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TFA ramps up on Grounds recruiting

Recruiter says group casts wide net

Teach For America recruitment efforts have ramped up at the University in recent weeks — an acknowledgement to the massive success alumni have had in the corps, said Dana Cronyn, who spent the past two years recruiting on Grounds and now works in TFA’s communications office.

“With any organization of Teach For America we see U.Va. leaders have just done really amazing things,” Cronyn said. “Currently on our board of directors in Nashville five of the seven members are U.Va. alums. So we have [teachers] who are shaping policy for an entire city who are coming from U.Va.”

Last week, Chante Chambers, the vice president of recruitment at TFA, devoted some time specifically to recruitment efforts at the University. Cronyn said leaders, activists and passionate students at the University drive recruiters to return and draw candidates to TFA.

“When it comes to recruitment at U.Va., obviously student self-governance is something that is just huge on Grounds and students are incredibly active,” she said. “They’re starting organizations, they’re leading groups, there is student[-led] dialogue. It’s interesting when it comes to recruitment [because] our job just becomes about finding these great leaders who are already doing the basic things and helping them see that their activism and their passion can be directionally funneled into the classroom.”

Cronyn said recruiters are determined to find students from a diversity of backgrounds, whether a student is a first-generation college student or a biology major.

“Great teachers can look so many different ways,” Cronyn said. “We look for exceptional teachers who all share a number of qualities, but that might look really different. So we recruit all majors, all backgrounds, all experiences.”

TFA contacted third-year College student Naomi Bishop in August, saying representatives would be in Charlottesville in the next few weeks and would like to tell her more about the program.

“Basically, they contacted me through email in the middle of August letting me know that a person I knew who had graduated had listed me as someone who would be a strong candidate for Teach For America,” Bishop said. “After being contacted two more times, I finally responded and let them know that I was a third year, so I wouldn’t be interested in getting together this year, but they were very polite and grateful that I replied.”

Cronyn said there is no typical TFA teacher.

“The things that we look for that probably unite most of our corps members [are] things like perseverance, things like leadership, achievement,” she said. “But I think probably one of the biggest levers that makes someone a successful corps member comes from passion and just a deep belief in the fact that all children should have the same opportunities and can achieve at really high levels when given those opportunities.”

But education experts question the quality of TFA’s program. Education Prof. Sandra Cohen, who is the director of teacher education, said TFA recruits are not immediately ready to teach in classrooms. Despite their training, they require a lot of classroom experience.

“You don’t become prepared to to teach for a classroom setting in 5-6 weeks over a summer,” Cohen said. “Even Teach For America has now admitted that they need more time and has started providing course work for the students in their junior year. Experience is definitely a key factor, but it has to be guided experience.

Learning style training was especially important, Cohen said.

“They have to have a foundation in how people learn and they have to be well versed in their contact area and understand how constructional sciences impact a student’s learning,” Cohen said.

Assoc. Education Prof. Susan Mintz said Teach For America does not adequately prepare teachers for a classroom setting. Teaching, Mintz said, requires more than high academic performance and good intentions.

“Speaking for myself, I would argue that TFA does not prepare teachers for the classroom before they enter schools and that their on-going training during their two year teaching commitment is also lacking,” Mintz said. “Being a good student, knowing content well, and being committed to changing the trajectory of students in the school is not enough. Teachers need to be highly skilled to make a difference in the classroom.”

Cronyn said the University will remain a hot spot for TFA recruiting in the years to come.

“We as an organization will continue to find really great leaders and for the last several years U.Va. has consistently provided us with lots of really great teachers,” she said. “We will continue to be an active presence on Grounds because we know there is so much passion, talent and activism on Grounds.”

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