Teach for America:
Accelerating Educational Excellence
perspectives
Education Policy and the Economy:
The SIEPR Policy Forum on Education
Students, researchers, educators, and policymakers gathered at Stanford University on December 1, 2006, to discuss the intersection of economic and education policy. The forum, entitled “Critical Input: Education Policy and the Economy,” was sponsored by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and supported by the Koret Foundation.
SIEPR Policy Forum Director Ward Hanson discussed the importance of bringing together a diverse group of people to address the problems facing education.
“The goal of the forums,” he said, “is to mix academic research with the active involvement of organizations that overlap and build on that research, and then with policymakers to present the current view of what’s being debated in Washington and Sacramento.”
PRESENTERS
John Shoven, Director, SIEPR
Ward Hanson, Policy Forum Director, SIEPR
Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford
Pam Grossman, Professor of Education, Stanford
Russlynn Ali, Founding Director, Edtrust West
Deborah Stipek, James Quillen Dean and Professor of Education, Stanford
Debbra Lindo, CEO, College Track
Abigail Smith, Former Vice President of Research and Public Policy, Teach for America
Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Michael Kirst, Professor of Education, Stanford
Tom Dee, Associate Professor of Economics, Swarthmore
Todd Stinebrickner, Professor of Economics, University of Western Ontario
Kenji Hakuta, Professor of Education, Stanford
David Lopez, President, National Hispanic University
John Pencavel, Director, Stanford Center for International Development
Congressman George Miller, U.S. House Committee on Education and Work Force
Recruiting and training qualified teachers who will succeed beyond the constraints of the current education system is one of Teach for America’s main goals, according to Abigail Smith, Teach for America’s former vice president of research and public policy.
“The (socioeconomically disadvantaged) kids who arrive at the doorstep of many of these schools are coming in already at a significant disadvantage based on what’s going on in their lives,” she pointed out at “Critical Input: Education Policy and the Economy,” a forum sponsored by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and supported by the Koret Foundation. “We need to recruit as many people as possible to be a part of addressing this problem. That means going into these classrooms and going above and beyond to actually try to accelerate the academic progress of these students. We need teachers who can literally change the trajectory of students’ life prospects.”
Smith spoke about Teach for America’s belief in addressing student achievement on a student-by-student basis while building a force of long-term leaders to address the ongoing educational policy issues that affect students’ lives.
For each of its two-year teaching posts, Teach for America recruits at over 400 colleges and universities nationwide, focusing on candidates with proven teaching and leadership skills. For example, some 19,000 candidates applied in 2006, and only 3,000 were chosen. This select group then undergoes extensive training and fieldwork over the summer, and the teachers continue their training throughout their time in the classroom.
“Teach for America believes very strongly it is critical that teachers have a body of knowledge and skills before they enter the classroom, and this professional development needs to continue during their time in the classroom,” Smith said. “We work very closely with our teachers to make sure we’re accelerating their growth.”
After their two years in the classroom, many of Teach for America’s participants continue in education. One-third of the program’s alumni continue teaching, and an additional third work full-time in education. This growing pipeline of highly educated, experienced advocates is an invaluable resource as we shape the future of our education system.
Even for those participants who leave the field, Smith hopes that their time spent with Teach for America will inform their work and lead to real, lasting change in areas that affect educational excellence. Working as policymakers, academics, or elected school board members, for example, these Teach for America alumni have important opportunities to make meaningful change.
As Teach for America looks ahead, Smith emphasizes that it must continue to measure its teachers by their students’ performance.
“We have to increase teacher quality in terms of its impact on student achievement,” she said. “That’s the golden apple, and we have to keep getting better at reaching it.”
Abigail Smith served as Teach for America’s Vice President of Research and Public Policy for 14 years. Last January, after 14 years with Teach For America, she assumed a new post working under the deputy mayor for education in Washington, D.C.