University of Pittsburgh

1 Overview of Teach For America I. Our nation’s most pressing issue –13 million children growing up in poverty today are a distinct disadvantage. –Only 50% of children growing up in low-income areas graduate from high- school by the time they’re 18, and those who do perform on average at the level of eighth graders in more privileged communities. –Similarly, only 1 in 10 of these students will graduate from college. This disparity severely limits their life prospects, and this is fundamentally unjust. II. Teach For America plays a fundamental role in addressing this issue –We seek to build a diverse, highly selective national corps of outstanding recent college graduates—of all academic majors and career interests—who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools in our nation's lowest- income communities. –Because of their experiences in the classroom, corps members become lifelong advocates for education reform, whether they continue working in education or pursue a career in an alternative sector III. Growth is imperative -In order to maximize our impact on low income students, we have set ambitious goals to be reached by Goals: - 8,000 corps members - 33 regions

2 Teach For America’s Growth I. History –Began in 1990 in 5 regions with 500 corps members –By 2007, over 12,000 alumni have affected the lives of nearly 3 million students in low-income classrooms II. Growth –This fall, 5,000 corps members will be teaching in 26 regions throughout the country –In the next two years, Teach For America will expand to 2 additional regions III Corps –Over 18,000 individuals applied for the corps –21% acceptance rate –10% of new hires in New York City IV. Alumni –10% of DC Principals are former corps members –Recently appointed Chancellor of DC Public Schools, Michelle Rhee, is a former corps member –10 First years at Harvard Law School last year

3 Pitt and Teach For America I. History –51 students have been accepted to Teach For America the last two years at Pitt II –Last year, Pitt senior Kate Barbato was accepted to the corps – Kate will be teaching Middle School Math and Science Special Education –When asked why she joined the corps, Kate said: “I want to be able to make a difference, help, and reach out to children who may not have been fortunate enough to have had that extra push otherwise.”

4 Goals for growth I. Visits to campus –We rely heavily on personal cultivation (meeting with top students individually or in groups) – students are often compelled by hearing a Recruitment Director or corps member tell their story. II. Identifying top students –A number of Pitt students have already applied to and joined the corps in the past. This year, we want to continue active communication with top seniors and encourage them to consider Teach For America as a post-graduate option. –Given Pitt’s size and the caliber of its students, we believe that we can reach many top seniors at Pitt this year III. Increased exposure on campus via marketing and events  What types of marketing tend to be successful on campus?  Are there events we should host/attend?

5 Questions and Information I. Questions? –If further questions come up, please feel free to contact: Ian – Cailin – 1-(800) II Application Deadlines –1 st Deadline: September 21, 2007 –2 nd Deadline: November 2, 2007 –3 rd Deadline: January 4, 2008 –4 th Deadline: February 15,