Teach For America brings top college grads to SLPS
By Daniel R. Brown
Of the St. Louis American
Teach For America recruits the best and the brightest recent college graduates to tackle one of the most difficult yet rewarding jobs: providing a quality education to students in the lowest-income urban and rural public schools.
This year, more than 17,000 college seniors applied to teach in one of the 22 cities served by the program, which is based in New York. Sixty of those students have been selected to make a two-year commitment to teach in the St. Louis Public Schools.
Last week, half of the new St. Louis corps members came to town to interview for specific assignments within the school district and to get a feel for the city they will soon call home.
Rachel Lockhart-Korris, a native of Kirkwood and new member of Teach For America, went through this interview process in March and was hired to teach Spanish at Sumner High School.
“My grandmother went to Sumner back in the ‘40s, so it’s a very interesting kind of full-circle story that I am really excited to be a part of,” Lockhart-Korris said.
“It’s the neighborhood where my mother grew up, and the family church (St. Phillips Lutheran) is also right around the corner. It’s just icing on the cake to be able to give back to the community that has played such a big part in my family’s history.”
When college seniors apply to Teach For America, they list their location preferences. For Lockhart-Korris, St. Louis was an easy first choice.
“I have been away at college in Boston for the last four years, so I felt like I needed to be a little closer to home,” she said.
“When I found out that there was a Teach For America site in St. Louis, it was my first choice.”
Interestingly, not only St. Louis natives make this city a top choice on their list.
“I knew that my preference was to be in an urban area. I placed St. Louis as one of my preferred regions because I had never been to the Midwest, and I had a close friend from St. Louis,” said Angela Holland, a native of Washington, D.C. and Teach For America alumnus.
“I was surprised to actually be placed in St. Louis. You just have to be willing to go.”
Holland completed her two-year commitment to the program at the end of last school year. She then decided to extend her tenure with the St. Louis Public Schools.
“I was raised by two educators in the D.C. public schools, and I felt like teaching was a part of my bloodline. I am very passionate about providing our youth with a quality education, and I felt like the program gave me the opportunity to help do that,” Holland said.
“I also felt that I wanted to stay at least one year beyond my commitment. It was not just a resumé builder for me. It is something that I really care about. I also decided to stay because I fell in love with my students.”
During the summer, new corps members attend a rigorous summer training institute designed to help them understand the overarching approach utilized by successful teachers in low-income communities and to gain teaching skills and experience.
In a twist of fate, because Holland is the foreign language-learning team leader for the summer institute, she will be preparing Lockhart-Korris for her hew assignment at Sumner.
“It’s kind of like I’m passing the baton on to her,” Holland said.
Eric Scroggins, executive director of Teach For America St. Louis, said that although the district has faced adversity, teachers that thrive on a challenge are attracted to the city.
“This year, 86 percent of the people that we gave offers decided to come to St. Louis. There were significant challenges that our schools faced that the nation was aware of,” Scroggins said.
“There is a great need in St. Louis, and people really want to go where they are needed most. Additionally, we are a larger city in renaissance. There are a lot of opportunities for young people to be a part of that.”
