As Governor Kasich said in his State-of-the-State speech, Teach for America is coming to Ohio. You can read more below from the Cleveland Plain Dealer about this program and how it will help kids in Ohio:
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The teacher-recruitment group recently singled out by the governor and state legislature as a way to improve education in Ohio has started planning to put recruits in the state – possibly in the Cleveland schools – by the fall of 2012.
Wendy Kopp, founder of New York-based Teach for America, said in a visit to Cleveland Monday that Ohio is ripe for her group’s model of taking high-performing college graduates and placing them as teachers in struggling schools for two years.
And
Until this spring, Ohio law blocked Teach for America recruits from Ohio schools because they do not follow normal teacher training and certification programs. Gov. John Kasich and the state legislature waived the certification requirement specifically for Teach for America in April.
Teachers from Teach for America are typically star students with non-teaching majors who meet the group’s profile of “transformational teachers” capable of inspiring students in poor communities to reach for – and meet – higher goals and expectations.
And
Cleveland school board President Denise Link said the district is interested in Teach for America, but the board will have to learn more details.
Cleveland Teachers Union President David Quolke noted that the district has a recall list of 720 laid off teachers who have priority over any new hires. He declined to comment further without a specific plan in place.
You can read the entire article here.
Shame on you governor. There are MANY recent Ohio education grads who cannot get jobs and have incurred much debt. Many of these graduates have wanted to be teachers since they were young. They graduate very excited and highly optimistic that they can finally obtain jobs and begin the careers they have dreamed of. But then, as if the job market isn’t bad enough and the odds high that they will not find work as teachers, you are now purposefully bringing people in to compete with them–people who have already enjoyed their own chosen careers but now, on a whim, simply feel like exploring a new challenge. I live in Westerville and have always supported you but I am vehemently opposed to this. My daughter is one of those recent graduates. She was fortunate enough to get a job (although that was without having to compete with Teach for America candidates). But most of her friends have not been so fortunate. Several are presently sending resumes out of state. I am very disappointed in you. Both my daughter and I have emailed you about this issue but have yet to receive an explanation.