Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Teach for America benefits U. Kansas graduates
By Sarah Neff
University Daily Kansan (U. Kansas)
09/17/2007

(U-WIRE) LAWRENCE, Kan. — Jason Boots thought 60- to 80-hour workweeks would be over after he graduated from college. But since he left the University of Kansas last May, he's been working at least 60 hours a week at a new school.

Boots, former student body president at the University, decided to work with Teach For America, for the next two years. Teach For America sends recent college graduates to low-income school districts to help those students catch up to the national academic level. Boots teaches the fifth grade at a Baltimore elementary and middle school.

"Part of me said it was a really great opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself, bigger than a group of people, bigger than a company," Boots said. "I knew it was going to be a challenge. I was never really interested in doing something easy, but I have always been interested in a challenge."

Boots said both of his parents and his brother were teachers. He said he didn't realize how much work it was until he started doing it, but that the rewards were well worth it.

Boots said he taught summer school in Philadelphia, where he had 12 students. He said the students were rowdy and couldn't wait to get out of the door until the last bell rang. Then he said they told him they didn't want to leave him.

"They told me I was the best math teacher they ever had," Boots said.

Next year, students wanting to join Teach for America might not have to travel as far as Boots. The program will have a new region in the Kansas City, Mo. school district starting in the fall of 2008. Teach For America will place 50 corps members in the district.

The popularity of Teach For America at the University has grown over the last three years. In 2003-2004, seven students joined the program, and last year, the year that Boots applied, 20 students joined.

Jessica Forman joined Teach for America after she graduated from the University in 2005. Now she is the Recruitment Director for the University. She said she served in Houston at a school that was three blocks from the Houston Astros baseball stadium and one block away from a homeless shelter, which was where most of her students lived. Forman taught pre-kindergarten her first year, then continued to teach those students the next year in kindergarten.

"The difference in income was right in front of me," Forman said. "That transcended into my classroom coming in as 4-year-olds not being able to recognize their own name and not being able to distinguish between letters and numbers."

Forman said she really had to push to get the kids to a place where they could read. By the time they graduated kindergarten, 14 out of 15 students could read on a first grade level.

"Teach for America is a chance to create change in our country at the fundamental level," Forman said. "Not only do corps members affect the lives of students daily, but they go on to be part of a civic minded group of leaders who are at the forefront of shaping our nation."

Teach For America has 5,000 corps members teaching this year. Applications to teach for next year are due Sept. 21, Nov. 2, Jan. 4, and Feb. 15. More information can be found at TeachForAmerica.org.

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