Teach For America critics gathering to organize resistance
TFA founder Wendy Kopp
Teach For America alumni and students of corps members who are critical of TFA are holding this weekend what amounts to the first national assembly aimed at organizing resistance to the organization that is popular with school reformers.
The anti-TFA assembly is part of the Free Minds, Free People national conference starting Thursday in Chicago and hosted by the Education for Liberation Network, which promotes the use of education to promote social justice.
In an April post I wrote about plans for the summit, which is aimed at organizing “resistance to Teach for America and its role in privatization” of public education, according to a flier about the event. Participants will, among other things, share stories, draft letters to school districts urging them not to partner with Teach For America, and plan a public service campaign to educate the public about why they believe TFA is harmful to schools and communities.
Teach for America was started more than 20 years ago to recruit new college graduates