School Districts Have the Power to Change TFA
In the last few years, Teach For America (TFA), has seen a massive increase in critique levied at the organization. One of the most recent complaints about the organization is its terrible track record for dealing with critique and criticism. Late last year, the Nation reported on a leaked internal memo that outlined TFA’s obsession with covering up critique and marginalizing critics while simultaneously seeking to expand – a similar corporate disposition that recently put TFA in the crosshairs of NonProfit Quarterly where, when confronted with criticism, TFA is said to have a “self-protective reaction [that] can breed certainty and hubris.” Yet, while there is undoubtedly more than can be said from a critical perspective on TFA, here we outline a “wish list” for real changes that can be affected.
Instead of TFA’s hype we need solutions. And since TFA’s typical response to critique is hype, to us, the real power for change is in the hands of school districts that decide to hire TFA Corps Members (CMs).
Overall, districts should first hire credentialed new teachers who have had sufficient teacher training and student teaching internships. Districts should only use TFA staffing when there is both a shortage of qualified teachers and the only alternative is to hire uncertified and emergency teachers or substitutes. This, however, should never be the case when staffing teachers in special education. CMs are not skilled in general education, let alone, special education law and issues of remediation.
Moreover, districts should not request or require TFA’s to write grants, tutor kids after school, coach, sponsor clubs or assume “extra” duties during their first year. They are trying to figure out teaching and that alone consumes their time.
Again, since it is unlikely that TFA will enact meaningful change in the face of criticism, we contend that the school districts that have the power to decide to partner with TFA or not begin to set those changes into motion.
Here are a few things that districts can do now:
- Tell TFA to provide you with people who see teaching as a career, not just a stepping stone or