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July 31, 2009

School Unions Pin Job Losses on Teach for America

Teach for America’s success in attracting recent college graduates to inner-city classrooms is generating a backlash among teachers’ organizations, according to USA Today.

Critics contend the nonprofit effort encourages urban school districts to replace experienced educators with neophytes who usually move on to other work after doing their two-year Teach for America stint. “I don’t think you’ll find a city that isn’t laying off people to accommodate” the organization, said Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union.

Teach for America spokeswoman Kerci Marcello Stroud says the program is “just one source” for urban teachers and that its recruits must interview for jobs just like traditional applicants. The organization will place 7,300 teachers this year, up from 6,200 in 2008, and is expanding its reach from 29 to 35 metropolitan areas.

Friday July 31, 2009 | Permalink

Comments

1. If many of the teachers I was subjected to in my youth are any measure of prevailing teaching skills in America’s schools today, professional teachers can use some competition.

   — Mal Warwick    Jul 31, 04:07 PM    #

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