IU named top-ranking Teach for America contributor

IU has maintained its position on the list of top contributors of teachers for Teach For America for the second year in a row. The university was ranked eleventh with 44 students entering the teaching corps.

Teach For America released its sixth annual ranking of colleges and universities contributing the largest numbers of graduating students to the teaching corps earlier this month.

Almost four percent of IU’s graduating students applied for the 2013 program, according to a press release.

Almost 400 IU alumni have taught with Teach For America in the last 23 years.

“The reason so many IU students are deciding to apply for Teach For America is because of their belief in expanding educational opportunity and the responsibility for making an impact after graduation,” said MaryCatherine Wright, Indiana recruiter for Teach For America. “I think a lot of seniors see Teach For America as an opportunity to do this.”

Teach For America recruits and trains high-talented graduating students to enter the teaching field in communities facing challenges such as poverty and minimal educational opportunities.

The corps is composed of many different avenues of study and students from all fields of education, according to the press release.

Once recruited, students will spend at least two years teaching in neighborhoods.

This fall, Teach For America will be able to reach more than 48 urban and rural regions with 11,000 student teachers and 32,000 alumni working toward the same goal of increasing education.

A large number of teachers will go to Indianapolis this year, Wright said.

Although the program does not require students to graduate with a degree in education, the Dean of the IU School of Education Gerardo Gonzalez, said he has noticed more recruitment of students within the School of Education.

Education majors tend to be more capable and prepared to get up to speed in their Teach for America work, Gonzalez said.

“It only makes sense that you would want to recruit the best and most prepared students to make an impact,” Gonzalez said.

Recruiters seek teachers who are committed to expanding educational opportunity, who are passionate about the endeavor and who display leadership qualities, Wright said.

IU students have shown drive and dedication through their work in Teach for America, she said.

“Students at IU are very aware that there is educational inequality in our system,” Wright said. “They are really fired up about the necessity to solve that for our future generations. It really is an injustice what is happening in our communities.”

The School of Education offers a minor in partnership with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) in order to help students who are not in the School of Education prepare for Teach For America.

The minor is designed to provide students with training and education they need when going into a classroom that they would not otherwise have, Gonzalez said.

The next deadline for students to apply to Teach for America is Sept. 13, through the organization’s website. Students who meet this deadline will be notified of an offer by Oct. 31.

“IU is recruiting talented students,” Gonzalez said. “I think the combination of very talented students and a large campus, and an emphasis in the liberal arts creates a pool of potential Teach For America students.”