Teach For America's regional support network provides ongoing professional development to corps members throughout the two-year commitment to ensure that they succeed as teachers. Each corps member is assigned a regional program director who serves as a source of support, guidance, and feedback during the corps experience.
Watch video reflections on our ongoing professional support
In each of the 30 urban and rural areas where corps members are placed, Teach For America has a staff of experienced educators, most of whom were corps members themselves. Our regional staff ensures corps members have teaching placements, helps them prioritize where to focus for improvement, and ensures they are accessing meaningful tools and resources on an ongoing basis to build the knowledge, skills, and mindsets necessary for classroom success.
| Regional Orientation and Tools | Regional in-person and online trainings in the late summer and early fall focus on how to establish meaningful goals, create long-term plans for the year, and put together detailed plans for the first unit of instruction. Coupled with access to our student achievement toolkit, which is an electronic collection of strong examples of plans and other resources, our initial training is designed to help corps members create student-achievement-focused, data-driven classrooms from day one. |
|---|---|
| Observation and Coaching | At least four times per year, our corps members and their program directors engage in extended one-on-one “co-investigations” about the progress students are making. These conversations are centered on data showing students’ progress toward their goals, including assessment results and observations about student learning made by the corps member and program director. Using this data, the program director and corps member problem-solve to identify why students did or did not made progress, prioritize key steps the corps member can take to raise achievement, and develop actionable plans. |
| Learning Teams | Corps members meet in content- and/or grade-level-specific learning teams led by successful teachers, including Teach For America alumni and second-year corps members. At these meetings, corps members discuss ongoing challenges, share best practices, and work together to increase their knowledge and skills in specific areas of teaching. These seminars are among the primary venues for professional collaboration and support among corps members. |
| Online Tools and Resources | Our private, secure website for corps members and alumni includes valuable resources such as teacher support tools, professional development information, and opportunities for corps members to connect and share ideas. Tools include the Resource Exchange, which allows corps members and alumni to share, rate, and download successful lesson and unit plans, data tracking tools, and classroom management strategies. The Teaching As Leadership Online Navigator allows corps members to learn more about implementing Teaching As Leadership strategies through videos and testimonials of teachers demonstrating how these strategies work at various proficiency levels. |
Hear corps members and staff talk about the professional development resources offered in the regions.
Our corps members
Ongoing professional development
Corps and Alumni