Teach for America, a national program that recruits and trains people without education degrees to teach in high-poverty schools, may not be the way to fill teaching vacancies across Georgia, according to a state audit.
Student achievement of metro Atlanta Teach for America staff was no worse — and in some areas better — than other teachers in their schools.
But less than 40 percent of metro Atlanta teachers from Teach for America stayed past the two-year commitment required by the program and finished a third year in the classroom. That’s compared to about 80 percent of other teachers who began teaching in high-poverty schools at the same time.
In response to the audit, Teach for America officials noted that most high-poverty schools have high teacher turnover rates and that most Teach for America alumni in metro Atlanta work in education in some capacity.
Critics of Teach for America point to the teacher turnover rate and to the relatively brief training the program's teachers receive. Earlier this year the organization reported that applications to Teach for America had decreased nationally for the second year in a row, a drop it attributed to the economic recovery.
Locally, the number of Teach for America members in schools has dropped by more than half since 2012 due to the group’s financial limitations, according to the audit.
The audit was requested by the House Appropriations Committee.
The audit looked too at whether the program should expand. Expansion outside metro Atlanta would likely require more state funding — about $3.5 million initially, up from the current $275,000 — as well as contributions from the new districts, according to the audit.
“We’re encouraged that the audit found that additional school systems in Georgia may benefit from having TFA corps members in their classrooms given their positive impact on student achievement, but at this point we are not considering additional partnerships outside of metro Atlanta,” Metro Atlanta Teach for America Executive Director DeLano Ford said.
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