Teach for America to visit IMU today

Teach for America will be holding an information session and alumni panel today at 7 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Whittenberger Auditorium for students interested in the program. A Teach for America representative will be on campus recruiting in the next few weeks as well. \n“We recruit literally the best and brightest students,” said Lee Anne McKelvey, recruitment director for Teach for America’s Indiana Recruitment Team. “There’s a great wealth of leaders at IU. Last year we recruited 35 students; this year we are looking to recruit 45 or 50.”\nTeach for America is a national program that recruits recent college graduates to teach for two years in under-resourced urban and rural public schools. McKelvey will be on campus in the next few weeks interviewing potential candidates. McKelvey said that no academic background in education is required to work for Teach for America, and students of all majors \nare accepted. \nTeach for America corps work in 26 urban and rural locations around the country. There will be three new sites opened in 2008, one of which is Indianapolis.\nTeach for America hopes to recruit 50 students to work at the Indianapolis site, a relatively small corps compared to other urban sites. \nThe graduation rate in Indianapolis Public Schools is only 52 percent, McKelvey said. She compared IPS graduation rates to those of neighboring Carmel, Ind., where more than 90 percent of students graduate high school.\n“It’s totally unacceptable and something we just can’t allow,” McKelvey said.\nThe opening of the new Teach for America site will help improve education in Indianapolis, she said. \nDuring the info session today, IU alumni who worked for Teach for America will discuss their experiences and answer questions. \nChris Carlson, a 2006 IU alumnus in his second year of service with Teach for America, said he got involved with the organization to serve and help others. Carlson teaches high school biology and earth space science on the south side of Chicago. \n“It’s extremely rewarding and fulfilling,” he said. “Understand that teach for America is a movement. When you apply, you aren’t applying for a teaching job, you are applying for a movement.” \nFor more information or to schedule an interview, e-mail megan.hillier@teachforamerica.org.