Members in the News
Edna Novak (GNO '02): Bill Won't Change Teacher Standards
Hartford Courant, Mar 30, 2009
The bill would extend to a full year the timeline for these teachers to complete their certification course work. This will allow Teach For America and other alternate-route programs in Connecticut to lengthen training and provide ongoing support to beginning teachers throughout their first year of teaching. The bill would also open the door for Teach For America to partner with local universities to provide course work for certification.
Ann Best (Houston '96) Named Deputy Superintendent of Human Talent for HISD
NewsOK, Mar 19, 2009
As the Deputy Superintendent of Human Talent for the Houston Independent School District, Best will work to retain and attract talented teachers and create opportunities for professional development. She will be transitioning from her role as executive director of Teach For America Houston.
National Standards Gain Steam
Education Week, Mar 17, 2009
National standards—once the untouchable "third rail" of American education policy—now have the backing of the nation’s governors, a growing number of education leaders, and the U.S. secretary of education.
Teach For America lends support to proposed National Education Commission
Congressman Chaka Fattah, Mar 11, 2009
“Teach For America believes deeply that all children, regardless of background, should have access to the opportunities necessary to achieve at high levels. We are excited about the potential of this Commission to build greater public understanding of the disparities in educational access and outcomes that exist across the nation,” said Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America.
Jennifer Goldstein (Los Angeles '93): Union Bashing Won't Reform Our Schools (...and Neither will Job Protectionism)
EdWeek, Mar 10, 2009
The fact is that many American school districts and their local teachers' unions have formed a symbiotic partnership in mediocrity. To single out one side of the equation (teachers' unions and their support for tenure) as the cause of the problem is to fail to recognize the role school administrators have played.
Improving Alternative Certification
Education Week, Mar 5, 2009
Although most of the panel members were in agreement about the efficacy and necessity of alternative-certification programs, Patterson provided the divergent viewpoint. She was careful to explain that while the NEA does support multiple routes to certification, especially those for career-switchers with deep content knowledge, it opposes inconsistent licensure standards and programs that promote short-term commitments.
Steve Zimmer (Los Angeles '92) wins L.A. school board race
L.A, Times, Mar 4, 2009
"In this campaign, every time someone would come on board, it would send some shock waves to other folks," Zimmer said, "because they weren't folks that usually worked together. But if this district is going to make it, everybody has got to pull together."
Zimmer (Los Angeles '92) leads in L.A. Unified returns
L.A. Times, Mar 4, 2009
In District 4, which covers most of the Westside and reaches into Hollywood and the southwest San Fernando Valley, Marshall High teacher Steve Zimmer had a comfortable lead over Fairfax High teacher Mike Stryer.
Mark Levine (NYC '91) Names Democratic Club For Obama
NY Daily News, Mar 4, 2009
Mark Levine, a Democratic district leader in the 71st AD, called in to report that he is starting a new club and naming it for the new president in hopes of retaining some of the young party activists and voters who got involved in politics for the first time last year.
Steve Zimmer (Los Angeles '92): L.A. Unified District 4 candidate answers policy questions
L.A. Times, Mar 3, 2009
District 4 of the Los Angeles Unified School District stretches across most of the Westside as well as the southwest San Fernando Valley and much of Hollywood. The candidates to replace retiring incumbent Marlene Canter are Mike Stryer and Steve Zimmer, both of them teachers
How State Policy Can Support Alternative Certification Programs
Center for American Progress, Mar 2, 2009
Alternative teacher certification programs are among the most promising strategies for expanding the pipeline of talented teachers, particularly for subject shortage areas and high-needs schools, yet states frequently do not have policies in place to develop and expand robust alternative certification programs. This paper analyzes the policies that are needed and puts them into three categories: minimizing participant burden, ensuring program quality, and encouraging innovation and growth.
Mayor, teachers union agree on board candidate Steve Zimmer (Los Angeles '92)
Los Angeles Times, Feb 27, 2009
Hollywood resident Zimmer, 38, is a 1992 Teach for America recruit who has become a fixture at Marshall High in Silver Lake. Besides teaching at Marshall, he founded and runs the Comprehensive Student Support Center to provide health services to students and their families.
Duncan, Bloomberg, and Klein Visit Alum-founded School to Discuss Stimulus
NY1, Feb 23, 2009
New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited the Explore Charter School, a school founded by Morty Ballen (SLA '92), to discuss what the stimulus package means for education.
Mayoral Control of Schools Not a Cure-all, Report Says
Journal Sentinel, Feb 20, 2009
Turning over control of a school system to a mayor is no cure-all for problems, and it is "messy, difficult work" to make such changes, according to an analysis of other cities being released today by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power, Money and Risk
New York Times, Feb 17, 2009
Mr. Duncan must develop procedures on the fly for disbursing a budget that has, overnight, more than doubled, and communicate the rules quickly to all 50 states and the nation’s 14,000 school districts. And he faces thousands of tricky decisions about how much money to give to whom and for what.
Ben Lindy (ENC '03): ‘Purple’ is best for education policy
Yale Daily News, Feb 13, 2009
President Obama is doing his best to make purple Washington’s new favorite color. This “purple” would move us beyond the “stale political arguments” of (blue) liberals and (red) conservatives and lead us to a common ground, a shared commitment to doing “whatever works.” This idea is exciting to me because it is familiar.
Joseph Almeida (NYC '05) Witnesses Inauguration, Recommits to Teaching
South Coast Today, Feb 7, 2009
Witnessing the inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama on Jan. 20 was the most defining moment of my lifetime....Upon graduating from Georgetown University, I felt an obligation to continue teaching, formally this time, with Teach for America, an organization that allows the nation's top college graduates to teach in low-income communities to change the trajectory of students' lives with an excellent education.
Is Michelle Rhee the New Face of Education Reform?
Axcess News, Jan 30, 2009
At the core of her strategy is a conceptually simple but politically complex maxim: improve learning in the classroom by improving the people who hold the chalk. To do that, she advocates recruiting and retaining good teachers by paying them higher salaries - but cleaning out those who don't perform.
Obama References TFA at Youth Inaugural Ball
GW Hatchet, Jan 23, 2009
"A new generation inspired previous generations. That's how change happens in America," Obama said. Continuing themes from his inaugural address earlier in the day, Obama praised service organizations like Teach for America and the Peace Corps.
Inauguration Is Inspiring Classrooms Nationwide
The New York Times, Jan 16, 2009
The inauguration of America’s first African-American president has captured the imagination of students and educators with an intensity that surpasses previous ceremonies, and schools from New Hampshire to Florida to California are working to bring the excitement and pageantry, the sheer history of it all, to life in the classroom.
Currently reading page 10 of 15.