Classroom in Estonia

In the United States, Teach For America is recognized as an unparalleled pipeline of educational and civic leadership, with most of its 12,000 alumni continuing to work for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence for all children. While fewer than ten percent of corps members say they would have taught without Teach For America, more than sixty percent of our alumni have remained in education. They are already getting appointed to superintendencies, running many of the highest-performing schools in low-income communities; and winning the highest accolades teachers can win. They have also pioneered some of the reform efforts that are making the biggest difference in the United States — for example, the KIPP Network, which is starting and running schools in communities across the country that demonstrate that students in low-income communities excel when given extra supports, and The New Teacher Project, which is effecting systemic change in the way new teachers are brought into the profession. Other Teach For America alumni are working from other sectors to impact this issue — through authoring books, advising senators, governors, and mayors on education policy, and marshalling the resources of corporations, law firms, and medical schools in this direction.   Read Teach For America’s Alumni Social Impact Report >>

In the United Kingdom, about half of the Teach First Ambassadors decide to continue teaching in challenging urban British schools, with most of them quickly moving into leadership positions. After only three cohorts through the program, over 100 Ambassadors are already in middle leadership roles (heads of year or department) and eight are in senior leadership roles (assistant head teachers). Of those Ambassadors who decide to leave teaching, the majority join one of Teach First’s business sponsors and continue to stay involved with the Teach First mission through Ambassador schemes such as mentoring, school governors placements, or joining the Teach First Territorial Teaching program whereby their employers allow them five days leave to volunteer at their old school.