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ASU ranked top nationally for Latino students applying to Teach For America


May 21, 2013

A recent "Horizonte" program focused on Arizona State University's top national ranking this year for its number of Latino students applying to join Teach For America. José Cárdenas, host of the weekly public affairs program on Eight, Arizona PBS, interviewed 2013 ASU graduate Matt Estrada and Nikki Gusz, special assistant to the dean in ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, about the TFA program.

Estrada, a biological sciences major at ASU, will join approximately 700 fellow Teach For America corps members from around the country at TFA's Phoenix Institute in a rigorous five-week summer preparation program. He has been assigned to teach at Callahan Middle School in Las Vegas and plans to pursue his master's in education while working as a corps member.

A related venture by the Teachers College and Teach For America partnership is the new “Changemaking in Education” course offered at ASU this fall. Gusz talked about this unique education course which offers an opportunity for students in all majors to learn more about education. She also is an alumnus of both Teachers College and TFA and is co-teaching the class with Apollonia Trujillo Gallegos, ASU’s recruitment director for TFA. A video about the course is available at http://vimeo.com/64846636.

A list of ASU students who graduated in spring 2013 and are joining TFA as corps members is available at http://education.asu.edu/uploads/general/TFA-TeachersCollegeGrads.pdf.

Teach For America is a national corps of outstanding recent college graduates from all majors who commit to teach in high need urban and rural public schools for two years. It has partnered with ASU since late 2006 when President Michael M. Crow helped launch a shared commitment to developing and supporting future education leaders. In turn, philanthropist T. Denny Sanford helped to create the Sanford Inspire Program, which at ASU is redefining teacher preparation by integrating best practices of Teachers College and Teach For America.

Teach For America corps members receive a full salary, benefits, student loan assistance and future graduate school and employment opportunities. After two years, the program’s alumni go on to start careers in education, policy, law, medicine and business. The goal is for them to become lifelong advocates for education whether in a classroom or leadership position.

Article source: Horizonte - Eight, Arizona PBS

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