Across the United States, public schools lack adequate funding. However, Teach For America is there to help.
Helping children learn in low-income schools is one of the primary goals of TFA, TFA corps member Justin Yan said. Yan is a TFA recruiter for the Northwest region.
“Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunities for children facing the challenges of poverty,” Yan said.
The organization, which began in 1990, has 10,000 corps members and 28,000 alumni, Yan said.
Monday is this year’s application deadline for TFA, Yan said. It was originally Nov. 2, but was bumped due to Hurricane Sandy.
Seven UW alumni have worked for TFA since its founding.
Yan taught sixth grade science in Charlotte, N.C., after he graduated from University of Washington with a degree in neurobiology. After he finished his two-year service, he left “with a very deep and clear conviction for solving our nation’s biggest crisis – education,” he said.
“My deepest passion is education, and, while I never thought I would’ve said that in college, it’s all I think about and care about professionally,” he said. “It is my life’s work. So not only did it teach an invaluable set of hard skills that are recognized by every employer that has interviewed me, it’s given me a very clear focus and direction in my life that I thought I once had as a pre-med student, but now, there is no doubt in my mind where I will focus my energy.”
For those interested in TFA service, there are many options for placement and financial support, Yan said. Placement is heavily dependent on preference, so TFA would never put a member somewhere they did not want to be, Yan said. AmeriCorps grants education awards up to $11,100, he said.
A key point is that TFA accepts all majors and academic backgrounds, Yan said. You do not have to be an education major to do a TFA service. There are different grade levels to work for and different classrooms and subjects, he said.
“We simply need great people who are committed to closing the educational achievement gap,” Yan said.
The kids, culture, and people are some of the greatest parts of TFA, Yan said.
“There is something incredibly refreshing about working with hundreds of like-minded, high performing individuals toward one cause — leveling the educational playing field,” Yan said.
Yan works as the recruiter hoping to gather more TFA corps members. He specifically oversees efforts and progress done at UW. He said he hopes more graduates will keep TFA in mind as they choose their next step after college.
