After 10 years as a teacher, Melissa Rowland still finds education to be a rewarding career, but hopes to take the next step as a school administrator. How did your career in the classroom begin? I was a recent graduate of the University of Nevada,…

In this special bonus episode, we hear from guest host Kayla Camacho, a 2014 Teach For America Dallas-Fort Worth alum, and leaders across Teach for America’s network who are innovating culturally relevant methods for recruiting and supporting Native…

Students achieve more in the classroom when they have teachers who represent their backgrounds. To support Native students’ success, the Teach For America network is innovating approaches for recruiting and retaining Native educators. When high…

A father and educator explains how the Asian American model minority myth perpetuates stereotypes and makes recommendations for culturally responsive teaching.

Voters in Arizona have the chance to offer thousands of immigrant students access to in-state tuition this November. In this video, one student explains how the proposition could change lives. For some, this means the university down the street is no…

In this animated short, middle school students and a TFA alumna describe how they successfully rallied to provide free access to menstrual products in schools across Hawai‘i. Riez: In the history of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, Queen Lili‘uokalani was…

A middle school student is paving the way for future generations of youth activists by proving that even the youngest people can make a significant impact in their community. For other middle school students who want to get involved in youth activism…

Performing arts teacher Christopher Sandoval taps into his students’ cultural identities and family histories by exploring a holiday centered around the dead.

Last year’s graduating seniors are doing more than taking 2020 in stride. They are converting disappointments, surprises, and tragedies into life lessons for the rest of us. For the class that graduated from high school last spring with none of the…

First-time principal Courtney Ochi (San Diego ’14) did not expect things to go this way, but the corps prepared her for the unexpected. The last time I was in a school, it was March in Los Angeles and the elementary was full of life. Six months…

Why I Teach, Even (Especially) When There's No School What's been on the minds of teachers as the school shutdown has continued through the end of the school year? This spring we asked teachers three questions: What was your "why" when you joined the…

The expected outcome of planning a wedding is you get married as planned. Not so much in 2020. The global crisis halted travel and prohibited gatherings, but it also inspired deep reflections on the meaning of true partnership within these four…

Beamber Davis was hired on the spot for her first job at the Aria Resort and Casino as a lifeguard in January but due to COVID-19, the popular Las Vegas resort has suspended operations until further notice. At the beginning of the school year, Las…

While he waits for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a teacher serenades his community. For Alejandro Fuentes Mena (Colorado ’13), knowledge feeds his mind, but the arts feed his soul. When he’s not…

In booming Nashville, Tennessee, explosive growth is displacing students and teachers from parts of the city. But through an inventive urban design course, a rising generation of middle school students are preparing to become the agents of…

Some teachers conceal their online identities from their students. Not @daniellitaa, otherwise known as Daniella [Suárez] Boyd (Miami-Dade ’10), an IB mathematics teacher at Royal Palm Beach High School in Florida. Boyd tweets from a public account…

For many people, immigration status—whether their own or their families’—can be a source of intense fear and anxiety. In Arizona, a nonprofit seeks to harness and heal those painful lived experiences. Angélica Cesar was born in California and, at age…

A student and a teacher started their high school careers together eight years ago. Now they’re on to another new beginning. Jasmine Benally met Darah Tabrum (New Mexico ’11) eight years ago when Benally was a freshman at Kirtland Central High School…

More than 230 Teach For America alumni ran for elected office over the past year, and more than 135 won. As newly elected officials took office, we reached out to teachers among us—corps members and alumni—to ask a simple question: What do they want…

Ten miles outside the nation’s capital, a young high school’s diverse community of newcomer students is surprising everyone, on the soccer field and in classrooms.