KIPP Texas and Teach for America train 350+ new educators through expanded partnership

Media Contacts:
KIPP Texas
Cat Thorne, 210-663-060
Cat.Thorne@kipptexas.org

Teach For America
Rachel Tennenbaum, 408.250.2877
Rachel.Tennenbaum@teachforamerica.org 

Veteran KIPP Texas educators mentor and coach Teach For America teachers through TFA’s new hybrid Pre-Service Model 

HOUSTON, TEXAS-June 21, 2021—KIPP Texas Public Schools and Teach For America (TFA) announced an innovative new summer partnership where veteran KIPP Texas educators will mentor and coach over 350 new Texas teachers through TFA’s intensive multi-month pre-service training program. 

Starting June 21, Teach For America’s newest Texas educators, known as corps members (CM), will lead virtual KIPP Texas classrooms under the supervision of experienced mentors in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio for the summer. While Teach For America and KIPP schools have previously partnered to train educators in Houston, this expanded program will provide the opportunity for TFA Texas teachers to work alongside KIPP students, families and educators in the communities where they will spend at least the first two years of their education career, immersing themselves in the communities where they will work alongside families to educate children and will also call home.

TFA corps members spend at least two years teaching in under-resourced schools in rural and urban areas nationwide; in Texas, they serve in the Rio Grande Valley, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. Approximately 86% of KIPP Texas’ student population is economically disadvantaged and 38% are English Language Learners.

“We are excited about this partnership and look forward to providing new educators with the tools, mentors, and hands-on experience they’ll need to launch their career. This is an important partnership for KIPP Texas and our teachers will work to equip our CMs as educators, ready to lead rigorous, inclusive, and supportive classrooms.” said Dayna Sanders, KIPP Texas’ Deputy Chief of Academics.

“Through our partnership with local schools, our newest teachers have the opportunity to learn from veteran teachers and to support students as they proactively address unfinished learning and prepare for their next school year,” said Shelly Zackrie, Director of Programming at Teach For America. “Teach For America and KIPP share a longstanding commitment to helping students who are growing up in Texas’s historically marginalized communities overcome the systemic barriers to an excellent education, and are grateful to have that orientation underpinning our partnership.”

This summer’s programming is a key component of TFA’s multi-part, nationwide intensive pre-service experience, which began in May and will extend through teachers’ first 90 days in the classroom. This new pre-service model grew out of Teach For America’s first-ever Virtual Summer Teacher Training, hosted last summer in response to COVID-19, and prepares TFA corps members to lead rigorous, supportive, and inclusive classrooms in both virtual and in-school settings. It is an innovative nationwide hybrid model that can be localized while taking advantage of Teach For America’s resources at scale to most effectively train educators. In addition to teaching students, corps members will prepare for their first year of teaching through professional development sessions that include curriculum, planning, and creating safe and inclusive classrooms; they will engage in this content both in regional cohorts and as part of a nationwide educator corps of over 2,000 new teachers. 

ABOUT KIPP TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a network of 59 open-enrollment, public, tuition-free charter schools with approximately 31,500 students across Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. KIPP Texas is part of the national KIPP network of college-preparatory public charter schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Nationwide, KIPP students complete four-year college at a rate of 36 percent, comparable to  the national average for all students and approximately three times higher than the average of students from low income families. www.kipptexas.org

ABOUT TEACH FOR AMERICA

Teach For America works in partnership with 350 urban and rural communities across the country to expand educational opportunities for children. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding leaders who make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity. Today, Teach For America is a force of over 64,000 alumni and corps members working in over 9,000 schools nationwide in pursuit of profound systemic change. From classrooms to districts to state houses across America, they are reimagining education to realize the day when every child has an equal opportunity to learn, lead, thrive, and co-create a future filled with possibility. Teach For America is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter

 

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