Are 85% of TFA alumni really “working in education or careers serving low-income communities”?
In a recent podcast on ‘Getting Smart,’ they interviewed TFA CEO Elisa Villanueva-Beard. At the 0:56 mark the host gave this series of numbers, straight from the TFA PR department, “Of the 53,000 alumni, 85% work in education or in careers serving low-income communities. That includes 1,260 school leaders, 471 school system leaders, 500 policy and advocacy leaders and 200 social entrepreneurs.”
A major critique of TFA is that the teachers use TFA as a way to pad their resumes — that they teach for two or maybe three years and then go on to law school, medical school, or business school. If this 85% number is accurate, it would serve as a great counter to any critique of TFA that the corps members do not commit long enough.
Six years ago in a HuffPost editorial, Elisa Villanueva-Beard said that it was 80%. Over the last few years this has grown, at least in theory, to 85% and it is something that is now quoted on the Teach For America website in the section about their impact.
Teach For America has a 28-year track record of advancing educational excellence and equity in the United States through our network of remarkable and diverse leaders working to expand opportunity and access for all children. With nearly 60,000 alumni and corps members in 51 regions around the country, our network now includes 14,000 teachers; 3,700 school principals, assistant principals, and deans; more than 300 school system leaders; 500 policy and advocacy leaders; nearly 200 elected leaders; and almost 200 social entrepreneurs. And while only one in five Teach For America corps members had plans to teach before applying to TFA, 85% of alumni are now working in education or careers serving low-income communities.
This 85% statistic, if to be taken literally, would mean that 43,350 out of 51,000 TFA CONTINUE READING: Are 85% of TFA alumni really “working in education or careers serving low-income communities”? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog
