V.-9 21-0272 Approval by the Board Education of Professional Services Agreement between District and Teach for America, Inc., San Francisco, CA, for the latter to provide recruitment, selection, training, and professional development support of Teachers, as described in Exhibit A, incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth, for the Talent Department, for the term February 25, 2021 to June 30, 2024, at a cost not to exceed $750,000.00.
Hi, my name is Sarah Song and I am a 3rd grade teacher in Oakland. I moved from San Diego in 2017 to join TFA to begin my teaching journey. My 1st year of teaching was extremely difficult. Looking back, I now know that the year would be difficult for all teachers, regardless of their backgrounds and expertise, just as it had been for my fellow 1st year colleagues that year. However, it was through the 24/7 support and encouragements from my TFA coach that I was able to endure and ultimately complete my 1st year of teaching. Beyond that first year, the TFA staff has helped me discover my why and anchor me to my profession. Even now, almost 4 years later, I am still in communication with many of my previous mentors and friends. Without this community, Oakland and teaching would have been a very lonely place. Through this life changing experience with TFA, I now better understand my heart's passions and motivations as I continue on as an Oakland Educator.
TFA recruits strong applicants and is committed to recruiting teachers of color and teachers from the Bay Area community. In my experience, TFA teachers are hard-working and committed to their students, their own growth and the growth of their students.
As an administrator in OUSD I appreciate TFA's ability to recruit strong applicants who are from Oakland and who want to work in Oakland schools. Being able to work with TFA to interview and select the right fit for my school has helped me to increase retention and helped to ensure our teachers make strong connections with families and students. Additionally I have found that many of our TFA teachers continue to teach because of our support structures and culture within our school.
I understand their are multiple view points for the TFA renewal issue. I have had mixed experiences with TFA Corp members working at School sites. I appreciate that TFA has put a strong focus on recruiting teachers from Oakland to serve Oakland students. My school has TFA alums who have committed their careers to Oakland Unified. I believe we as a district should restructure how we are training all incoming teachers regardless or there origin. I believe with modifications we could build a strong entry point for all educators wanting to work with our students at OUSD.
As a school leader I appreciate that TFA has put a strong focus on recruiting teachers from Oakland to serve Oakland students. At Life Academy we have several current TFA corps members who were born and raised in East Oakland, reflect the experiences of our students and their families and have fostered deep connections within our school community. We also have TFA alums from the late 90s and early 2000s who have committed their careers to Oakland Unified for over two decades. TFA provided all of these people with entry points into the profession of teaching and they are still serving our students and families on the daily.
I want to acknowledge that people land on various sides of this issue, and I understand the various arguments. In this moment, I support the renewal of the contract. The controlling factor for me is my belief that without TFA, we would have vacancies in OUSD schools, which are terrible for students and for teachers who have to cover for those vacanies. In addition, the partnership with TFA has been valuable for Roosevelt Middle School, having connected us with some of our effective and long-standing teachers.
Remove the TFA 3-year renewal contract from the consent calendar and really evaluate it. TFA teachers are poorly trained for the challenging work of teaching. OUSD pays TFA $5000 per hired TFA teacher, with only the "expectation" that they stay for 2 years. How many of these recruits are Black and Brown? How long do they actually stay in OUSD? Which schools wind up with a disproportionate number of these, and what's the turnover rate? Has the Board reviewed these data? There are better ways to address the teacher shortage, including better supports and pay for existing newer teachers.
TFA is not what we need in Oakland -- in fact, the program is an insult to real teachers. Focus on retaining current teachers and shepherding Oaklanders who want to teach through the teachers preparation pipeline.
Why do we continue to use Teach for America instead of making a commitment to teacher retention and hiring of Black and Brown educators? So long as we use TFA as a crutch for the "teacher shortage" we will never make the necessary investments and commitments to solve it. Major school districts have refused to renew the TFA contract, including Houston, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. OUSD should make a public commitment to end the hiring of TFAers now. Enter into a one year agreement if you must, but make it clear that TFA is not what is best for Oakland's kids.
Hi, my name is Sarah Song and I am a 3rd grade teacher in Oakland. I moved from San Diego in 2017 to join TFA to begin my teaching journey. My 1st year of teaching was extremely difficult. Looking back, I now know that the year would be difficult for all teachers, regardless of their backgrounds and expertise, just as it had been for my fellow 1st year colleagues that year. However, it was through the 24/7 support and encouragements from my TFA coach that I was able to endure and ultimately complete my 1st year of teaching. Beyond that first year, the TFA staff has helped me discover my why and anchor me to my profession. Even now, almost 4 years later, I am still in communication with many of my previous mentors and friends. Without this community, Oakland and teaching would have been a very lonely place. Through this life changing experience with TFA, I now better understand my heart's passions and motivations as I continue on as an Oakland Educator.
TFA recruits strong applicants and is committed to recruiting teachers of color and teachers from the Bay Area community. In my experience, TFA teachers are hard-working and committed to their students, their own growth and the growth of their students.
As an administrator in OUSD I appreciate TFA's ability to recruit strong applicants who are from Oakland and who want to work in Oakland schools. Being able to work with TFA to interview and select the right fit for my school has helped me to increase retention and helped to ensure our teachers make strong connections with families and students. Additionally I have found that many of our TFA teachers continue to teach because of our support structures and culture within our school.
I understand their are multiple view points for the TFA renewal issue. I have had mixed experiences with TFA Corp members working at School sites. I appreciate that TFA has put a strong focus on recruiting teachers from Oakland to serve Oakland students. My school has TFA alums who have committed their careers to Oakland Unified. I believe we as a district should restructure how we are training all incoming teachers regardless or there origin. I believe with modifications we could build a strong entry point for all educators wanting to work with our students at OUSD.
As a school leader I appreciate that TFA has put a strong focus on recruiting teachers from Oakland to serve Oakland students. At Life Academy we have several current TFA corps members who were born and raised in East Oakland, reflect the experiences of our students and their families and have fostered deep connections within our school community. We also have TFA alums from the late 90s and early 2000s who have committed their careers to Oakland Unified for over two decades. TFA provided all of these people with entry points into the profession of teaching and they are still serving our students and families on the daily.
I want to acknowledge that people land on various sides of this issue, and I understand the various arguments. In this moment, I support the renewal of the contract. The controlling factor for me is my belief that without TFA, we would have vacancies in OUSD schools, which are terrible for students and for teachers who have to cover for those vacanies. In addition, the partnership with TFA has been valuable for Roosevelt Middle School, having connected us with some of our effective and long-standing teachers.
Remove the TFA 3-year renewal contract from the consent calendar and really evaluate it. TFA teachers are poorly trained for the challenging work of teaching. OUSD pays TFA $5000 per hired TFA teacher, with only the "expectation" that they stay for 2 years. How many of these recruits are Black and Brown? How long do they actually stay in OUSD? Which schools wind up with a disproportionate number of these, and what's the turnover rate? Has the Board reviewed these data? There are better ways to address the teacher shortage, including better supports and pay for existing newer teachers.
TFA is not what we need in Oakland -- in fact, the program is an insult to real teachers. Focus on retaining current teachers and shepherding Oaklanders who want to teach through the teachers preparation pipeline.
Why do we continue to use Teach for America instead of making a commitment to teacher retention and hiring of Black and Brown educators? So long as we use TFA as a crutch for the "teacher shortage" we will never make the necessary investments and commitments to solve it. Major school districts have refused to renew the TFA contract, including Houston, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. OUSD should make a public commitment to end the hiring of TFAers now. Enter into a one year agreement if you must, but make it clear that TFA is not what is best for Oakland's kids.