I believe America must secure its future through investment in our children and in their education. In classrooms throughout New Jersey, Teach For America has made dramatic improvements in the state's most under-resourced schools, helping to ensure that our kids have access to a great public education system.
- Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey
Teach For America • Newark is playing a critical role in improving schools and communities. This year, a corps of 90 of the nation’s top recent college graduates is working in underserved schools across Newark to ensure that students facing the challenges of poverty are given the educational opportunities they deserve. Our alumni are leaders in the classroom, in education more broadly, and across all sectors. Together, they are making educational equity a reality in Newark. Learn about living and teaching in Newark.
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Corps Impact | |
Alumni Impact | |
Financial Sustainability | |
Regional Supporters | |
Contact Us | |
Executive Director |
Recent press coverage
In the 2008-09 school year, nearly 90 corps members are reaching nearly 7,500 students in Newark. Ross Jensen is one example of the positive impact our corps members have on academic achievement.
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Ross Jensen (Newark Corps '06) |
When Ross Jensen entered his classroom, he discovered that his fifth grade students were, on average, struggling to read at a fourth grade level. Only 61 percent of his students had scored proficient on the language arts section of the New Jersey state assessment. Ross quickly set high expectations, accepted no excuses, and invested his students in the idea that they could be academic “All-Stars.” Early morning writer’s workshops and afternoon tutoring helped his students gain confidence and academic success. Ross enlisted the students’ families as partners, sending home individual weekly progress reports so that parents could provide encouragement. By the end of the year, his “All-Stars” were reading at a sixth grade level and scored 22 percent higher than the school-wide average on the state assessment.
Principal Satisfaction
*"Teach For America 2007 National Principal Survey,” Policy Studies Associates, July 2007.
Impact on Student Achievement
A growing body of research shows that corps members have a positive impact on their students' achievement. Read more about our impact.
Student Profile
*Percentages vary depending on school district
Newark: Corps Member Placement
| Assignment | % of Corps |
|---|---|
| Pre-K, Kindergarten | 8% |
| Elementary School, Lower (1-2) | 12% |
| Elementary School, Upper (3-5) | 22% |
| Secondary Math | 14% |
| Secondary English | 20% |
| Secondary Science | 18% |
| Secondary Social Studies | 8% |
| Special Education | 2% |
*Percentages are rounded and do not add up to 100 percent; corps members who teach bilingual, ESL, or special education are also accounted for in the grade-level/subject placement percentages
Characteristics of the 2008 Corps
| Corps Profile | Top alma maters by market share* |
|---|---|
| Average GPA: 3.6 | Spelman College: 16% |
| Average SAT: 1320 | Morehouse College, Williams College, Yale University: 11% |
| Held leadership roles on campus: 95% | Duke University, Georgetown University, University of Chicago, Wake Forest University, Wesleyan University: 10% |
| People of color: 29% | Amherst College, Harvard University, Haverford University, Notre Dame University, Princeton University, Rice University: 9% |
*Percentage of senior classes who applied to Teach For America
Fostering Alumni Leadership for Systemic Change
As the number of corps members grows, so does our alumni base. By 2010, we will have over 320 Teach For America • Newark alumni pursuing professional careers and impacting educational reform from every sector.
Jacob Mnookin (Newark Corps '02) |
After teaching high school English for three years at Arts High School in Newark, Jacob Mnookin attended Princeton University where he earned a master’s degree in Public Affairs and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning. Drawing on his experience as a corps member, Jacob has now set out to create Coney Island Prep, a rigorous college-preparatory school serving the Coney Island community in Brooklyn. The school is slated to open in August 2009 with 80 fifth grade students and will add a new fifth grade class every fall until 2016. At its capacity, the school will serve more than 600 students in fifth through twelfth grade. Coney Island Prep will provide a structured school community that will help students develop the academic skills and character necessary for success in the careers of their choice.
Growing Our Impact: Funding Needs, 2007-2010
Each additional recruit is another dedicated teacher for children growing up in low-income communities in Newark, and another talented leader with the insight and commitment necessary to sustain the reform efforts underway, which is critical to the ongoing vitality of our region.
| Year | Corps Size | Revenue Needs |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 70 | $1.25 million |
| 2008-09 | 88* | $1.38 million* |
| 2009-10 | 115* | $1.68 million* |
*projected |
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We are grateful to have many supporters who generously contribute to our movement in Newark. The foundations, corporations and individuals listed below have made it possible for Teach For America to continue to recruit, select, train, and support teachers who are working to eliminate educational inequity in our city and across the nation.
| Advisory Board |
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| Dana Zucker (board chair) Independent Consultant |
| Frances Durst Vice President Wachovia Corporation |
| Dr. Roberta Frankfort Board President New Jersey SEEDS |
| Dr. Linda Rodrigues Chair, Foreign Languages The New School |
| Lawrence Goldman President and CEO New Jersey Performing Arts Center |
| Richard Pechter Teach For America Alumnus Retired Chair, Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette |
| Lawrence Sharnak Executive Vice President American Express Cards |
| Rafael Delgado Consumer & Personal Products Worldwide Johnson & Johnson |
| Dudley Ryan Senior Vice President Trammell Crow |
| Dr. Rosemary Steinbaum Director of Teacher Education Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |
To support Teach For America • Newark with a gift or to request additional information about our impact or finances, please contact:
Teach For America • Newark
Heather Calverase, Executive Director
Jarrad Toussant, Development Director
60 Park Place
18th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102
p 973-621-6644, f 973-621-7766
heather.calverase@teachforamerica.org
jarrad.toussant@teachforamerica.org
Heather Calverase joined Teach For America in 2007 after seven years as a center and area director for Kaplan Test Prep, where she witnessed the realities and future implications of the achievement gap first-hand in her work with students and staff across five states. She was recognized within Kaplan for posting rapid annual growth in the West Los Angeles market and for substantially expanding the company’s Pittsburgh market, more than tripling the company’s revenues in that region. She has also worked for the Council of State Governments as a policy coordinator in the council’s environmental and telecommunications policy research centers. During her time at the council, she earned an M.B.A from the University of Phoenix. She also holds a B.S. from Youngstown State University and an M.S. from the University of Kentucky.
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