Sixty-six Harvard graduates will join the ranks of Teach for America this fall, making the University the number-one contributor among medium-sized schools for the second time in four years. Recruiting top talent from recent college graduates and professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement, perseverance, and leadership, Teach for America requires participants to commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools, and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunities. During the 20-year history of the national education corps, more than 440 Harvard alumni have taught as corps members.
In her 2010 Commencement speech, President Drew Faust spoke of the importance of public service, highlighting the Teach for America program and quoting the words of Harvard graduate and TFA corps member A. J. Garcia: “It is possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, but by far the most rewarding,” Garcia wrote. “At the end of every day, I might leave work mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, but it is the best type of exhaustion and…well worth the impact of closing the achievement gap one child at a time.”
