Jun 24, 2009 6:55 pm US/Central
Teach For America To Help Struggling MN Students
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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The Teach for America teachers will be assigned to schools in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and some charter schools in St. Paul. The new teachers were in training on Wednesday at the University of Minnesota.
CBS
Minnesota has one of the highest achievement gaps in the country when it comes to the differences of how children of color perform in the classroom. Because of that gap, Teach for America, a program that sends top college students into troubled schools, is coming here.
The Teach for America teachers will be assigned to schools in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and some charter schools in St. Paul. The new teachers were in training on Wednesday at the University of Minnesota.
In the fall, they will be assigned to local schools were students are struggling.
Aneesh Sohoni from the University of Minnesota will be assigned to Opportunity High School in Minneapolis which has mostly Somali students.
"I wanted to play my role in working with Teach for America and in working in one of these schools to try and help eliminate the inequality that exists in the education system," said Sohoni.
So far, 35,000 students applied for the programs 4,100 teaching positions. Teach for America operates in 34 communities across the country.
Danielle Cortesa is from Massachusetts and graduated from Boston College. She has moved to Minnesota for the 2-year commitment and will teach at the Wellstone International High School in Minneapolis.
"I hope that I'm an effective teacher. I'd really love to make a career out of it. If I don't stay in education I'd love to do policy work about education and change some of the policies that have put these kids in these positions in the first place," said Cortesa.
School administrator Pat Pratt-Cook worked with the program when she was in Memphis. She said these young teachers really do make a difference.
"They are really looking for individuals who are committed and passionate about making a difference for students, who are committed and passionate about closing the achievement gap for students of color, who are committed to working in an urban district," said Pratt-Cook.
The Teach for America teachers are employees of the school district and they make what a starting teacher would earn. In the case of the Minneapolis School District that is $37,000 a year.
The program will start with 40 teachers but it hopes to have three times that in three years.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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