Public Schools Need Fresh Talent

I am writing to ask you to consider spending your next two years teaching in an under-resourced urban or rural public school.

Eight years ago, when I was a senior in college, I started Teach For America because I was convinced that a national teacher corps of America's most talented individuals could fundamentally change our country--by ensuring that more of our nation's young people have the opportunity to attain an excellent education, and by influencing the consciousness of a corps of individuals who will ultimately be among our nation's leaders.

Now, having seen first-hand the circumstances facing children everywhere, from South Central Los Angeles to the Mississippi Delta to the South Bronx, I am only more passionate about our mission.

Today, as you read this, one thousand Teach For America corps members from all academic majors and ethnic backgrounds are teaching in classrooms across the country. They are bringing to their schools a tremendous sense of possibility and a passionate commitment to their students.

They are starting extra-curricular programs, running school improvement initiatives and rewriting school curricula. I'm writing now to call upon you to become part of this movement and to help build our country's future. --Wendy Kopp,   Founder,   Teach For America