as a second career. She had previously worked in advertising and wanted to transition
into the world of education. As a Los Angeles corps member, Kaitlin taught 5th grade. She
taught in a different community than where she lived and came from a different socioeconomic
background than her students. The corps member experience made her aware of how the color
one’s skin and socioeconomic status can affect a person’s life. Kaitlin stayed at her school site
for five years before serving as the principal of a local elementary school.
Kaitlin decided to serve in public office because she felt that she could impact more
people outside the school site setting. She liked impacting local issues and sought to make small
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 78

ripple effects in the community by building relationships. She believed that her time in the
classroom continued to impact her role as a parent navigating the education landscape. Kaitlin
was currently serving as a school board member in the greater Los Angeles area at the time of
this research. She believed that her role on the school board was to help other parents navigate
the system and to bring the ideas she had at the school site to her decision-making on the board.
While she understood that TFA was just two years, Kaitlin asserted that corps members should
continue to work in service to others throughout their lives because the work is never done.
Alice
Alice identified as a White, non-Hispanic female. She was 29 years old and joined TFA
in 2012 after becoming interested in social and racial justice issues. Alice attended a low-income
school and saw firsthand the lack of opportunities that were available to students. She wanted to
help make a difference and ended up teaching middle school science in South Louisiana.
Although she taught in a low-income school, similar to her own educational experience, Alice
expressed that TFA helped her step outside of the “white savior” mentality that she had prior to
joining the corps. She explained that TFA helped her understand her students’ humanity and the
idea that change comes from partnership and mutual respect.
After her two years in the classroom, Alice obtained a master’s degree and moved to Los
Angeles to work towards a PhD. She decided to get involved in local politics after the 2016
presidential election. Alice was serving as a member of her local neighborhood council in the
greater Los Angeles area at the time of this research. She hoped to one day move back to
Louisiana and planned to run for city council or school board in the future.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 79

James
James was a 33-year-old male and identified as White, non-Hispanic. He grew up in Los
Angeles and volunteered at a camp that served children experiencing homelessness. He was a
2008 Los Angeles TFA corps member and taught 7th and 8th grade English and English as a
Second Language (ESL). James joined TFA because of his passion for service and his desire to
work with children. He believed that TFA was a way to work toward eradicating injustice in the
community. James moved back to Los Angeles after attending college out of state. He used his
experience as a corps member to spread awareness of TFA’s mission to his various networks in
Los Angeles. Although he did not live in the community where he taught, James advocated for
his students during his time as a TFA corps member.
James served as a member of his local neighborhood council before deciding to run for
school board. He was most passionate about teacher layoffs and sought to join the organization
charged with making these decisions. James brought a sense of urgency to his role on the school
board, knowing the stakes for students. He believed that helping failing schools is critical to the
future of the nation. James strived to amplify the mission of TFA through his continued work in
the field of education.
Grace
Grace was a 48-year-old female and identified as White, non-Hispanic. She joined TFA
after a career working with large corporations. She explained that the corps was an opportunity
to get involved with public service. Grace characterized herself as a non-traditional corps
member because she joined TFA as a second career and had two young children when she started
teaching, unlike other corps members who join TFA immediately after their undergraduate
experience. She described how she was unable to get involved with networks outside of her
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 80

classroom due to the time constraints of being a teacher and a parent. Grace had remained in the
classroom for more than 12 years and was passionate about trying to remove barriers and
obstacles for her students so they could reach their full potential.
In addition to serving students in the classroom, Grace was in her third year as a member
of her local neighborhood council at the time of this research. She sought this position in order to
create more systemic and sustainable change outside the classroom. As a member of her local
neighborhood council, Grace advocated for educational equity and impacts local policy. She was
passionate about leveraging power and providing her constituents with a voice to advocate for
themselves.
Research Findings
The purpose of the study was to examine the TFA corps member experience and the role it
played in alumni’s decisions to serve in public office. The four research questions for this study
were:
1. What are TFA alumni’s perspectives on their corps member experience?
2. How do TFA alumni perceive the impact of the corps member experience on their civic
engagement?
3. How do TFA alumni describe their decision to serve in public office?
4. How do TFA alumni perceive the connection between their role in public office and
TFA’s mission to ensure educational equity?
In response to the first research question, two key findings emerged. First, when
reflecting on their corps member experience, participants discussed their passion for public
service. They detailed the role their family upbringing had in their commitment to serving others
and their dedication to TFA in order to work toward racial and social justice. Second, TFA
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 81

alumni participants detailed their belief in TFA’s mission and their passion for closing the
achievement gap.
Participant responses revealed two key findings with regard to the second research
question. First, participants indicated that their civic engagement was limited during their corps
member experience due to time constraints and limited capacity outside of the classroom.
However, participants also discussed the importance of their hometown connection in their
decision to join TFA and later to serve in public office.
The third research question highlighted three main findings detailing TFA alumni’s
decisions to serve in public office. First, participants discussed the role that their hometown
connection had in their decision to serve in office. Second, participants described their desire to
create a broad impact on the education system outside of the classroom setting by writing and
implementing policy, creating change, and advocating around local issues. Third, TFA alumni
detailed the role that their personal and professional networks played in their decision to serve in
office.
Finally, the results of the fourth research question indicated two connections between
TFA alumni’s roles in public office and TFA’s mission. Participants described their interest in
creating an impact on students and families on a larger scale, outside of the classroom. They saw
their decision to serve in office as a way to continue working toward TFA’s mission on a broader
scale. Second, participants detailed specific transferable knowledge and skills that they took from
their corps member experience and applied to their role in public office in order to ensure
educational equity.
The following sections provide detailed descriptions of the findings of the qualitative
interviews and document analysis. Findings are explored by theme and subthemes—known as
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 82

categories—identified by the coding formulated throughout the analysis process (see Appendix
F).
Theme 1: Importance of Public Service
In response to the first research question regarding TFA alumni perspectives on their
corps member experience, participants discussed their passion for public service. Interview
participants detailed their dedication and passion for public service as a motivator in not only
their decision to join TFA but also in their decision to serve in public office. Participants
described the impact that their family upbringing had on their passion for service. Findings also
indicated that valuing public service played a critical role in participants’ desire to join the corps.
Category 1: Family matters. Participants described the role of their family and their
childhood upbringing as important factors in their dedication to public service. For example,
Kaitlin described how her decision to work in education stemmed from her parents:
Both my parents were educators and I decided that after. . . going pretty far down in an
interview process with a non-profit based out of D.C., that I did not want to do that. I
wanted to work in the education sphere.
Another participant, James, described the role of faith and family history on his passion for
service:
I grew up in a progressive family where there were values of faith and service and giving
back. My family history, third generation. . . American immigrant story and education
was so impactful for my family. So, I was always inclined to do something of service.
These examples demonstrate how alumni’s family and personal history play a pivotal role in
their dedication to public service and their decision to join TFA.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 83

Family not only contributed to alumni’s affinity for service but, also, to their desire to get
involved with politics. For example, Grace described, “Public service was something I'd always
thought about. I was definitely raised that way. My mother was involved in politics, so it was
something I thought of from a really early age.” This showed how parent modeling and family
upbringing also impacted participants’ decisions to serve in public office.
In addition to personal family history and parental modeling, participant’s school
experiences contributed to their desire to serve others. For example, Alice offered, “I went to a
low-income school and saw the lack of opportunity that arises from low-income schools. I
wanted to help make a difference.” This reveals that personal education impacted this
participant’s decision to make a difference by joining TFA and, ultimately, serving in public
office. Overall, these examples highlight that family matters when it comes to a participant’s
dedication to public service.
Category 2: Why TFA? In addition to the role of family and an alumni’s personal
upbringing, the TFA’s commitment to service was an integral part of a participant’s decision to
join the corps. For example, when explaining why he joined TFA, Roberto said, “It was an
opportunity to continue community-oriented work that I had engaged in since high school.”
Brittney also viewed TFA as a way to build on her interests in public service and give back to
her community. She stated, “I've always been interested in public service. . . [TFA] could be a
great way to give back to my community and use my education for the benefit of others.” These
examples showed that participants were already committed to public service and viewed TFA as
an avenue to continue their work in the community in service of others.
Additionally, when asked about the reasons they were drawn to TFA, participants
described their desire to advocate for social and racial justice. For example, Alice explained, “I
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was starting to get really interested in social justice and racial justice and thought that education
was a really important lever for change to help people who were historically disadvantaged.”
Grace described her decision to join the corps as a second career in order to create social
change, “[TFA] was a second career for me and, so, I came out of [the] corporate [world] and
wanted to do something that had a bigger impact, socially.” Kaitlin stressed the importance of
working in a low-income community specifically as a way to fight for justice. She said, “I
wanted to work in low-income communities and give back. I wanted to just be teaching kids that
needed more advocacy and more help.”
Alice detailed the connection between teaching kids and social justice, explaining
“Teaching kids is definitely a really intimate experience. . . it definitely informed how strongly I
feel about social justice and is the grounding, one of the grounding reasons why I have chosen
the path that I have.” Finally, James discussed TFA’s role in working to solve injustice as an
organization, “TFA is. . . about being witnesses to injustice and then working to solve that
injustice.” Overall, these examples highlighted participants’ commitment to advocating for social
and racial justice issues. They believed that joining TFA would be a way to work toward both
racial and social justice in society.
In addition to advocacy and working to impact social justice issues, participants
expressed the importance of working with kids. For example, James reported:
Teach For America. . . was kind of the perfect marriage of my passion for service, and
my interest in working with kids. When I found it, it was kind of a no-brainer that that's
what I wanted to do.
Brittney described a conversation regarding students of color that she had with a TFA recruiter
that ultimately inspired her to join the corps:
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I met with a recruiter who was also Latina and she talked to me about the connections
that she had made with her students, and how powerful it was to be a role model of color
at the front of the classroom for the students of color and what a powerful relationship
that was for her, and it was that conversation that really inspired me to apply.
When asked about why they ultimately decided to join the corps, participants stressed a
commitment to public service that been instilled in them from a young age, their belief in social
and racial justice, and their desire to work with students of color.
Theme 2: Belief in TFA
In response to the first research question regarding TFA alumni perspectives on their
corps member experience, TFA alumni detailed their belief in TFA’s mission and closing the
achievement gap. In addition to their commitment to public service, participants also revealed
their deep belief in TFA’s mission of one day ensuring that all kids have the opportunity to
obtain an excellent education. Participants described their passion for closing the achievement
gap and explained the shift in their assumptions and mindsets about the organization over time.
Although most participants expressed their deep connection to TFA’s mission, the corps member
experience was omitted from all but one of the websites that were analyzed during this
dissertation study.
Category 1: Connection to the mission. All seven participants in this study highlighted
their connection to the mission of TFA. For example, Eva said:
I really do believe in the need for educational equity, no matter your zip code. I think as a
product of a low income community, I knew firsthand what it would have meant to have
teachers that truly believed that same mission. So, I think that that's why I gravitated
towards Teach for America.
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Alice emphasized the importance of TFA’s mission and what that would mean for kids in the
country, “The idea that we could actually have a society where every child has the opportunity
for a good education definitely resonates with me as pretty much a baseline of what should be
possible.” Finally, Grace noted, “The reason I joined Teach for America was because of the
mission and my belief in it.” These alumni stressed the importance of TFA’s mission and the role
it played in getting them into the classroom.
In addition to expressing his connection to TFA’s mission to expand educational
opportunities for kids, James stressed his belief in TFA as a leadership organization:
I think of TFA as a leadership. . . service organization, but with a real leadership
development mission. . . I think TFA's heart of achieving that is by. . . inculcating leaders
of tomorrow with the experience of having taught and understood firsthand what is
holding students back and how to solve it.
James found that TFA’s role as a leadership organization helps prepare future leaders by giving
them firsthand experience that can inform later decision-making.
Finally, in discussing their connection and belief in the mission of TFA, alumni also
described the long-term impact of the organization and its work toward ensuring educational
equity for all students. James explained the need for alumni to work toward TFA’s mission in
careers and roles outside of the classroom:
I think somebody who goes into the private sector and makes money and donates to their
local school, or sends their kids to a local school, or who votes with education in mind is
also fulfilling that mission. If everybody at TFA stayed in the classroom. . . [the mission]
wouldn't be amplified. If everyone became a school board member, that wouldn't be
enough. So, it really is [about] the diversity of experience.
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This quote revealed that while it was important to have TFA teachers and alumni in the
classroom, it was also essential to have alumni working outside of a school setting. James added,
“We need people in every part of society who have this experience and believe this is the civil
rights issue of our time.” Overall, these examples demonstrate alumni’s strong beliefs about the
importance of having long-term impact on public education outside of the classroom setting and
across all fields, including education.
Category 2: Closing the achievement gap. In detailing their belief in TFA, over half of
the participants stressed the importance of working toward equity and closing the achievement
gap. For example, James explained that ensuring student achievement and providing
opportunities for students to attend college were critical components of closing the achievement
gap. He noted, “At the end of the day, it's about increasing achievement. It's ensuring that every
kid graduates from one of our schools ready for college and career.” Grace explained her
commitment to equity and the role that her TFA corps member experience played in instilling
this mindset, “Equity is a big driver in all that I do, to really approach and be able to listen to
divergent viewpoints. It's something that the corps definitely instilled in me.” These examples
revealed participants’ belief in TFA and their commitment to closing the achievement gap and
ensuring educational equity.
Participants not only worked toward closing the achievement gap during their corps
member experience but also in their current roles in public office. For example, Brittney
discussed her role on a local school board. She explained how she still worked toward closing
the opportunity and achievement gaps that exist between students living in low-income
communities and their wealthier peers:
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In Los Angeles, as in many areas, you have significant opportunity and achievement gaps
between more affluent students and the low income students that the school district
primarily serves. In the community where I serve,. . . I have schools in the bottom 5% in
the state of California and I have schools that are in the top ten in the country. . . It's very
stark and I'm very passionate about closing those gaps and making sure that students in
my community have the same opportunities that kids in affluent areas on the west side
have because education is the key to uplifting people out of poverty. It opens doors. I
know that through my own experiences. So, I am very passionate about closing those
gaps. . . in my community.
This exemplified how participants worked toward closing the achievement gap as corps members
and continued working to close these gaps as school board members and local government
officials.
Finally, when asked how she worked toward equity and closing the achievement gap,
Alice explained that corps members and elected officials alike must be responsive to the needs of
the community. She argued:
The only way to help a community is [to] really understand it, and allow people to tell
you what they need instead of trying to come in with a plan already in your head and
think you know what's right for them.
Alice advocated that corps members cannot enter a community with a preconceived plan about
how to “save” kids. Public officials must listen to their constituents before determining specific
policies that will impact the greatest change. These examples highlighted the deep dedication
that participants had—both as corps members and as alumni—in working to close the
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achievement gap between students in low-income communities and those that live in advantaged
communities.
Category 3: Changing mindsets. While all seven participants discussed their dedication
to TFA’s mission and their work toward equity and closing the achievement gap, five also
discussed how their mindsets changed during their TFA corps member experience. Roberto
explained:
My views on education dramatically changed. I don't think I realized the systemic nature
of educational inequity or the impact it had on individuals. I also think that, at that time, I
had a. . . worldview in which people. . . were successful or they weren't and it was based
on their own ability and outside factors were not necessarily as important.
He also discussed how TFA altered his mindset and changed these viewpoints, stating:
Going through Teach For America. . . absolutely opened my eyes to the idea that there
were many, many capable children who just were not getting the support, the teaching,
[and] the development that they needed through their school, in order to achieve whatever
their highest opportunity, possibility, or potential was. . . My viewpoint. . . on educational
inequity was dramatically altered from my experience.
These examples illustrate the power of the TFA corps member experience to shift
mindsets and points of view, not only on the education system but also on the potential of
children and the importance of providing opportunities in order to achieve a quality education.
Kaitlin described how her corps member experience altered her views on racial, socioeconomic,
and class identities, explaining:
I think about how that experience really made me aware of the color of my skin and my
socioeconomic status and how those things really can affect your life, and just to be more
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aware of them and not be afraid to admit them and talk about them. [Now, I] understand
what white privilege means. I've just become more aware, I think, and I'm able to talk
about it without feeling as awkward. . . as some people do.
This example reinforced observations in the literature related to critical race theory and
highlighted the importance of the corps member experience on participants’ understanding of
personal privilege, race, socioeconomic status, and how these identities collide with education
systems.
Alice also described how the TFA corps member experience changed her thoughts on
helping others and building relationships:
Being in TFA and actually seeing students on a day-to-day basis helped me kind of step
out of some kind of white savior mentality that I may have had beforehand and
understand that the humanity, and the people. . . I was going to help.
It was due to her corps member experience that she realized that “the only way that you can
make changes is through partnership and respect, and mutual respect.” It was clear that TFA
played a pivotal role in assisting corps members to understand that helping others comes from
building mutual respect and trust.
While participants described their changing mindsets around the education system, race,
and socioeconomic status, two participants also explained how their thoughts about society and
schools shifted during their corps member experience. For example, James related, “It wasn't
until I got into the classroom that I understood how critical fixing schools was to the future of a
democratic society.” Similarly, Grace indicated:
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I came in in a very idealistic way. . . Once you get in to the reality of it, it is a challenge. I
think that that is where real change comes, by listening to those divergent viewpoints and
being able to represent people of service to them.
Finally, Eva discussed TFA’s role in creating a sense of ownership over the educational
experience of her students. She admitted, “TFA did a really good job of instilling in me a sense
of ownership over the whole educational experience.” Overall, these examples revealed the
evolving mindsets of corps members regarding race, educational equity, and personal privilege
throughout their TFA experience.
Category 4: Acknowledging TFA. While all seven participants stated a belief in TFA’s
mission and work toward closing the achievement gap, six of their seven websites did not
explicitly mention their affiliation with TFA. These websites discussed the participants’ teaching
experience broadly but did not openly name their corps member experience. Only Roberto’s
local government website clearly acknowledged his TFA participation. It stated, “Immediately
after graduation, he was recruited by Teach For America and taught. . . [in]Los Angeles while
earning a Master’s of Arts in Education.” The other six websites simply listed the alumni’s prior
teaching experience, including grade level and subject area.
When asked about her decision to include or exclude her TFA experience during her
campaign for school board, Eva conceded:
I actually omitted that I was a TFA'er when I was running because our union is very
strong here and I was working for a charter back then. . . I left TFA out of my entire
campaign because I didn't want to fall into the bubble of what a lot of folks here felt
Teach for America was. I didn't feel like it was a battle I wanted to take in that moment.
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This example demonstrated how one’s TFA affiliation could be contentious when running for
public office. Eva chose to omit her TFA experience because she didn’t want to fight a battle
over the merits of TFA during her campaign. Overall, participants chose to omit TFA from their
websites in order to remain neutral, given the public debates regarding the organization.
While six of the seven websites omitted the participant’s TFA corps member experience,
all seven websites analyzed included language similar to that found on TFA’s website. For
example, Brittney’s campaign website indicated that the reason she was running for board was
“because she knows there is so much more we need to do to ensure all children get the great
education they deserve.” James’ campaign website indicated, “He believes that together, with the
right leadership, we can ensure that every student in Los Angeles has the opportunity to
succeed.” Both of these examples use language similar to TFA, including its mission to ensure
that, “One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent
education.”
Additionally, three of the seven websites analyzed included pictures of the alumni with
students during their corps member experience. In other words, while participants did not
explicitly state their affiliation to TFA, they did include TFA-related language and photographs
that supported the mission of the organization. Overall, it was clear that while not explicitly
included on their websites, alumni still fostered TFA’s core values and outwardly worked toward
achieving its mission.
Theme 3: The Hometown Connection
The second research question was related to the role of the corps member experience on
TFA alumni’s civic engagement. The third research question asked about the TFA alumni’s
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decisions to serve in public office. Participants identified the important role of their hometown
connections in relation to these questions.
In addition to the importance of public service and their overall belief in TFA,
participants’ hometown connection played a significant role in their experience not only as TFA
corps members but also in their current roles in local government or on a school board. When
describing her experience as a TFA corps member in her community, Eva said, “I had very
strong roots to my community. . . For me, TFA was more of a bonus, to get that extra network,
but I already had my own roots [in the community].” This illustrates that while TFA played a
role in creating a network for Eva, her ties to the community were cultivated before she joined
the organization.
Participants expressed how their hometown played a key role in selecting their TFA
region as well as deepening their understanding of the work they did as corps members. For
example, Eva described her intentionality when selecting a placement region for her TFA corps
member experience. She detailed, “I was a local. I was very intentional about staying local.
When I did my Teach for America interview, I mentioned that I was interested in only doing
Teach For America if I stayed in LA.” Brittney explained that her experience as a TFA corps
member deepened her understanding of her hometown community:
I ended up being placed in the community where I grew up. I taught at a school that was
less than 10 minutes away from my family's home. . . It deepened my knowledge of the
community. . . I had not been familiar with and made me passionate about this
community in particular and helped me see. . . the challenges my own family faced. I was
a first generation college student, my mom was an immigrant, and so I know those
particular struggles. But, I think it enlightened me to some of the other broader challenges
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that the community faced and helped me realize that what I was experiencing was not in
isolation, that there were broader challenges that our community was facing.
These examples showed the impact of teaching in a community in which a corps member had a
hometown connection. These participants felt a deep connection to their region before they
started teaching; the TFA corps member experience enhanced their overall understanding of and
commitment to their community.
After having taught in her hometown, Brittney discussed her decision to run for the local
school board:
The election was in May 2017 and the current board member at that time decided to run
for City Council. So as all the dots were connecting, suddenly there was an open door in
the community where I grew up and where I had taught. . . I started to think there was a
possibility, but it took lots of different people convincing me for me to actually make the
decision to run.
Without the support and encouragement from the community members in her hometown,
Brittney would not have decided to run for school board. It was not only her hometown teaching
experience, but also the opportunity to make a broader impact in her community that inspired
Brittney to run for office.
Finally, the hometown connection was highlighted on all seven websites. Participants
detailed where they grew up and why serving in public office in their community was important
to them. Additionally, four of the seven participants currently served in the community near the
area in which they were raised. Websites highlighted that participants grew up in the local
neighborhood and were products of the local school district. This demonstrated the importance of
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a participant’s hometown connection to their community and illustrated why serving in their
hometown was so impactful.
The findings highlighted that environment impact people and that people, in turn,
influence their environments. In other words, participants’ hometown environment and family
upbringing impacted them; they, in turn, taught in their communities and ran for office in order
to impact their environments. Therefore, each of these examples showed the importance of the
hometown connection to not only the corps member experience but also to the decision to run for
public office. Alumni were able to make stronger connections to their community and were able
to deepen their understanding of the problems their families and students faced.
Theme 4: Creating a Broad Impact
The third research question related to TFA alumni’s decisions to serve in public office.
The fourth research question focused on the connection between their role in public office and
TFA’s mission. Participants detailed their desire to create a broad impact outside of the
classroom in relation to these questions. When asked about their decision to serve in public
office, all seven participants discussed their desire to create a broad impact on the education
system, on students, and on their community. They described the unique power that board
members and local politicians have in the community, the importance of creating tangible
change, and the advocacy of local issues to create that impact.
Category 1: The power in public service. Six of the seven participants discussed the
unique power they hold, and the opportunity they have to impact policy, whether they serve on a
school board or in local government. Participants indicated that this power and the opportunity to
make decisions and inform policies were the reasons they decided to serve in public office.
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Several participants specifically reflected on the power and importance of school board
positions. For example, Brittney acknowledged:
The board has the opportunity to make policies and budgeting decisions that affect
hundreds of thousands of kids. . . The school board makes a lot of decisions that impact
what our classrooms look like and what challenges we face. And, then, also, what
opportunities our students have. . . The board is a really powerful entity to help address
those challenges.
When asked about her decision to run for local government, Alice explained, “I hadn't really
thought of. . . [running] before. . . I didn’t really want to be a politician, but I wanted to make a
difference, I wanted to have a place of power where I could do that.” This example revealed that
although she didn’t aspire to be a politician, she wanted to take a role that would afford her the
power to make necessary change. These examples illustrate that TFA has an impact on politics
outside of the classroom. Overall, these statements indicate that participants understood the
power that comes with serving on a school board. They ultimately joined a school board in order
to use this power to create a broader impact.
Additionally, participants discussed impacting a greater number of people outside the
classroom as public leaders, rather than inside the classroom as teachers. Brittney described the
broad impact that being on a board would provide her, “I knew as a teacher I could effect change
with one student, but if I wanted to address [systemic issues] as broader set of challenges, I
would need to take my energy and my activism to a broader level.” Similarly, Kaitlin explained
that having a broad impact not only on students, but also on their parents and grandparents
inspired her to leave the classroom and run for school board:
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I left my teaching position. . . because I felt like could affect more people. . . We had
1,300 kids at our school,. . . [and I wanted to] affect the parents and their grandparents,
because they all lived in the same house. . . I [realized that I] could probably affect 5,000
[people].
Finally, James discussed his ability to work toward TFA’s mission in his role on the school
board by impacting thousands of additional students. He explained, “I am now in a position
where I can impact not just the 150 kids that I was teaching in Watts but 700,000 students, and
amplifying the same mission.”
When asked about the reasons that led to her decision to run for school board, Eva
explained, “The reason I ended up even running for office was because. . . I realized we needed
to have strong champions for our students sitting at the tables making those decisions that really
matter and affect true change.” Eva described making broad change outside of her classroom,
reporting, “My TFA experience. . . motivated me to get more involved. . . I had to be
comfortable with doing more than just affecting change within the four walls of my classroom.”
These examples indicated that participants chose to leave the classroom and run for
school board because they aimed to impact a greater number of children and a broader
community. They knew that serving on a local school board would afford them the opportunity
to create policies and make changes that would affect thousands of students, rather than just the
comparatively small number of students in their classrooms as teachers. These alumni
understood the need for advocacy outside the classroom and challenged themselves to affect
change on a broader level. They not only believed that they played a role in impacting the
achievement gap, but they decided to get involved in public service because they wanted to make
a broader impact.
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Furthermore, participants stressed their eagerness to not only write policy but also to
change existing policy in their new roles. For example, Eva expressed that in order to impact
formative change one must be part the policy-making process as well as the implementation of
the policy. She explained:
I feel like as part of Teach for America, one of the big lessons that most of us take away
is the whole concept of policy and that if you really want to hatch some formative
change, you need to be a part of the folks that make the policy, write the policy, and
implement it. I think for me, being on the school board, [I’m now] able to push forward
initiatives, and make very direct decisions that affect students dramatically and teachers
in the environment, and our culture overall.
This example demonstrates how corps members develop a strong understanding about the
importance of policy during their TFA experience. James also detailed the importance of school
boards in creating policy and the potential implementation issues, asserting, “Often, I think
policy is divorced from implementation and practice.” He also discussed the importance of
bringing the classroom perspective to the school board in order to help with these
implementation challenges. Overall, participant responses indicated that these TFA alumni were
taking more direct action in politics and were psychologically engaged with government.
Finally, in addition to writing policy and having an impact on a larger number of
children, participants discussed the importance of using their power to serve as a voice for
community members and stakeholders. For example, Grace said, “I’ve been able to be a conduit
and a voice for our stakeholders, to listen [and]. . . hear what they say and to represent them as a
bigger level of government.” In other words, Grace viewed her role on the school board as a
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place to speak on behalf of relevant stakeholders. She sought to represent her constituents and
serve as their voice on the board.
Participants saw the work they did as school board members as an extension to the work
they did in the classroom as TFA corps members. For example, James described, “The mission
of the why I do what I do has not changed. It's just my access point on that river has moved
upstream in the last two years.” Overall, these alumni believed they were working to further the
mission of TFA by making a broader impact on students and their families through policy
change and strategic decision-making rooted in their first-hand experience in the classroom.
Category 2: Creating change. In addition to the unique power that serving on a school
board provided TFA alumni, five of the seven participants also discussed their desire to create
change and fix broken systems. For example, when asked about why he decided to run for public
office, Roberto explained:
I saw dishonest politicians succeed in fooling residents who were uninformed or ill-
informed. And my community has relatively low college attainment and I felt like it was
a responsibility to step up having an education, having a college background and having
the means to at least connect with people in my community.
In other words, this TFA alumnus saw an injustice in his community and decided to run for
office so he could make a change. He believed that with his educational and teaching
background, it was his responsibility to take action. Similarly, Brittney decided to run for school
board in order to be a voice for kids during a time of uncertainty at the district. She reported:
[I ran] in the era of turnover of elective leaders, some criminal activity, and other
scandals. . . [I] realize[d] that there was an office for students,. . . to be a voice, and to be
the one who truly represents the community.
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James also sought to make a change due to his critical views of the current board. He said, “I saw
the impact that the board has and. . . I just didn't think [the incumbent school board member] was
doing a very good job.” These examples show how participants saw issues in the community and
decided to run for office in order to take action, fix broken systems, and make broad change.
Therefore, participants sought to make policy changes by serving in an official capacity.
Additionally, participants described the impact of national politics on their decision to
serve in public office. For example, Kaitlin said:
I was very disheartened by the [2016] election. I just couldn't figure out which angle I
wanted to try. I knew I was going to try something. I had a degree in politics from
college,. . . but I'd never served in an elected capacity. . . I was really interested in seeing
what I could do at a local level.
Alice was also impacted by the presidential election. She admitted, “After Trump was elected I
felt like I couldn't wait any longer to get involved in politics.” In both cases, participants felt
compelled to serve in public office after the 2016 presidential election.
Finally, when asked about their decision to serve in public office, participants explained
their thought process as driven by the question, “Why not me?” For example, Brittney explained,
“I was seeing the people who were making decisions and then realizing, ‘Well, if they can do it,
why can't I’?” Similarly, James found himself questioning his impact when talking with others,
“Every conversation [I had] ended with, ‘You seem passionate about this, you were a teacher.’
And enough of those conversations happened that I decided to run on behalf of my students and
my parents.” Overall, these examples revealed that the decision to run for public office was not
always clearly planned. Alumni found themselves questioning their impact and ultimately
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deciding that they had the knowledge and skills that would make them great candidates for
elected office.
Category 3: Advocating for local issues. Finally, in order to create a broad impact in
public office, participants advocated for specific local issues both inside and outside of the
classroom. Participants discussed their passion for local issues including advocating for English
Language Learners (ELLs), college access, teacher support, professional development, and wrap-
around services for students. For example, Brittney expressed her advocacy for ELLs:
Because I come from a family where many of my relatives don't speak English as a first
language,. . . I understood those struggles. . . English learners are a big focus, but also
making sure we are supporting our immigrant students, particularly in the political time
that we live in.
As a board member, she focused on bringing additional programs to her district that would help
these ELLs and immigrant students. She explained, “I’m really focused on bringing more of
those programs because teaching English learners in a language that they already understand
helps them develop their language skills in both their home language and in English.”
Additionally, both her campaign website and current school board website included a list of local
issues she supported, including supporting teachers, empowering school leaders, improving
school climate, engaging parents and families, and expanding college and career readiness for
students. Overall, these examples show that her time in the classroom as a TFA corps member
influenced the policies she advocated for as a current school board member.
Additionally, Eva discussed impacting policies related to college access. For example,
she argued, “As board members it is our job to ensure that we are preparing [students], by
providing the pathways and access necessary, so that they can have that choice [to attend
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college].” Her campaign website also highlighted similar issues, detailing her desire to advocate
for highly qualified teachers, college awareness for students and families, and career pathways
for students. She understood that it was the job of the school board to not only ensure that
students had choice about whether or not to apply for college, but that they also had a choice as
to which school they decide attended.
Participants also described the need for additional teacher support and professional
development opportunities in their districts. For example, James advocated, “Creating
opportunities for great educators to become school leaders and. . . realiz[ing] their own vision for
what their classroom in the school should be like is critical to me.” Both his campaign website
and current school board website highlighted these local issues. His priorities included the need
for additional workforce development and support as well innovation and creative thinking.
Similarly, Brittney described:
Too often I think our teachers are downgraded and forgotten and I felt that way as a
teacher sometimes. But, the school board has the opportunity to make sure they feel
supported, that their working conditions, value them, [and] that their salary is a reflection
of how important they are.
These examples revealed participants’ dedication to ensuring that teachers were supported,
become great school leaders, and had appropriate working conditions and salaries.
Finally, participants described their support for wrap-around services in their school
districts. For example, Brittney advocated, “Supporting the needs of our homeless students,
making sure that we're providing, not just mental health and wrap around support, but also
connections to housing and other resources in the community. . . is really important to me.” This
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highlighted the needs of students outside of the traditional academic supports they receive in the
classroom.
Participants of this dissertation study described an interest in impacting teacher support
and preparation as a policy issue. They also detailed their advocacy of local policy issues
including ELLs, college access, and wrap-around services for students. Overall, these
demonstrate how TFA alumni sought to advocate for student-focused policies after they left the
classroom.
Theme 5: Role of Networks
In response to the third research question, regarding TFA alumni’s decisions to serve in
public office, interview participants detailed the role of their TFA and LEE networks.
Participants also described the role that their TFA and LEE networks played in their decision to
serve in public office and on their campaign. Participants discussed the various supports they
received from their TFA network and detailed the lasting relationships that fueled their current
work. Finally, interview participants described the involvement of LEE in their campaigns. They
detailed the specific candidate support and professional development opportunities that were
provided by the organization.
Category 1: TFA network. First, participants discussed the impact of their TFA network
on their decision to serve in public office and on their campaign. While most participants
explained the power of their personal connections with their TFA corps members and others
affiliated with the organization, some reported that TFA as an organization was not helpful with
their campaign. For example, Roberto complained, “Teach For America was not necessarily
helpful as an organization. That probably stems from the fact that they're a 501c3 and can't get
involved in that type of stuff.” In other words, due to its status as a nonprofit or charitable
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organization, TFA is restricted in its political and legislative activities (IRS, n.d.). This means
that as a formal organization, TFA is unable to campaign on behalf of specific candidates
running for office, even their own alumni.
However, when asked about TFA’s role in her campaign, Brittney discussed reaching out
to local TFA Los Angeles leadership before she began her campaign. She reported:
First, as I was considering running, I reached out to some of the leadership locally to get
their thoughts on my running because of course, TFA is a big influencer in education
politics in the region, and so I wanted to reconnect with those folks.
This demonstrates that Brittney believed in the power of her TFA network to help her get elected
so she could make policy changes in the community. Therefore, while TFA could not officially
support specific candidates for school board, alumni still valued the influence that the
organization had in the community.
Participants also indicated that their informal TFA network, including their fellow corps
members, alumni, and friends, contributed to their campaign by volunteering. For example,
Brittney said, “It wasn't like there was a ton of people involved deciding who would come out
and volunteer for me. It was mostly corps members who I taught with or I was in the graduate
program with.” She continued, “I reached out to all of the corps members who I had relationships
with to ask them to volunteer or to donate.” Similarly, Eva detailed, “A couple of friends that I
was able to make through my TFA experience. . . came to my kick-off and have been supportive
in different ways.”
These findings revealed that participants relied on their informal TFA network and the
relationships they built during their corps member experience, rather than the formal supports
provided by the organization, to help with their campaigns. Overall, these examples show that
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although TFA as an organization could not advocate for a particular candidate, an alumni’s
informal TFA network played a key role in supporting their campaigns.
Finally, participants shared that their informal TFA network played an important role in
fundraising for their campaigns. For example, James admitted, “My network of teachers and
fellow corps members. . . [were] really helpful in everything from fundraising to getting
volunteers to really taking me through policy areas and how certain ideas would work in
practice.” He continued, “My personal network through TFA and also some of their national
donors were helpful in fundraising and so much of running is fundraising.” These examples
illustrate that while the organization did not, or could not, support these alumni with help in
fundraising, the personal relationships that they built during the corps had an impact on their
campaigns. Therefore, TFA alumni were able to draw upon these elite power networks as a
strong base of support during the campaign process. These examples indicated that TFA alumni
relied on their power networks to contribute to their campaigns.
Category 2: LEE network. In addition to volunteer and fundraising support from their
TFA network, all seven participants described the support they received from LEE. Participants
detailed specific campaign strategy support and coaching, direct support including volunteering
and letter writing, and leadership and professional development opportunities provided to them
by the organization.
First, participants spoke about the campaign strategy support and coaching they received
from LEE. Roberto stated, “LEE was helpful in providing strategy, specifically strategic support
in networking.” Eva added, “Once I actually decided to run, I did have the support of LEE. . .
They were extremely supportive. LEE ended up being able to help me out, in different ways. . .
They provided me a campaign manager.” Similarly, Kaitlin detailed, “They set me up with. . . a
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whole team of people, and said, ‘Here, this is how you do [this], and this is what you do.’ It was
a little overwhelming, but it was definitely tons of support.” Furthermore, Grace described the
strategy and coaching support that LEE offered during her campaign:
They definitely reached out and offered coaching. . . [on] how to crystallize my priorities
[and] what my message was and were very helpful in that regard. There were definitely
out there and definitely there to support me in whatever I choose to do.
Finally, Brittney detailed her experience working with her LEE coach. She discussed the
invaluable technical assistance provided by her campaign coach as well as the networking
support. She explained:
I didn't know much about the education policies. . . [and] I didn't know about the donor
network. I didn't know about the process of running. . . [My LEE coach] was really
pivotal in connecting me with some local elected leaders. . . He connected me with folks
in the education reform community. . . [and] gave me tons of wise advice [and] counsel.
There were also a number of hiccups along the way and many times it felt like the deck
was stacked against me. . . LEE. . . [was] there for me. . . Not only was that really
important when it came to me winning, [but] I also don't think I would have run unless I
had their support.
Together, these examples illustrated not only the campaign support that LEE provided for these
alumni, but also the specific coaching and mentoring that enabled participants to serve in office.
Second, participants detailed LEE’s direct support of their campaign through things like
fundraising, letter writing, and website development. For example, Eva revealed, “They also
helped me with some of the fundraising, not too much, but just enough to. . . make me feel like I
was getting additional support.” Kaitlin also described LEE’s help with her “dear neighbor”
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letter, aimed at informing her community about her intent to run and her stance on specific
issues. She said, “[LEE] and I worked kind of tirelessly on getting my dear neighbor letter and
basically my application ready. . . [LEE] proofread everything, [and] gave me lots of help.”
Kaitlin also discussed LEE’s support with her campaign website:
LEE really was instrumental in. . . get[ting] your pictures, get[ting] your website,
get[ting] all these things. And they really organized me in a way that both was
overwhelming but comforting that someone else was going to help me through it because
I had never done a campaign before.
Overall, these examples highlighted the direct services that LEE provided these participants so
they felt supported and confident during their campaigns.
Lastly, four of the seven participants described the leadership and professional
development opportunities that LEE provided them both before and after they decided to run for
public office. For example, Roberto described one of LEE’s national workshops that he attended.
He stated, “LEE offered me workshop development and campaign strategy development through
national workshops that they sent me to, that helped me build my ability to campaign
effectively.” Furthermore, alumni described retreats and academies hosted by LEE. Alice
recalled:
[LEE was] super-instrumental . . . and [it has] continued to be in my development with
the neighborhood council. . . Through LEE I have gone to several events, one in D.C. and
one in Denver, where I got to meet other TFA alumni that are in similar positions, and
that was super inspiring and re-energizing because we had this shared experience from
our past that also informed what we care about now in politics.
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Grace also attended a LEE-sponsored event in Washington D.C. In speaking about her time at
the conference, she said, “I attended the Women's Leadership Conference in D.C. that was
funded by LEE. . . [It] definitely helped to crystallize what I wanted to do with my priorities and
goals going in [to office].” These examples revealed the varied LEE opportunities these
participants took advantage of in order to build their own professional and leadership skills.
Theme 6: Transferable Knowledge & Skills
The fourth research question related to the connection between TFA alumni’s role in
public office and TFA’s mission. Responses revealed that TFA alumni acquired specific
transferable knowledge and skills as a result of their corps member experience. Participants
identified specific practitioner skills, honed during their time in the corps, that they were able to
transfer to their current roles in public office. They detailed the advantages and disadvantages of
serving on a school board or in local government after having been a TFA corps member.
Category 1: Practitioner Skills. First, participants described the specific knowledge and
skills they gained during their TFA corps member experience. They believed that having
classroom experience made them uniquely qualified to handle the challenges associated with
public service. For example, all seven of the websites analyzed as part of this dissertation study
listed the participant’s practitioner experience. Five of the websites included the word
“firsthand” when referring to their own experience as a teacher in the classroom. Furthermore,
participants explained how they were able to directly apply these skills to their campaign and to
their current role in public office. For example, Roberto stated:
I think there are some tangential skills that made me successful, at least in my
campaigning, because I have worked with students and with people, young aspiring men
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and women. I think that really helped me to draw young people who wanted to be a part
of a campaign to help.
Additionally, Grace detailed, “Those basic experiences from my school site have carried on. . .
[and influenced] how I continue my teaching practice as well as [how I engage] on the
[neighborhood] council.” Together, these examples reveal how working with students in the
classroom during the corps member experience shaped these participants’ campaigns.
Second, participants described the importance of having practitioner knowledge in order
to create effective policy. For example, Brittney explained:
Now as an elected official, looking to teachers and making sure that I am deeply
connected to the classroom is something that's really important to me, because if you
don't have the practitioner knowledge,. . . you can create policy. But, if you don't
understand what that looks like in practice at the ground level the policy won't work and
it probably won't be responsive to the needs of the community.
James also detailed the importance of having school board members who understood first-hand
what happens in the classroom. He explained, “It's important to have [school] board members
who understand what goes on in the classroom, the challenges our students face, the challenges
our teachers face, and how to anticipate how our policy decisions are going to look on the
ground.” These examples highlighted the importance of having first-hand knowledge of how a
classroom runs in order to create effective policies that impact students and their families.
Additionally, Alice stated, “My interest in child well-being stems a lot from my experience in
TFA. And, so, there's a lot of times where policies that we're going to take a stand on. . . are
motivated by that experience.” Together, these examples show how the corps member
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experience influenced participants beyond their two years in the classroom and in their roles on a
local school board.
Furthermore, Alice provided a specific example of how her TFA corps member
experience influenced her decision-making on the neighborhood council. She detailed:
There was a development that was going to come in next to a school, and they really
hadn't done a good job of talking to the school or the school district about what that
would mean for the school. So, I was one of the people asking questions about noise and
pollution for the kids, how it would disrupt learning if they were doing construction. And
I ultimately chose to vote not to support that development as it was.
This example highlights how Alice used her prior experience in the classroom working with
students to influence her thought process and ultimately her vote on an issue that would impact
schools and families.
Finally, participants explained how their classroom management skills, practiced during
their TFA corps member experience, directly influenced the ways in which they interacted and
managed adults in their public service role. For example, Alice detailed:
Having teaching experience allows me to have difficult conversations with people, and
kind of manage a room with more authority than I would have otherwise, because I think
even though they're adults, there's still similar problems. People still need to respect me if
I'm the leader, and I need to manage lots of different personalities and know how to build
relationships. A lot of that kind of leadership skill set I have, I learned from being a
teacher.
Additionally, Eva discussed the transferability of classroom management skills in managing
adult interactions. She explained:
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When I've had a meeting and there's a bunch of people with strong opinions in the room,
I can handle it then, and also know how to follow up with them and have conversations
and keep those relationships. I don't think I would have known to do that otherwise,
because I had to do that so often with my students.
Overall, these examples show the transferability of the classroom management skills participants
honed during the corps apply to their current roles working with adults in public office.
Category 2: TFA advantage. In addition to applying specific teaching skills and
knowledge to policing-making and adult interactions, participants discussed specific advantages
that the TFA corps member experience provided them in their current roles. When asked about
the advantages alumni saw in working for the local government or school board given their TFA
experience, five of the seven participants provided specific examples. For example, Roberto said:
My experience as an elected official is definitely colored by my experience facing deep
inequities in the classroom. [I] see how those deep inequities carry over into other forms
of government and want to address those deep rooted inequities, specifically in my
community.
Kaitlin indicated that her experience as a TFA corps member helped with her decision-making
on the school board. She stated, “My experience at TFA. . . helped me figure out how to have a
voice and do the right thing. . . It helped me. . . look at the landscape wearing multiple hats.”
Together, these examples highlighted participants’ perspectives that their TFA corps member
experience provided them advantages in their current roles in office.
Additionally, participants discussed the credibility that their TFA corps member
experience brought to their role on a school board. Kaitlin said:
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I feel like people,. . . because of my Teach for America experience and my experience in
a different community and then my experience with being a principal, . . . trust my
opinion on certain things. They appreciate that I'm even, [fair, and consistent]. . . That's
why I got into it, because I felt like I could do a good job.
Eva also discussed her credibility on the school board and how she utilized her standing to bring
in additional opportunities for students. She explained, “I'm usually the one that recruits and
brings in new programs, new partnerships, to ensure we'll still [be] creating more and more
pathways for our students. I think that my classroom experience is what's giving me that
credibility.” These examples indicated that alumni gained credibility and trust in their roles in
office due to their corps member experience.
Furthermore, participants detailed how their TFA corps member experiences helped
prepare them for their public service roles by helping to decrease the steep learning curve. For
example, Kaitlin stated:
If I didn't have the background I have, I think it would just be a larger learning curve.
There's already a lot to learn on the school board in terms of policies and education code
and things you can say and things you can't say and the way the school boards are
supposed to act and ways you act.
Similarly, Alice asserted, “Teaching really only made me better, as far as being a leader or being
an official.” Overall, these examples indicated that serving as a TFA corps member helped
prepare participants for their roles in office, which they viewed as an advantage.
Category 3: Teaching disadvantages. While five participants discussed the advantages
of serving on a school board or in local government after having been a TFA corps member, four
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participants also discussed the disadvantages they faced having previously been a classroom
teacher. For example, Eva explained:
One of the greatest disadvantages is taking off your classroom teacher hat. Often times,
it's easy for you to just want to be on the teacher side at all times, because it's what comes
naturally to you. Especially because you've struggled, then you've known what that's like.
Being on the board also means that you have to stay neutral in certain areas, like
negotiation process.
In other words, her teaching experience made it difficult for Eva to remain neutral and look
beyond her views as a classroom teacher.
In addition to neutrality, participants discussed the challenges they faced in staying out of
the details while on a school board or in local government after having been a classroom teacher.
For example, Kaitlin said, “Sometimes I can get into the ‘how to do things’ and not stay on the
‘what we're going to do,’ like the bigger picture. I probably get more into the weeds than I
probably should.” Similarly, Eva explained:
I feel like I am much more connected to the cause and I do take things a little bit more
personally, which is why it's hard to stay unbiased. I think of myself as a teacher, so it's
hard to be like, oh this is not something I can be a part of. That's a huge disadvantage. My
other colleagues are great at understanding when to stay in their lane. For me it's like, I'm
all-inclusive. I'm a teacher, I know all of it. . . [and how it] affects us somehow. That's a
really hard part.
These examples revealed that while having first-hand experience in the classroom was an
advantage when serving in public office, it also impacted participants’ abilities to remain neutral
and focus on the bigger picture outside of the classroom setting.
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Finally, participants discussed the lack of direct control and governance issues as specific
disadvantages they faced having previously been a classroom teacher. For example, James
explained:
One disadvantage is the job of school boards is governance and the job of the
superintendent is management and I think that gets blurred when you have too many
people who have been in classrooms because they want to manage, especially people who
have been principals too. They want to run stuff and they're supposed to oversee stuff and
that's not the job of a well-functioning school board so you have some mission creep
there and we remind ourselves that we set the vision and we hire people to execute it and
if they're not doing a good job we should fire them. But it's not our job to micromanage.
That's not the job a school board.
This demonstrates how James struggles with some of the responsibilities of his role on the school
board. Even though he had specific classroom management skills practiced during his corps
member experience, he understood that managing staff was not his responsibility on the school
board.
Additionally, Grace described, “In your classroom you have more direct control. . . [At]
the school site though, you don't. City government. . . is much the same. . . You have very little
power overall to shift the big picture.” In other words, Grace had to shift her expectations about
the power she had in local government. She was used to managing her classroom in a specific
way and having more direct control than she currently had on the neighborhood council. These
examples highlighted the disadvantages when it came to locus of control participants faced after
having served in the classroom.
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While participants revealed various disadvantages they faced in public service after
having been in the classroom, participants believed that the advantages outweighed the
disadvantages. For example, James asserted, “I think there are way more advantages than
disadvantages in having been a teacher and being on the board. . . None of it is as difficult as
being a classroom teacher.” Therefore, participants found that their classroom experience only
made them stronger in their current roles on a school board or in local government.
Summary
These findings revealed the participants’ perceptions of their TFA corps member
experience, the impact their corps member experience had on their civic engagement and their
decision to serve in public office, and the connection between their roles in public office and the
mission of TFA. Theme 1 detailed the importance of public service, including the influence of
each participant’s family upbringing, as well as TFA’s focus on public service.
Theme 2 described participants’ belief in TFA. Each participant expressed their
dedication to TFA’s mission to ensure that all kids have the opportunity to obtain an excellent
education, and detailed their passion for closing the achievement gap. However, six of the seven
participants omitted their affiliation with TFA from their campaign and current office websites as
a result of not wanting to be publicly connected to the organization.
Theme 3 highlighted the importance of alumni’s hometown connections and community.
These connections influenced participants’ decision to join TFA and ultimately run for public
office.
Theme 4 detailed participants’ desires to make a broad impact on their students and
families by serving in public office. This included participants’ belief in the power of public
service and their passion for creating change. Finally, participants described the various issues
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they advocated for, including college access, teacher support and professional development, and
providing supports for English Language Learners.
Theme 5 discussed the role that participants’ TFA and LEE networks had on their
campaigns. Participants detailed the limited involvement of TFA as well as the specialized and
robust campaign support provided by LEE. They shared the one-on-one coaching they received,
as well as fundraising support and the opportunity to attend leadership development conferences
and events hosted by the organization.
Theme 6 detailed the transferable knowledge and skills that participants gained during the
corps and currently apply to their roles in public office. Participants discussed their classroom
management skills, adult management skills, and the ability to make strategic decisions. Finally,
participants expressed the advantages of serving in office after having been a TFA corps
member, and the value of these over a few resulting disadvantages.
In closing, the findings revealed that participants valued their TFA corps member
experience because it allowed them to engage in meaningful public service. Overall, participants
believed in the mission of TFA and decided to serve in public office because they wanted to have
a broader impact in the community. Additionally, they viewed their work in public office as an
extension of their work in the classroom, closing the achievement gap and working toward
providing equitable opportunities for students and community members. Finally, participants
utilized the various formal and informal networks they built throughout their careers in education
and successfully transferred key skills and mindsets to their roles outside of the classroom.

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Chapter Five: Discussion
Teach For America was founded by Wendy Kopp in 1990 in order to place high-quality
teachers in low-income schools and develop alumni to create long-term lasting change in the
field of education. Kopp knew that many TFA alumni would stay in the classroom beyond their
two years of service but she also envisioned that others would influence the field of education
from outside the four walls of a classroom. Kopp believed that these alumni would eventually
affect local and state policy by becoming mayors, state legislators, and members of Congress
(Kopp, 2001). Today, TFA alumni hold a wide variety of positions including roles in local
government as well as with policy and advocacy organizations.
Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) was founded in 2007 and seeks to develop the
leadership skills of TFA alumni who are passionate about creating change in their communities.
The organization offers its members access to fellowships, one-to-one coaching workshops, and
other resources.
Most empirical research on TFA falls into four main categories: the conceptual debate
over the organization, corps member effectiveness, first-person narratives of the corps member
experience, and alumni engagement and career decisions. Very little empirical research has been
conducted on the long-term impact of TFA alumni and the political influence of the organization
(Boyd et al., 2006; Darling-Hammond et al., 2005; Raymond et al., 2001). Even fewer studies
have focused specifically on TFA alumni and their civic and/or political engagement after their
time as corps members (Jacobsen & Linkow, 2014; Scott et al., 2016). Additionally, little is
known about the perspectives of these alumni on their corps member experiences and why some
alumni ultimately decide to seek public office. There are additional gaps in the literature
regarding the support TFA alumni receive during their campaigns and how their public service
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connects to the mission of TFA. Chapter Five provides an overview of the study and details
specific findings. It concludes by presenting study implications and future research topics.
Overview of the Study
The purpose of this dissertation study was to examine the TFA corps member experience
and the role it played in alumni’s decisions to serve in public office in the greater Los Angeles
area. Understanding the corps member experience and public service decisions of TFA alumni is
critical not only to the organization but also to the larger field of education. This is particularly
true today, given how the alumni body continues to grow and move beyond the classroom into
policy and advocacy roles in the community. Grounded in Putnam’s Declining Social Capital
Theory (1995), the Teach For America Conceptual Framework (Scott et al., 2016), and
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1994), this study utilized multiple qualitative case
studies focused specifically on TFA alumni who serve in public office at the time of this
research. Seven participants that were identified as having served as a TFA corps member and
held public office, including positions on school boards, city councils, and local neighborhood
councils at the time of this research participated in the study.
Additionally, this study focused on four research questions. First, this dissertation
highlighted TFA alumni perspectives on their corps member experience and how alumni
perceived the impact of their corps member experience on their civic engagement. Second, it
focused on how TFA alumni described their decision to serve in public office. Finally, this study
sought to understand how TFA alumni perceived the connection between their role in public
office and the mission of TFA to ensure educational equity.

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Summary of Findings
When asked about their perspectives on their corps member experience, participants
discussed their passion and commitment to public service. TFA alumni discussed the impact of
their family upbringing and the influence it had on their decision to join TFA. Most notably, this
study revealed that participants joined TFA because they sought to make a greater social impact.
They were passionate about racial and social justice; they wanted to work with students of color
in order to impact the achievement gap. Participants also expressed their deep commitment to
TFA’s mission. Overall, they believed in working toward educational equity for all students and
deeply valued their time spent in the classroom.
When asked about the role their corps member experience had on their civic engagement,
however, participants explained that they had little involvement in local issues during their time
as corps members due to the significant time constraints of being new teachers. However,
participants did express that their ties to the community and their connection to their hometown
played a large role in the networks they developed during their time in the corps.
When asked to describe their decision to seek public office, TFA alumni explained that
the connections they had to their hometown community was an influential factor in their decision
to serve. They also discussed their desire to create change and influence policy that would impact
a greater number of students beyond those they would have taught in the classroom. Participants
detailed the important role of their informal TFA network and how the support of LEE had
greatly influenced not only their decisions to seek public office but, also, their ultimate success
in obtaining office.
When asked about the connection between their roles in public office and TFA’s mission,
alumni participants reported that their roles in office were an extension of TFA’s mission to
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ensure that all children in America have the opportunity to obtain an excellent education.
Participants also described the skills they were able to transfer from their corps member
experiences to their current leadership roles in public office.
Overall, participants were deeply impacted by their experiences as TFA corps members.
While some participants expressed initial skepticism of the organization, all alumni felt a passion
for TFA’s mission to close the achievement gap and work toward educational equity. While they
were committed to their roles in office, participants continued to express the importance of
teachers and their own time in the classroom. James summed this up when he argued, “The most
important room in a school district is not the boardroom. It's the classroom.”
Findings from this dissertation study contradicted Putnam’s (1995) Theory of Declining
Civic Engagement in the United States that society is disengaged from government and politics
and suffers from declining civic engagement. Each of the seven participants interviewed for this
dissertation study were inspired to get involved in local government or their local school board
because they were interested in and committed to making an impact on policy in their
community. In contrast to Putnam’s theory regarding an increasingly disillusioned and
disengaged society, these alumni participants were engaged in local politics and sought to impact
a larger number of students than they would have had they chosen to stay in the classroom.
While findings from this study contradicted Putnam (1995), results both confirmed and
challenged two components of Scott et al.’s (2016) Teach For America Conceptual Framework
(2016). Scott et al. (2016) believed that, as an organization, TFA is a political and social
movement with implicit and explicit ideological and political underpinnings. They argued that
the organization’s primary impact occurs when corps members complete their teaching
experience and move into roles outside of the classroom. As discussed above, Scott et al. (2016)
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developed the Teach For America Conceptual Framework to illustrate the impact of TFA alumni.
The intersection of ideology, identity, and social networks of TFA alumni is at the center of this
framework.
Findings from this dissertation study contradicted Scott et al.’s (2016) assertions
regarding managerial leadership. They argued that TFA develops individualized leadership styles
that highlight individual performance, leaving out relationship building, civic participation, and
social justice (Scott et al., 2016). Contrary to this argument, however, alumni participants in the
current research study described themselves as deeply connected to broader community issues
during their corps member experience because of their involvement with TFA.
Additionally, unlike Scott et al.’s (2016) policy entrepreneur concept, where individuals
make policy change outside of the formalized policy process, participants in this dissertation
research sought to make policy changes by serving in an official capacity and within formalized
structures. In other words, participants sought to make policy changes in order to create a
broader impact; and, they decided to serve in office and in an official capacity in order to make
these changes.
However, other findings from this study reinforce Scott et al.’s (2016) elite power
network concept. Scott et al. (2016) argued that elite power networks create social and policy
change. Furthermore, they believed that TFA supports alumni who enter the field of policy and
advocacy. Findings indicated that participants utilized their informal TFA network and additional
networks to successfully run for and win roles in public service. Therefore, alumni utilized their
elite power networks in order to create both social and policy change.
Finally, findings from this study support Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
(1994). As analyzed above, Bronfenbrenner (1994) found that the environment not only impacts
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people, people also impact their environment. For example, participants were impacted by their
hometown environment and family upbringing; alumni, in turn, impacted their environment by
teaching in the community and eventually serving in office. Participants were able to take the
lessons they learned while they were in the classroom and apply this knowledge and skills to
advance their roles in public service. In other words, TFA alumni were influenced by their two
years in the classroom and used these experiences to further impact their environment as alumni
in office.
Implications for Practice
The results of this study extended the limited literature on TFA and its influence on
policy and civic engagement as it pertains to TFA alumni. While focused on a small group of
TFA alumni in the greater Los Angeles area, this study was significant because it examined the
corps member experience and public service decisions of alumni. Findings from this dissertation
study can be used to inform future decisions made by both TFA and LEE in several ways.
First, findings of this study can be used to help inform future decisions and programming
for TFA. Knowing that alumni value TFA’s commitment to public service and are committed to
their mission long-term, the organization can continue evolving and working to end racial and
social injustice by providing high-quality educational opportunities for all kids. Additionally,
understanding that alumni have deep connections to their hometown community, TFA can
consider placing corps members in communities where they have strong ties to local
organizations. Furthermore, because the findings of this dissertation study revealed that TFA
alumni sought to create a broad impact outside of the classroom and to advocate for local issues,
the organization should continue providing professional development and leadership
opportunities for corps members that develop these advocacy and policy skills while they are still
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 123

in the classroom. For example, providing training focused on school board governance and local
government structures would be helpful as corps members consider their options for making a
broader impact. This will ensure that TFA alumni are equipped to take on roles in local
government and on school boards, if and when they leave the classroom. Knowing that specific
practitioner skills and knowledge are transferable from the classroom to roles in local
government and on school boards, TFA should continue developing their corps member training
and coaching model to ensure that corps members hone these skills and can apply them to
diverse roles in their communities.
Second, the findings of this dissertation can also be used to inform decision-making and
programming for LEE. Understanding that a long-term connection to the mission of TFA is
important to alumni as they seek positions outside the classroom, LEE should continue refining
its messaging regarding its role in closing the achievement gap and working toward racial and
social justice. While not impacting students, parents, and families directly, LEE can stress its role
in supporting TFA alumni as they seek to create broader impacts. Additionally, LEE can
continue supporting corps members as they advocate for local policy issues. Finally, findings
from this study revealed that LEE’s support was critical to alumni participants who ran
campaigns for school board and local government. Therefore, LEE should continue providing
campaign strategy support and coaching, direct support including volunteering and letter writing,
and leadership and professional development opportunities for TFA alumni. Alumni found these
LEE supports critical to their campaigns and viewed LEE as an integral thought partner. LEE
should continue providing these supports and increase alumni awareness of open seats on school
boards and in local government in their hometowns.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 124

Future Research
As discussed previously, while there is a growing interest in the political influence of
TFA, little research has been conducted on the political and civic engagement of TFA alumni.
This dissertation study focused on the perspectives of TFA alumni regarding their corps member
experiences and their decisions to serve in public office. While this study utilized case studies
focused on TFA alumni in the greater Los Angeles area, future research should focus on TFA
alumni in larger geographic locations. Given the large number of alumni and the increasing focus
on policy, TFA alumni in other regions have also taken positions in local government, state
government and school boards. A larger research study focused on the varied decision-making
processes of alumni nationally would add significantly to the literature and create a more robust
picture of alumni across the country.
Additionally, further research should include a longitudinal case study to examine the
specific policy decisions influenced by TFA alumni. Researching not only the perspectives of
these alumni but, also, how their views translate into actual policy decisions would provide
deeper insights into how TFA creates real change. Understanding perspectives of the corps
member experience and decisions to seek public office are just the first steps to more fully
understanding how the organization fulfills its mission to provide equal access and quality
education for all children inside the classroom and in roles outside traditional teaching position.
Conclusion
This study aimed to examine the TFA corps member experience and the decisions of
TFA alumni in Los Angeles as they chose to seek public office. Throughout the study, the
researcher was able to make connections to her own corps member experience as a 2010 Los
Angeles cohort corps member. She reflected on her own commitment to TFA’s mission and her
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 125

passion for serving others. She was reminded of the importance of her hometown and her
decision to serve in Los Angeles, just 20 minutes away from where she grew up. The transferable
skills alumni participants described also resonated with her. This researcher was able to consider
how the skills she practiced during her time as a teacher applied to her current role and could
serve her in future service roles. Finally, this study allowed the researcher to consider her own
impact and how she chose to affect change once she was beyond her two-year commitment as a
TFA corps member.
While findings of this study highlighted the perspectives of TFA alumni regarding their
corps member experiences and their decisions to serve in public, additional research and further
studies should include TFA alumni from across the county and examine their policy-making
decisions. Longitudinal data studies should explore how TFA alumni create school board
resolutions and write local policies. Further research should focus on policy implementation in
order to provide robust information on how TFA prepares alumni to shape the field of education
through policy and systems change. These studies would significantly add to the limited research
regarding the impact of TFA alumni and their civic engagement over time.
More importantly, such research and the understandings it would generate would bring
Teach For America closer to achieving its mission of closing close the achievement gap for
underserved students. It would bring America closer to achieving educational equity, where all
children have the opportunity to obtain an excellent education.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 126

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Appendix A: IRB Approval

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 136

Appendix B: Theoretical Framework Alignment Matrix

Research Questions Theoretical Framework Data Instrument
Question
What are Teach For America alumni perspectives on
their corps member experience?
Teach For America
Conceptual Framework
(Scott, Trujillo, and Rivera,
2016)
Interview Questions:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
How do TFA alumni perceive the impact of the
corps member experience on their own civic
engagement?

America’s Declining Social
Capital (Putnam, 1995)

Ecological Systems Theory
(Bronfenbrenner, 1994)

Teach For America
Conceptual Framework
(Scott, Trujillo, and Rivera,
2016)
Interview Questions:
7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12
How do Teach For America alumni describe their
decision to serve in public office?
America’s Declining Social
Capital (Putnam, 1995)

Ecological Systems Theory
(Bronfenbrenner, 1994)

Teach For America
Conceptual Framework
(Scott, Trujillo, and Rivera,
2016)
Interview Questions:
13, 14, 15, 16 & 17
How do TFA alumni perceive the connection
between their role in public office and Teach For
America’s mission to ensure educational equity?

Ecological Systems Theory
(Bronfenbrenner, 1994)

Teach For America
Conceptual Framework
(Scott, Trujillo, and Rivera,
2016)
Interview Questions:
18, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 137

Appendix C: Appointed Official Interview Protocol

Name:
Date Interviewed:
Start Time of Interview:
End Time of Interview:

INTRODUCTION

My name is Avery Seretan, and I am a student at the University of Southern California working
on a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership. I am conducting a dissertation research
study focused on the civic engagement of TFA alumni in the greater Los Angeles area.

Your participation will involve a 1-hour interview. You may choose not to participate or to
withdraw from the study at any time, and you may do so without penalty or loss of benefit to
yourself. In this research, there are no foreseeable risks to you. Is now still a good time for your
1-hour interview?

INTRODUCE THE STUDY

The questions I am going to ask are specific to your corps member experience and the decision
to serve as an appointed official. For the purpose of this interview, there is no right or wrong
answer. I’m interested in hearing your perspectives and the nature of our conversation is not
evaluative. This interview is confidential and your name will not be shared with anyone outside
the research team. I will not share your responses with other elected officials, TFA alumni or
corps members, TFA staff, or LEE staff, so please respond honestly to each question. Would it
be okay to record this interview today? I want to ensure that I accurately capture everything you
say during the interview.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Prior to your TFA placement, where did you attend college?

2. What was your TFA corps year?

3. What subject did you teach?

4. In which region was your placement school located?

5. Why did you decide to join TFA?

Probe. When did you first begin to think about public service?

6. From your perspective, what is the mission of TFA?

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 138

7. What, if any, professional networks were you able to develop in the community during
your time as a corps member? Please provide an example.

8. In what ways, and to what extent, did these networks benefit TFA? Please provide an
example.

Probe. In what ways, and to what extent, did these networks benefit your local
community? Can you provide a specific example?

9. In what ways, if any, did the TFA corps member experience affect or change your
participation in the local community? Can you provide a specific example?

Probe. What local issues were you most passionate about?

10. To what extent, if at all, did your passion or awareness of specific political and/or social
issues change as a result of your corps member experience? Can you provide a specific
example?

11. To what extent, if at all, were you involved with local issues during your corps member
experience?

Probe. Please provide an example (i.e. volunteering, canvasing, attending rallies).

12. After your two years in the classroom, what did you do?
Probe. When did you move to Los Angeles? What job did you take?

13. What led you to your decision to serve as an appointed official?

Probe. Was there a particular instance or moment that you decided to run? If so, please
explain.

14. What role, if any, did your TFA network play in your decision to serve as an appointed
official? Can you provide a specific example?

15. What supports, if any, did you receive from your TFA network when you decided to
serve? Can you provide a specific example?

16. What supports, if any, did you receive from LEE when you decided to serve? Can you
provide a specific example?

Probe. When did you get involved with LEE?

17. From your perspective, to what extent did the TFA network impact your appointment?
Can you provide a specific example?

Probe. To what extent did LEE play a role in supporting your appointment?
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 139

18. How does serving as an appointed official connect to your experience with TFA?

Probe. To what extent does your role as an appointed official connect to TFA’s mission
to ensure educational equity?

19. From your perspective, which aspects of working in local government are most important
to you?

20. What advantages, if any, do you see in working for local government given your
classroom experience? Can you provide a specific example?

21. What disadvantages, if any, do you see in working for local government given your
classroom experience? Can you provide a specific example?

22. What are you doing professionally other than serving as an appointed official?

Probe. How did you learn about this opportunity?

23. As part of our wrap up, is there anything else I have not asked you that will help me
understand your corps member experience and/or your decision to serve as an appointed
official?

Thank you so much for your participation in this dissertation study.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 140

Appendix D: Elected Official Interview Protocol

Name:
Date Interviewed:
Start Time of Interview:
End Time of Interview:

INTRODUCTION

My name is Avery Seretan, and I am a student at the University of Southern California working
on a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership. I am conducting a dissertation research
study focused on the civic engagement of TFA alumni in the greater Los Angeles area.

Your participation will involve a 1-hour interview. You may choose not to participate or to
withdraw from the study at any time, and you may do so without penalty or loss of benefit to
yourself. In this research, there are no foreseeable risks to you. Is now still a good time for your
1-hour interview?

INTRODUCE THE STUDY

The questions I am going to ask are specific to your corps member experience and the decision
to serve as an elected official. For the purpose of this interview, there is no right or wrong
answer. I’m interested in hearing your perspectives and the nature of our conversation is not
evaluative. This interview is confidential and your name will not be shared with anyone outside
the research team. I will not share your responses with other elected officials, TFA alumni or
corps members, TFA staff, or LEE staff, so please respond honestly to each question. Would it
be okay to record this interview today? I want to ensure that I accurately capture everything you
say during the interview.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Prior to your TFA placement, where did you attend college?

2. What was your TFA corps year?

3. What subject did you teach?

4. In which region was your placement school located?

5. Why did you decide to join TFA?

Probe. When did you first begin to think about public service?

6. From your perspective, what is the mission of TFA?

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 141

7. What, if any, professional networks were you able to develop in the community during
your time as a corps member? Please provide an example.

8. In what ways, and to what extent, did these networks benefit TFA? Please provide an
example.

Probe. In what ways, and to what extent, did these networks benefit your local
community? Can you provide a specific example?

9. In what ways, if any, did the TFA corps member experience affect or change your
participation in the local community? Can you provide a specific example?

Probe. What local issues were you most passionate about?

10. To what extent, if at all, did your passion or awareness of specific political and/or social
issues change as a result of your corps member experience? Can you provide a specific
example?

11. To what extent, if at all, were you involved with local issues during your corps member
experience?

Probe. Please provide an example (i.e. volunteering, canvasing, attending rallies).

12. After your two years in the classroom, what did you do?

Probe. When did you move to Los Angeles? What job did you take?

13. What led you to your decision to run for public office/school board?

Probe. Was there a particular instance or moment that you decided to run? If so, please
explain.

14. What role, if any, did your TFA network play in your decision to run for public office/
school board? Can you provide a specific example?

15. What supports, if any, did you receive from your TFA network when you decided to run
for office/ school board? Can you provide a specific example?

16. What supports, if any, did you receive from LEE when you decided to run for office/
school board? Can you provide a specific example?

Probe. When did you get involved with LEE?

17. From your perspective, to what extent did the TFA network impact your campaign? Can
you provide a specific example?

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 142

Probe. To what extent did LEE play a role in supporting your campaign?

18. How does serving as an elected official/school board member connect to your experience
with TFA?

Probe. To what extent does your role as an elected official/ school board member connect
to TFA’s mission to ensure educational equity?

19. From your perspective, which aspects of working in local government/on a school board
are most important to you?

20. What advantages, if any, do you see in working for local government/school board given
your classroom experience? Can you provide a specific example?

21. What disadvantages, if any, do you see in working for local government/school board
given your classroom experience? Can you provide a specific example?

22. What are you doing professionally other than serving as an elected official/school board
member?

Probe. How did you learn about this opportunity?

23. As part of our wrap up, is there anything else I have not asked you that will help me
understand your corps member experience and/or your decision to run for public
office/school board?

Thank you so much for your participation in this dissertation study.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 143

Appendix E: Document Analysis Protocol

Candidate:
Date Reviewed:
Website URL:
Election:
Last Updated:

Category/Content Area Analysis
Summary of Contents

Issues

Images

TFA Language

Readability

Information Accessibility

Interest Level

Information Breadth and Depth

Support

Interactive

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF TFA ALUMNI 144

Appendix F: List of Codes

Academic issue-passion- Absenteeism
Academic issue-passion- College readiness
Academic issue-passion- ELL
Academic issue-passion- Literacy
Accountability
Achievement gap
Adult management
Broader impact
Community impact
Community participation
Equity
Family background
First Career
Fix problems
Fundraising support
Hometown connection
Kids at the center of decision-making
Leadership development opportunities
LEE support
Local issues
Mentorship
Mindset shift
Non-traditional TFA corps member
Parent voice
Personal education history
Policy window
Power
Practitioner knowledge
Professional experience
Professional networks
Public Service
School site leadership
Second career
Social justice
Strike
Stuck in the how
TFA corps year
TFA grade taught
TFA mission
TFA network
TFA region
TFA skepticism
TFA subject taught
Transferrable skills
Voice of teachers & educators
Why not me?

Abstract (if available)

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Asset Metadata

Creator Seretan, Avery M. (author)

Core Title Civic engagement of Teach For America alumni in Los Angeles

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 04/29/2019

Defense Date 03/06/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag alumni experience,alumni network,civic engagement,educational equity,Leadership for Educational Equity,leadership training,Los Angeles,OAI-PMH Harvest,policy,political engagement,professional development,public office,Teach For America

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tobey, Patricia Elaine (committee chair), Combs, Wayne (committee member), Green, Alan (committee member)

Creator Email avery1016@gmail.com,seretan@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-158201

Unique identifier UC11660997

Identifier etd-SeretanAve-7340.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-158201 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-SeretanAve-7340.pdf

Dmrecord 158201

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Seretan, Avery M.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA