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St. Paul, Minn.–MinnCAN: The Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now today released the following statement on the Minnesota Board of Teaching rescinding Teach For America’s waiver, placing 37 local teachers’ jobs on the line:
“It’s unconscionable that many Board of Teaching members allowed politics and their allegiances to the teacher’s union to keep highly effective teachers from teaching in high-needs communities,” said Daniel Sellers, MinnCAN executive director.
“Minnesota principals have exercised a demand for TFA teachers in their schools,” continued Sellers. “As a state that owns nation-trailing achievement gaps and high school graduation rates, formal steps like these that strip kids most in need from access to quality instruction are misguided.”
Research reaffirms the positive impact Teach For America teachers have in the classroom:
- A Harvard study found that 61 percent of TFA teachers return to the classroom after their service, and 92 percent of TFA’s first-year teachers return for their second year, as opposed to 83 percent of all teachers nationwide in high-poverty schools.
- Studies by Mathematica and the CALDER Institute found TFA teachers to be more effective than other beginning teachers, at least as effective as veteran teachers, and in some cases more effective than veteran teachers.
- Recent studies conducted in Louisiana, Tennessee and North Carolina conclude that TFA teachers have a greater impact on student achievement than other new teachers.
For interviews with Daniel Sellers, contact Nicholas Banovetz at: 651-815-5999 or nicholas.banovetz@minncan.org.
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About MinnCAN: Launched in January 2011, MinnCAN: The Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now is an education reform advocacy nonprofit. MinnCAN is building a movement of Minnesotans dedicated to creating the political will to enact smart public policies to ensure that every Minnesota child has access to a great public school. Learn more at www.minncan.org.