As school officials beef up teacher recruitment as part of a reform drive, they’re reaching out to Teach For America to lure young talent in the classroom.
Teach For America recruited 12 new teachers to work in New Haven classrooms this school year. Nine more TFA teachers are returning for a second year, said schools spokeswoman Michelle Wade.
The school board’s Administration and Finance Committee Monday night recommended approving a contract to pay Teach For America for its services.
TFA is a leading national not-for-profit focused on luring talented young people into urban classrooms and narrowing the racial achievement gap. It is linked to a national school reform movement into which New Haven is tapping this year.
Under the proposed contract, the school board would pay TFA $2,500 for each first-year teacher, and another $2,500 for each second-year teacher, that the organization recruited. That’s a total of $52,500 for the 21 teachers. The money would come from federal stimulus funds.
The contract still requires final approval from the full school board on Monday.
If the contract’s approved, it will extend a partnership that began three years ago.
The New Haven Public Schools started paying TFA to recruit teachers in the 2006-07 school year. Since then, TFA has hired 84 teachers. About one third of them remain in the school system, said Wade. She emailed this chart:
Year Number Hired Number Retained to Date
2006/7 36 2
2007/8 25 7
2008/9 11 9
2009/10 12 12
Totals 84 30
One barrier to teacher retention is Connecticut’s “demanding certification process,” said Wade.
“Many of the TFA teachers choose not to even try to become certified or are not able to attain certification” here, she said.
On the other hand, TFA benefits the city by bringing in young talent in areas where there’s a shortage of teachers, such as in science and math, said Chief Operating Officer Will Clark.
Teacher recruitment is one plank of a sweeping school reform initiative. The city has also hired New York experts The New Teacher Plan to attract and retain new teachers.
In moving forward, NHPS isn’t throwing out old practices that work, said Wade.
Renewing the contract with TFA “reflects one of the ways our reform is an evolution of existing work,” she argued.
Some previous stories about New Haven’s school reform drive:
• “Class of 2026” Gets Started
• Principal Keeps School On The Move
• With National Push, Reform Talks Advance
• Nice New School! Now Do Your Homework
• Mayo Unveils Discipline Plan
• Mayor Launches “School Change” Campaign
• Reform Drive Snags “New Teacher” Team
• Can He Work School Reform Magic?
• Some Parental Non-Involvement Is OK, Too
• Mayor: Close Failing Schools
• Union Chief: Don’t Blame The Teachers
• 3‑Tiered School Reform Comes Into Focus
• At NAACP, Mayo Outlines School Reform
• Post Created To Bring In School Reform
• Board of Ed Assembles Legal Team