John White is an alumnus of Teach for America. He wants more money to hire more TFA for the state’s lowest performing schools. Despite the poor performance of the state Recovery School District, which has been staffed with large numbers of TFA for almost 25 years, White wants more of the same.
White got into a heated debate with state board member Lottie Beebe. White insists that hiring TFA means the “willingness to try something different.” Since Louisiana has hired TFA for nearly a quarter century without seeing the promised “excellence,” White seems to be defending the status quo, not trying “something different.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I have taught in public schools in Louisiana for 7 years and would rather see this money be spent to spur Louisiana employment, better schools, consistency in lower school districts, or for professional development in the underperforming schools. There is little incentive to be an education major in this state when TFA instructors jump to the front of lines at job fairs and have their teaching certificates and Prof. Dev. paid for by the state and school districts.
Comment (by another person, not me) that I copied and pasted from the article that I agree with. :
“I have a much better use for the $1.2 being wasted on TFA. Use it for scholarships for education majors. Full ride scholarships for either an undergraduate or graduate degree in Education in return for a minimum of 5 years of service in the so-called “failing” schools in Louisiana. Completely cover at least the last two years of college or a Master’s degree, all expenses. You will get good teachers for the worst schools. And you won’t have TFAs endangering the lives of my special education children as they have been known to do.”
The sad truth is that White has no problem taking money ( $2 million ) from the state’s PreK program for at-risk kids in order to fund his pet projects. He will take money from programs that research has proven to be beneficial (PK), to fund “pilot” and experimental deforms for parochial school vouchers and TFA teach for awhilers. Meanwhile public schools struggle to fund basic programs for at risk kids and class sizes are increasing due to his mismanagement. The Billionaire Corporate Bagging has begun! Plenty of money available for testing and data collecting companies, not so much left over for the students.
Thanks to our outspoken BESE board member, Mrs.. Beebe, who works tirelessly to speak up for the teachers and students in the public school system. The majority of the other state education board members where bought and paid for during the election by our governor and his Corporate Baggers waiting to cash in. Those board members have forgotten that teachers are voters too.
At an NEA convention a couple years ago, I remember a woman addressing the 10,000-member body, railing against TFA with the following argument:
Both she and the TFA folks her age at her school were carrying over $100,000 in student loan debt.
However, TFA folks—who were only planning and staying 2 years and leaving—had their loans forgiven as a reward for their participation as TFA Corps Members.
While at the same time, she and others like her—non-TFA’s who were committing their lives (i.e. the next 30-40 years) to a career of teaching—DO NOT GET ONE CENT OF LOAN FORGIVENESS ???!!!
“Could somebody please tell me how this makes any sense? Or how this could possibly be beneficial the children’s education? Have certain people gone mad?”
she rhetorically asked the Assembly.
Loan Forgiveness would be a bonus for unwittingly selling your soul to the company store!!
A smart incentive offered by those that would be king but wear no clothes!
Those that count on the “all the kings horses and all the kings men could not…..” Could not and planned not to but their mess back together. It benefits them not to!
When the goal is an undereducated population, both at the student level and the professional level, in order to retain a hard back working class and those that would obey, the TFA are a perfect messenger with a perfect record of giving the would be kings what they want with a zealot point of view and in concert with a fraternity of others. Have you ever tried to have a discussion with a brain washed one tune Johny, a zealot? You might as well ride a merry-go-round forever. This is why people who have been seduced into cults have to be separated and retrained and returned to self thought and decision making.
This movement in education is about measuring and sorting for future use. Charter schools are the boxes to be sorted in for quick
retrival. It is not about traditional education as most would think it or romanticize it. It is also about redistributing the masses through a urban shrinkage plan and a profit incentivized real estate grab with a global redesign. This is real and this is happening, early on with some smoke and mirrors, now it is in a hurry and hungry and coming to collect on its investment time. That “bonus” and those brain washed TFA young folks, unknown to themselves, could cost us our ideal and our promise to the dream, not just Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Founding Father’s dream, but our very own and our children’s for the gift of a very small powerful group of dreamers who believe they own their dream and are entitled to it the expense of the rest. It has happened before and it is happening now!!
is this an additional $1.2 million on top of the $5 million they already signed for?
Not pleased, but not surprised. John White does not care about Louisiana education at all – only money. (As a side note, I remain very glad that TFA refused to take me and that I was recruited by an excellent local alternative certification program instead. Next year will be my sixth year teaching in the same district, while I’ve seen TFA barely last one year, never mind two.)