UNC Ranks No. 6 in Teach For America Recruits
Posted on Sept. 3, 2013UNC ranks sixth this year among large colleges and universities contributing the greatest number of graduating seniors to Teach For America.
New rankings show Carolina contributed 57 new graduates to the incoming teaching corps. Last year, UNC ranked No. 3 among large colleges and universities, contributing 75 new graduates.
About 7 percent of UNC’s most recent senior class applied to Teach For America, down slightly from 8 percent a year earlier.
Throughout Teach For America’s 23-year history, 659 UNC alumni have taught as corps members, according to the latest news release from Teach For America. In 2008, Carolina made its debut on the top contributors’ list, ranked that year in the No. 8 spot.
The University of Texas at Austin is this year’s No. 1 contributor among large schools, with 73 graduates beginning their two-year Teach For America commitment this fall. Harvard University and Vanderbilt University top all medium-sized schools, each contributing 45 graduates. Among small schools, Spelman College ranks highest, with 27 graduates joining the corps. All four of those schools have appeared on the top contributors list since it was first released in 2008.
Teach For America corps members commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools. Teach For America recruits on more than 850 college campuses, seeking seniors and graduates from all academic majors and backgrounds who have demonstrated achievement, perseverance, leadership, commitment to educational equity, and a deep respect for diverse experiences and backgrounds.
This fall, more than 11,000 first- and second-year corps members will be teaching in high-need classrooms across 48 regions. The 5,900 incoming corps members represent more than 800 colleges and universities.
Thirty-nine percent of the incoming corps identify as people of color. Two out of five incoming corps members received Pell Grants (the most reliable indicator of a low-income background) and 26 percent are the first in their family to earn a college degree. Twenty-six percent are graduate students or professionals from a range of backgrounds, including military veterans, financial analysts, nonprofit staffers, consultants and participants in other AmeriCorps programs.
Below are the top five colleges or universities, including ties, contributing the highest numbers of graduates to the 2013 corps in each of the three school-size categories (as defined by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching). For more, a detailed list is available online.
Large Schools
- University of Texas at Austin (73 graduates to serve in the 2013 teaching corps)
- University of Southern California (70)
- University of California-Berkeley (69)
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (67)
- University of Florida (59)
Medium-Sized Schools
- Harvard University (45) / Vanderbilt University (45)
- Georgetown University (40) / University of Pennsylvania (40)
- George Washington University (37)
- Columbia University in the City of New York (35) / Tufts University (35)
- Dartmouth College (33) / Northwestern University (33)
Small Schools
- Spelman College (27)
- Wellesley College (20)
- Smith College (16)
- Denison University (15)
- College of the Holy Cross (14) / DePauw University (14) / Grinnell College (14) / Lafayette College (14) / Whitman College (14) / Williams College (14)
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding individuals of all academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity.
A recent University of Tennessee report identified Teach For America as among the most effective sources of new teachers in that state. A 2011 study by a Harvard professor and the American Enterprise Institute found that Teach For America cultivates more founders and leaders of education organizations than any other organization or program.
More online…
- UNC No. 3 in Teach For America Recruits
October 2012 news report - UNC Ranks 6th in Grads Joining Teach For America
July 2010 news report - Teach For America Founder Will Address Graduates
November 2005 news report - For America, They Teach: Many top graduates start careers in the neediest schools. From the March/April 2004 issue of Blueprints, the GAA’s newsletter for young alumni (1998-2004).
