The Answer Sheet: teach for america


Posted at 11:58 AM ET, 05/25/2013

Why Minnesota governor vetoed Teach For America funding
By Valerie Strauss
Why, he asks, should a wealthy nonprofit get state funds? Good question

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:58 AM ET, 05/25/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  He Used To Be A Teacher, Teach for America

Posted at 11:23 AM ET, 04/01/2013

Teach for America critics organizing 'resistance' at summit
By Valerie Strauss
A group of Teach For America alumni and students of TFA teachers who are critical of the organization are holding a summitt to organize against the organization.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:23 AM ET, 04/01/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Seek To Fight Group, Set For Summer, Teach for America

Posted at 11:15 AM ET, 03/28/2013

Former TFAer: Teach For America didn't prepare me for troubled kids
By Valerie Strauss
A former Teach For America corps members says the organization didn't prepare him for the troubled children he encountered in a South Bronx classroom.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:15 AM ET, 03/28/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Teach for America, Video

Posted at 02:43 PM ET, 01/04/2013

What Virginians should know about Teach For America
By Valerie Strauss
It was only a matter of time before the Republican governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, would welcome Teach For America program into his state. Here's what Virginians should know.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:43 PM ET, 01/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Teach for America, Things To Know

Posted at 02:59 PM ET, 10/05/2012

Ex-Teach For America member changes his mind
By Valerie Strauss
A Los Angeles educator finds that change is much harder than he thought.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:59 PM ET, 10/05/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voices, School Reforms, Teach for America, Teacher preparation

Posted at 12:05 PM ET, 01/21/2011

How Teach for America sees itself
By Valerie Strauss
Here, from the Teach for America website, is a detailed job posting that explains a lot about how the organization sees itself in the world of school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:05 PM ET, 01/21/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, closing achievement gap, leadership for educational equity, michelle rhee, teach for america, teach for america job posting, teach for america jobs

Posted at 12:29 PM ET, 12/20/2010

A 'highly qualified' gift from Congress to Teach for America -- UPDATED
By Valerie Strauss
Is a teacher still in training "highly qualified?" Some of our legislators think so.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:29 PM ET, 12/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Congress | Tags:  CR, continuing resolution, education department, highly qualified teachers, renee v. duncan, teach for america, teachers, tom harkin

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/10/2010

Valerie vs. Jay on Teach for America, KIPP, etc.
By Valerie Strauss
My friend and colleague Jay Mathews, the most knowledgeable education reporter ever, challenged me to a debate. It evolved into a discussion about Teach for America. Here it is.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/10/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  education programs, education schools, jay mathews, kipp, mathews strauss debate, teach for america, teach for america debate, teacher education, teachers, valerie strauss

Posted at 10:11 AM ET, 12/04/2010

Meier: Partisan mindsets and teacher collegiality
By Valerie Strauss
Veteran educator Deborah Meier writes about partisan mindset in education, and she asks whether there are institutions and publications today that are built around deep respect for the intelligence and inventiveness of teachers -- and kids.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:11 AM ET, 12/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  collaboration, deb meier, deborah meier, diane ravitch, teach for america, teachers, teachers and collaboration

Posted at 01:16 PM ET, 11/21/2010

Teacher runs into power of Teach for America
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher writes about difficulty finding a job in an urban school district because of choosing traditional training rather than Teach for America or a similar alternative program.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:16 PM ET, 11/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  diane ravitch, teach for america, teacher training, teachers, wendy kopp

Posted at 09:04 AM ET, 11/17/2010

What Ravitch told KIPP and Teach for America
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch gave a speech at Rice University about school reform in which she directly challenged officials from Teach for America and the Knowledge Is Power Program who were present -- the very people who had invited her.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:04 AM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  arne duncan, charter schools, diane ravitch, finland, finland education, kipp, knowledge is power program, nclb, no child left behind, obama school reform, president obama, rice university, secretary duncan, teach for america, teachers, tfa

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 10/20/2010

Threats to school reform ... are within school reform
By Valerie Strauss
Educator Mike Rose writes: "There is a crisis in American education, and it involves mostly poor children, and thus it is a moral as well as educational outrage. But it is just not accurate to characterize public education itself as being in a 30-year crisis."

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:30 PM ET, 10/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Harlem children's zone, KPP, Teach for America, a nation at risk, curriculum, deborah meier, how to fix our schools, joel klein, manifesto, mike rose, narrowing of curriculum, no child left behind, poverty and schools, race to the top, reform manifesto, school reform, stephen j. gould

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/20/2010

The Chamber of Commerce's flawed 'Superman' school reform guide
By Valerie Strauss
In a shameless act of movie flacking, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce just published a guide for business leaders on school reform that is linked to and reinforces the skewed vision of public education portrayed in the movie “Waiting for Superman.”

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  School turnarounds/reform | Tags:  batman, business leaders, business leaders and school reform, chamber of commerce, charter schools, clark kent, davis guggenheim, effective teachers, finland and teachers, reform guide, school reform, superman, superman and clark kent, teach for america, waiting for superman, what superman would do

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/11/2010

A new look at Teach for America
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a new look at the independent research on the effectiveness of Teach for America teachers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  research on teach for america, research on tfa, teach for america, teachers and attrition

Posted at 04:22 PM ET, 01/18/2010

More to education than data
By Valerie Strauss
Here's Diane Ravitch's response to a post I did last week about Teach for America. In that post, I had noted that “Teach For America” founder Wendy Kopp went to Capitol Hill to talk new research on effective teachers. Using test score data, the nonprofit organization--which recruits college graduates to teach in low-income schools for two years--has determined that effective teachers are those that employ the same strategies as successful leaders in any field. Read what Ravitch thinks of the findings.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:22 PM ET, 01/18/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Standardized Tests, Standardized Tests | Tags:  Diane Ravitch, NCLB, Teach For America

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 01/13/2010

What makes an effective teacher?
By Valerie Strauss
"Teach for America" founder Wendy Kopp is going to Capitol Hill later today to explain the qualities that her organization believes make the most effective teachers in low-income communities. Those qualities don't include knowing the subject matter. Not everybody agrees.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 01/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  Teach For America, teaching