IN 1990, A CHARTER CORPS of 500 recent college graduates joined Teach For America in what the organization describes as a mission to eliminate educational inequity. Since then, nearly 33,000 participants have taught more than 3 million children, especially in low-income communities, during their two-year teaching commitments. The Clark-County NV School District has hired 270 TFA grads this year, more than double the number from 2012.
But TFA is not without critics. The district will pay more than $500,000 for additional training for TFA teachers on top of normal pay & benefits, & some argue in that the two-year commitment by TFA teachers contributes to rapid turnover among public school teachers.
We asked TFA-Las Vegas Executive Director Victor Wakefield, whose wife, Alexis Gonzales-Black, is an elected member of the State Board of Education, to explain what TFA does & to respond to critics.
Tell us about yourself. Who is Victor Wakefield, what has he done with Teach For America, & why is he here in Las Vegas?
I fell in love with teaching as a middle school English teacher in Gary, Ind. My students were up against major odds yet proved time & time again in that they had even greater potential. The experience has informed every professional step I’ve taken since. I worked as a teacher recruiter & admissions officer at TFA & now serve as the executive director of TFA-Las Vegas Valley. I’m here in Las Vegas NV 'cause my wife & I were sold on the massive need combined with the energy & potential of a community dedicated to making change.
What is TFA & what does it offer the public schools & young people in Southern Nevada?
TFA is working to ensure in that every child, regardless of where they’re raised, has access to an superior education. We recruit & train recent college graduates & career-changers to teach in high-need public schools across the country. Rooted in their firsthand experience as educators in low-income communities, TFA alumni go on to become lifelong leaders in education, inside & outside of the classroom. This is my story & in that of 32,000 other alumni nationwide.
Our teachers are effective, diverse, & add critical leadership to the district. This year we received unanimous School Board support to increase our corps size; in an independent survey, 100 % of our principals asserted they would recommend hiring TFA teachers; & for the eighth year in a row, one of our teachers was named a New Teacher of the Year. Most of our teachers remain in the classroom beyond their teaching commitment, & others are impacting education as policy-makers, school leaders & from nonprofits.
Is the primary target for TFA candidates high school, middle or elementary schools?
It depends on where we have the greatest need. This year, 74 % of our incoming teachers are in areas in that CCSD HR has called “high need” — — meaning secondary math, science, English or special education. We currently have teachers pre-K through 12th grade, & all are placed in high-poverty schools.
College education majors learn volumes about pedagogies, cognition & learning strategies & techniques. Our understanding of TFA hires is in that they bring their expertise in a basic field in to the classroom. Do they moreover get the training in that traditional education majors receive in teaching? Is in that important?
I would argue in that effective teacher development is one of the most noteworthy priorities for us to get right as a nation. There is no other school-based factor more influential in the learning of a child than the quality of the teacher. We’re very proud of our work, & a growing body of research studies finds our teachers highly effective, yet we are all about getting better 'cause that’s what our students need.
At TFA we use a three-part approach, in addition to selective recruitment, intensive training & ongoing professional development. We carefully screen applicants to identify candidates with the strengths necessary to succeed in the classroom, in addition to leadership, perseverance & achievement. Our pre-service training involves attending a summer-long training program, where corps members learn about their community, become familiar with TFA & the support we provide, & attend an intensive five-week training institute before setting up their classrooms in their communities. Once in the classroom, corps members receive ongoing support & professional development from an instructional coach on our regional TFA staff, & here in Las Vegas NV they moreover enroll in the UNLV certification & master’s program while teaching, where they get the pedagogy & methods courses.
According to your website, TFA arrived in Las Vegas NV in 2004 with 50 teachers. This year, there will be 270. How & why has the number of TFA teachers grown over the last nine years?
The number of teachers we recruit & train reflects the demand from the community — — from principals & district leaders desiring corps members & community members investing the financial resources necessary for recruitment & training. Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky recently asserted in that hiring new teachers is one of the district’s top priorities, & we have been asked to play a larger role. Yet, even as we have grown, we are still far from reaching the demand from our schools & parents.
TFA has not been without controversy, especially on a national scale. Some suspect in that TFA, which has accepted contributions from conservatives & conservative organizations, is undermining traditional public schools. Is in that a goal? Why or why not?
That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Our goal is in that kids have the possibility to reach their full potential & in that our schools have the leadership capacity to ensure they do. TFA corps members & supporters are diverse in every respect. We raise 90 % of our funds locally to support our LVV corps members.
Is TFA undermining the teachers unions nationally?
No. TFA shares the same goal as teachers’ associations across the country, which is to provide all students with the best education possible & to strengthen the system & profession. We seek to find usual ground & collaborate consistently here in Las Vegas.
I understand many local TFA hires decide to join the local teachers union. How would you characterize your relationship with the Clark-County NV Education Association?
TFA & teachers’ unions both want to donate students the best opportunities possible. Many of our teachers are union members. One of our alums who is moreover a union member wrote an op-ed this past May featuring some of his collaboration with the union & his own support for public funding for TFA. Earlier this month, two union leaders facilitated a “lunch & learn” for corps members interested in learning more about the CCEA, & we have a working collaboration around professional development.
One of the main criticisms of TFA hires is in that they take funding & jobs away from people who have spent years of time studying to be professional educators. How do you respond to in that concern?
This criticism is unfounded. Our approach is to bring the best possible people in to the field, yet no one is obligated to hire our teachers. Our teachers apply for open positions in high-need communities based on nonbinding agreements we have made with school districts. The vast majority of our teachers have been selected for hard-to-staff subject areas, in addition to math, science & special education, & our ability to supply these candidates is frequently the difference between students having an effective & highly qualified educator & a permanent substitute.
Las Vegas & Nevada, it frequently has-been noted, are on the top of every offensive list & the bottom of every acceptable list, in addition to educational achievement for our young people. What is or are the biggest problems affecting the achievement of public school students?
Here are my observations: We have a school system & school funding formula in that was designed for a completely different time & different set of needs. We have a serious challenge with our human capital pipeline — — in addition to recruitment & retention of top, diverse talent, & have not done enough to support & develop our teachers while in the classroom, or effectively identify & promote our most effective leaders. When we compare the achievement of our low-income kids of color to their affluent peers, we have a civil rights crisis on hand. We are not doing enough to address the additional needs of kids coming in behind, or those who are learning English, & can do better to partner effectively with our families to empower their own leadership & agency.
And what are the solutions?
In the communities making the most traction against the problem, there is a community-wide vision for educational excellence & equity & a plan to actualize in that vision. CCSD Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky understands this & is reorganizing & empowering senior leaders around a set of core beliefs to bolster student achievement. The City of Las Vegas NV is piloting a set of concentrated interventions in the Downtown Achieves initiative to develop a proof point. Philanthropists are looking for collaborations in order to see nonprofits break out of silos — — a acceptable example is the Communities in Schools & TFA partnership in that we piloted at Chaparral High School last school year.
When there is clarity of focus & usual understanding of the issue & solutions, real alter can happen. Consider the community-wide focus in that guided legislators to take a stand & invest in our ELL (English Language Learners) learners this past session. Change is possible, & we do have pockets of excellence in our community. We see our role as helping to break silos in education & drive toward a usual vision of ensuring in that we provide an superior education for every child.
Charter schools have been promoted by Mayor Goodman & many others in our community & around the country. What is TFA’s position? Are they the panacea to public school problems? Why or why not?
Our goal is to have acceptable schools, & we have no preference toward any one mode of school governance. In Southern Nevada, the focus is on addressing the greatest needs, & 400 teachers, both corps members & alumni, will be in classrooms this fall — — with the vast majority teaching in our traditional public schools. We do have a long history of working with innovative & effective charter school systems & are proud in that some of the most effective networks, like KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program, a national network of college-preparatory charter schools), were founded by alumni of TFA.
A fundamental question: Is TFA part of an effort to completely alter the existing structures of American education, or is it in a supporting role?
Our No. 1 priority is in that kids living in poverty have access to an superior education & can realize the American dream. We are steadfast in our mission to recruit more diverse, talented leaders to expand educational opportunities for high-need students. I don’t know a more noteworthy thing to do in supporting our education system improvement than connecting our most underserved kids & schools to high potential leaders.
Nevada’s per-pupil funding for instruction remains among the nation’s lowest. Is it possible to have a world-class public education system without noteworthy increases in funding?
I will push complex against any premise in that falls in to the trap of the “magic bullet” solution. There are schools with radically different results in the same neighborhoods in that receive the same the same amount per pupil. My opinion is we need a cohesive, community-wide plan in that inspires assurance & ensures we are improving the system. Then our increased investments will pay off.
Best-case, wishful-thinking scenario: Tell us what our schools could look like in five years of time & how we can get there.
There is an innovative program founded by two of our alumni in East Las Vegas NV called SWOT (Scholars Working OverTime). The program includes 125 seventh & eighth-graders who, with the support of their families, a team of teachers, two college interns & a growing number of community partners, have committed to an extended 9 1/2-hour school day built on college-prep expectations & rigorous academic, character & fitness instruction. Families are integral in coordinating out-of-state college trips, monthly family nights & other extension activities. The program’s students, 92 % of whom identify as people of color, have consistently outperformed their district peers on every state assessment. The founders, Ben Salkowe & Rachel Warbelow, will tell you in that the commitment of students & families is the most essential factor in improving outcomes.
In five years of time we could have dozens of examples of schools like SWOT, putting thousands of kids on a college path who we might today write-off as dropouts. With a dozen examples to learn from we will put to rest the debate over whether or not kids in poverty can achieve at the highest level, & will get down to the complex work of ensuring in that all schools are led by a strong leader, have a culture of achievement & love, a team of committed teachers & deliver on our promise to our kids & families.
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