#tfa #iteach Check out this pair of articles about alternative certification from the Texas Tribune/NYT and from AP. The first describes the boom in alternative certification programs including particularly for-profit programs like iTeach which are set to spread nationally (For-Profit Certification for Teachers in Texas Is Booming). I don't have anything against for-profit companies as long as they're doing a good job rather than lobbying their way around being monitored and evaluated. The second story asks just what taxpayers are supposed to get from the $50M i3 grant that TFA recently received from the USDE (Big expansion, big questions for Teach for America). TFA is slated to provide up to 25 percent of new teachers in 60 school districts nationwide, according to the article, which also quotes TFA alum Megan Hopkins as a critic of the program. Longtime readers may recall that Hopkins wrote a paper showing how TFA should add a preservice training year to its program or add a third year of teaching to its core program, which has remained essentially unchanged for 20 years now. She was quoted in a NYT Sunday Magazine article here. My follow-up interview and posts about her (here and here) generated a little bit of reader discussion.
These Questions About TFA & iTeach Expansions are very useful. As TFA is about to provide 25% new teachers.
Posted by: Interview Questions | November 29, 2011 at 01:15 AM