Chalkbeat reports that Teach for America will field the smallest number of recruits in 15 years.
The organization expects to place just under 2,000 teachers in schools across the country this coming fall. That’s just two-thirds of the number of first-year teachers TFA placed in schools in fall 2019, and just one-third of the number it sent into the field at its height in 2013.
The latest drops are a continuation of a years-long trend. Still, it’s a striking decline for an organization that’s played a prominent role in American debates about how to improve education and how to staff schools that often struggle to attract and retain teachers….
Alongside declines in enrollment at traditional teacher prep programs and other nontraditional programs, it’s also more evidence that interest in becoming an educator in the U.S. has fallen.
TFA has received hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government and big philanthropies. Its founder Wendy Kopp used to say that better teachers would end poverty. It wasn’t true then and its not true now, nor is it accurate to say that TFA supplied “better” teachers than career educators.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This question is unrelated to the post, but I wanted to ask anyway. What can you tell me about the Marzano Resources/High Reliability Schools models? I know they’re part of some sort of ed reform program, but not sure what? Thank you!
Marzano? In it for himself.
See: http://edinsanity.com/2009/06/02/marzano_part1/ And from there you can access the “rest of the story”.
The edupreneur Marzano has product to sell. Don’t let a little analysis get in the way of buying his “products”
Thank you! He’s been getting a bit of traction here in Utah where I teach, and in Idaho as well.
You’re welcome.
In Missouri, DESE (state dept of ed) has a link to all the Marzano crap. I sent them a copy of edinsanity. Got a form letter back saying that my comment was being forwarded to whomever was in charge of it. Doubt I’ll hear anything back.
Has anyone from the traitorous, greedy, and fraud-based destroy-the-public-schools-movement and with it destroy the United States, launched a replacement for TFA that has another misleading patriotic sounding name?
When TFA closes its door, I expect the greedy, autocratic kleptocrat’s replacement for TFA to be in place by then spewing the same old lies with a new twist of some kind.
TNTP was an offshoot of TFA but may now be its competition?
TFA has morphed into a lobbying group that seeks to hoover up public money for private interests. Their education “training” empire was built on a lie, but the feckless politicians took the bait and sent millions to TFA’s greedy paws.
yes, the latest rumors are that they have moved on to the school administration game
That way, they can spread their poison from the top.
Off topic but this is interesting and outrageous. College admissions in the US are just broken.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-usc-emails-reveal-ties-between-admissions-athletics-fund-raising-at-least-a-1-million-ask-if-we-get-her-in-11646856946
USC and other private universities have always done affirmative action for the wealthy. See this WSJ article from nearly 20 years ago: https://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/golden2.htm
It’s been broken and I thought the Varsity Blues scandal would have helped….NOT. I’m in round 2 and the cost has gone up yet again after last year’s Covid disaster when lots of colleges were online or students took a gap year. My son wants to go to Villanova (and I would like him to go there, too) but the cost is $72,000yr and unless he gets some good $$$$ thrown at him, he will have to settle on UD (they gave him considerable scholarship $). We refuse to saddle our kids with a ton of debt and we also refuse to use retirement funds to pay for college. It’s highway robbery….and yes, the whole system is broken!
LisaM,
Pay no attention to the sticker price. All universities are price discriminators. The net tuition will be no more than they estimate your household would be willing to pay.
I am curious about these decisions. Why does he want to go to Villanova?
72k, just criminal.
LisaM,
These e-mails don’t show whether or not the Varsity Blues scandal helped because they were from the years before the Varsity Blues scandal and are being used in a trial against one of the participants.
I have heard a defense of this kind of favoritism that I strongly disagree with, but it pertains to what you said about your son and the cost of Villanova.
Some people say that it is fine for big donors to buy their way into a college because that money — fundraising – can be used for scholarships, etc.
Too often, though, it is being used for things like athletics programs. And sometimes, it is just criminal, like where the Harvard University applicant’s father bought the fencing coach’s house for many hundreds of thousands of dollars more than it was worth and his fencer son – who would not otherwise have been a designated recruit — become a designated recruit.
I just think that universities need to be transparent. If Jared Kushner’s dad gives $10 million dollars that Harvard can use for scholarships for kids like your son, Harvard can make that transparent.
If the University Pennsylvania wants to auction a seat in the incoming class to the mediocre basketball player whose dad can donate the most money, that’s better than letting the dad give money to the coach that might not go to the school’s scholarship budget.
In fact, it would be much more financially rewarding (and cost less) if universities just offered 10 seats via a bidding war and let the billionaires willing to pay the most get their kids in.
Lisa, have you looked at colleges outside the U.S.? I believe McGill and Toronto are much cheaper than US universities. Same with UK universities—even for non-UK residents.
Flerp….2 yrs ago my 1st wanted to go to NYU ($95,000 yr) and got a $25,000 scholarship to help and we still told her “absolutely, NO”. She found an affordable school in TN but now she is considering moving back to MD and attending the very affordable UMd because it will be in-state tuition. I love Villanova and it would be a great fit for my 2nd if they offer him some decent $$ to attend. UD is a fine 2nd choice and affordable with the $$ that was offered.
Having 1 child 12 hrs away in TN has had some downfalls even though child #1 is better equipped to handle some sticky situations. Having child #2 within a 2 hr drive would be better for him and for us. Navigating college outside of the US is not something that we would consider…even if the costs are more affordable. Where it’s affordable to go to college may be an expensive place to live?…trade-offs.
It’s just ridiculous what college costs are for 4 yr universities. We will do the best we can with what we can afford and everything will fall into place. Hopefully, the costs will go down as admissions decline?
Back on topic. This is THE topic. There are three interrelated plagues affecting public education: privatization, standardized testing, and TFA. TFA only put 2,000 gig temps in schools this year. That is 2,000 too many. There is only one way to staff understaffed schools. There is only one way to reform education. Give teachers compensation, benefits, job security, and respect as educated professionals. Duh.
I vote to eradicate the standardized testing plague, first and foremost. Once the testing is gone, the other bad deforms will fade away. The billions saved can be used for teacher salaries, benefits etc. Slay the Hydra instead of trying to lop off its arms.
Agree!
I would adjust your three to “privatization, the standards and testing malpractice regime and TFA.”
But, but, but. . . who can be against high (no, not that kind of high) standards for students?
I am!
“Teach For A Billionaire”…
Sadly CCSD and Nevada “Leadership” are TFA. They are here to stay. Having catapaulted themselves above everyone.
An example is the very powerful Rebecca Feiden who control $950 million in Nevada Education Dollars which go to Nevada Charters.
Another is Jana Wilcox-Lavin in Opportunity 180 which spreads charters and gives “grants” to them.
No one wants to be a teacher – seems there will always be an appetite to make six figures and control everyone and everything for an eduphilantrophist like Elaine Wynn.