TFA

I'm getting really excited about Teach For America!!!! I really hope I get accepted to the program. Prayers for Feb. 9th interview will be much appreciated! The interview day will consist of a 5 minute sample teaching session (if anyone would like to offer some pointers that'd be awesome), group activities, and a personal interview.

As of late, my days have been consumed with researching the different placement regions and the program while preparing documents that I'll need. Reading about the different regions around the country, its' hard to imagine that so many districts are in need of help to overcome the achievement gap. So I've decided that placement will no longer be a factor in my decision to accept an invitation to the corps. I will accept a position regardless of where I'm placed and what I'm asked to teach. Hopefully, God will use my limited qualifications for His glory wherever I'm sent.

To close, here are some facts that I've been reading about on the achievement gap in the United States:

- Forty-two percent of white fourth graders scored at the proficient level or above on the mathematics exam compared with just 10 percent of black students and 15 percent of Hispanic students (U.S. Department of Education, 2003).

-According to the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (2001), while 30 of every 100 white kindergartners go on to graduate from college, only 16 of every 100 black kindergartners later earn bachelor's degrees.

-In 2000, young adults living in families with incomes in the lowest 20 percent of all family
incomes were six times more likely than their peers from families in the top 20 percent of income distribution to drop out of high school (U.S. Department of Education, 2000c).

-According to data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, the average cognitive score of pre-kindergarten children in the highest socioeconomic bracket was significantly higher than the average score of students in the lowest socioeconomic bracket. The composition of these socioeconomic brackets was closely tied to race; 34 percent of black children and 29 percent of Hispanic children were in the lowest socioeconomic bracket, compared with just nine percent of white students (Lee and Burkam, 2002).

- In 2003, while 39 percent of white students scored at the proficient level or higher on the 4th grade reading exam portion NAEP, only 12 percent of black students and 14 percent of Hispanic students did so.