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AIR DATE: January 24, 2013
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When Gov. Sandoval gave his State of the State address last week, he pledged to invest $135 million in new money into education. One program he singled out to get some of that money is Teach for America, a non-profit organization that recruits recent college graduates to teach in low income communities. While the governor didn't give a specific amount, he did say he wants new investment in the program to train and develop great teachers across Nevada. We'll talk with the head of the Las Vegas branch of Teach for America and a representative from the Nevada State Education Association about the governor's goals and how they will affect teachers in Nevada.
GUESTS
Victor Wakefield, Executive Director, Teach for America Las Vegas Valley
Gary Peck, Executive Director, Nevada State Education Association
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(*Continued from above) Yet, I wanted to help, so after graduating Summa Cum Laude, I applied for Teach For America and was placed in the Las Vegas Valley. I would have never come to the state of Nevada if it was not for TFA. Five years later, Im still here: a proud resident of east Las Vegas who owns my home and moved my parents to this community. Though I do not teach, I continue to serve my former fifth graders, and other east Las Vegas students, by starting my own 501(c)3 non-profit organization called Leaders in Training that focuses on college access for these now high school students. Only 15 out of 100 students in the state of Nevada will ever earn a Bachelors degreeour students deserve moreevery student deserves a chance to earn the solid academic background to simply have the choice to pursue higher education after they graduate. I am incredibly grateful to both the Clark County School District for letting me serve their students as a teacher and Teach For America for being the avenue that allowed me to serve our incredible and resilient Nevada students.
Erica Mosca –
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I just want to make sure this^ is fact corrected. Teach For America teachers do not cost 3 to 4 times that of a regular teacher. They actually cost an additional $2,500 per year compared to the salary/benefits of other traditionally hired new teachers.
-A Teach For America teacher has been one of the "New Teacher of the Years" in the CCSD for the last 8 years consecutively; ever since it joined the Las Vegas Valley.
-80% have stayed here for year 3 in Las Vegas just this past year.
-TFA Las Vegas recruited 40% persons of color, compared to 22% persons of color recruited by the district.
-2 were currently elected to the State Board of Education
What this piece fails to address is that TFA teachers ARE CCSD teachers too.
As opposed to attacking the placement of quality candidates in education, why aren't pieces like these questioning the potential of additional initiatives that could be growing educational standards?
Dominique Remy –
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Dom,
Can YOU document those numbers? Something other than a link to the TFA website.
PS. Some of us are attacking the fact that TFA's "quality candidates" aren't actually trained to teach. They might be bright people but almost all of them are in essence being handed a can opener and asked to do brain surgery. A 5 week program were they spend the entire time training "leadership skills" is NOT training them to teach.
Sebring Frehner –
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