Next-Generation Leaders

Nationally, few initiatives have made as much of an impact in addressing the achievement gap affecting urban schools as Teach For America (TFA), the corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teaching at least two years in under-resourced public schools, then become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity and eliminating inequities. To prepare and support these new teachers, TFA partners with universities across the country.

Among the largest and most successful of these partnerships: the LMU/TFA partnership program. In 2000, the School of Education joined with TFA in providing graduate training and support for TFA teachers in the Los Angeles area, including coursework toward their credential and master’s degree; today, LMU is TFA’s exclusive university partner in the region.

It’s a natural marriage between two partners that share a commitment to closing the achievement gap and making a difference in the community. “Partnering with LMU has proven integral to Teach For America’s efforts to prepare and support our corps members as they work to change educational outcomes for students in Los Angeles public schools,” said Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO, Teach For America.

What kind of a difference are LMU/TFA corps members making? A recent study by The Urban Institute’s CALDER research center found that in urban high schools, the impact of TFA corps members on student achievement was more than twice that of having a non-TFA teacher with three or more years of experience.

The LMU/TFA partnership is unlike any other. Leaders from both sides sit on each other’s advisory boards. TFA prepares entering interns in a five-week summer institute and then works closely with the School of Education throughout the year to gauge candidate experiences and provide feedback. LMU’s TFA interns stay together as a cohort, fostering close bonds. “This is a true partnership,” says Edmundo Litton, the program’s director, “and that has contributed to high rates of satisfaction and retention.”

The retention numbers are particularly impressive. Nationally, fewer than half of TFA interns remain at their school site after the two-year commitment ends, according to a recent Harvard study. But in the LMU/ TFA partnership, where more intensive support is given to interns to increase the likelihood of early success and foster a desire among these interns to remain difference-makers in their schools, 90 percent continue beyond the two years, according to Litton.

Moreover, a significant number of LMU/ TFA graduates ultimately move from teaching into positions of education leadership, either as principals or in other capacities. Many are on the front lines in educational reform efforts, while others are helping to blaze new educational trails through charter schools.

Visit the TFA site here.