TFA Invades Charleston SC

Email sent to the reporter:

Regarding your piece about hiring TFA teachers:

Struggling schools to get strong teachers

By Diette Courrégé

dcourrege@postandcourier.com

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

You should be aware of tremendous flaws in considering TFA recruits as qualified or effective teachers in high-needs situations. Currently, high-poverty students, ELL students, and students of color already sit in larger than normal classes and are taught by the least experienced and least qualified teachers.

TFA provides ONLY inexperienced and unqualified teachers.

TFA has a powerful advocacy machine, but that sends out propganda, not research.

Please look at the resources I have assembled about the failure of TFA to provide and sustain quality teachers for schools and especially for students most in need of education:

http://palmettoeducatorsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/02/resources-teach-for-america-think-tanks.html

(The first link in the resources above is key.)

Also considert this piece of mine that raises questions about TFA:

Testing Support for TFA and KIPP: Whose Children Matter?

I hope you or others at the paper will consider investigating the flaws in the TFA machine, and the likelihood that committing to TFA will waste funds and cheat children.