"Two years. Your life. Our future."
So goes the motto of America's first national teacher corps, Teach for America.
The organization has a very straightforward purpose: To ask America's most astute college graduates to put their plans for medical school, graduate school or the corporate world on hold for two years - and teach elementary, middle and high school.
If Teach for America recruiter Danny Morris has his way, he will get a fair number of University students excited about the notion when he visits campus Nov. 6.
"The Teach for America mission is to build a diverse corps of recent graduates to serve needy schools and to be advocates for education," Morris said.
Teach for America, established in 1990, was the brainchild of a thesis paper written by founder Wendy Kopp while she was a senior at Princeton in 1989. Concerned with the dearth of college students seriously considering the teaching profession, Kopp wanted to address the teacher shortages experienced in many inner-city and rural-area school districts.
Morris said his visit to the University is important because "we've always gotten a healthy number of University students interested in dedicating a part of their post-graduation lives to this cause." And Kathy Amaral, Teach for America's director of operations for admissions, says the numbers support Morris' statement.
"Thus far, 111 University graduates have been Teach for America teachers," she said. "Currently we have 35 University alums serving. I would certainly say that a large number of our teachers graduated from the University."
One such University alum is Cherlon Ussery. Now in the second year of her stint with Teach for America, Ussery teaches in Washington, D.C.'s Wilkinson elementary school.
"My life as a teacher has been both exceedingly challenging and extremely rewarding," she said. "The life of a teacher is definitely not just an eight -to-three job; it's constant involvement with and in the lives of these children. I've definitely learned a lot."
Every year, 500 recent graduates nationwide are chosen from among thousands of applicants to join the Teach for America corps. For University students, the process begins with Morris' informational meeting. Later, applicants will be invited to participate in a two-day interviewing process that includes individual interviews with selectors and teaching a mock classroom session.
"We're looking for students with good communication skills, shown leadership on campus, adaptability and a shared vision with Teach for America that one day all of America's children will have equal access to an exemplary education," Morris said.
Over the summer, those selected will attend an intensive five-week training session at the University of Houston consisting of workshops and actual teaching.
Two weeks before the school semester is to begin, Teach for America teachers are oriented to their schools and the students' neighborhoods. Choices for the two-year teaching assignment include New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.; among the rural options are the Mississippi Delta and the Rio Grande Valley.
Teach for America volunteers are paid by the school districts as first-year teachers; salaries range from $15,000 to $30,000. Furthermore, during their two-year stint, volunteers are eligible for student-loan deferrals and possible cancellation. In fact, Morris asserted, many choose to go beyond their two-year agreement.
"About 65 percent of our teachers decide to remain an extra year," he said.
For more information, contact the Teach for America headquarters at (212) 425-9039, view the organization's Web site at: http://www.teachforamerica.org/index.html, or call the University's Career Planning & Placement office.