I chose to make the commitment to Teach For America because it offered what I considered the ideal combination of education, community service, and working with children. Teach For America is part of the AmeriCorps service program.
All members undergo an intensive five-week training program before they take up their assignments.
The training focuses not only on theories of education but also on practical ways of becoming an effective teacher and of holding children to high expectations while seeking to level the playing field for students at schools like mine, who obviously lack the educational opportunities that children from better backgrounds have. Corps members are hired directly by the school district, and many complete state credentialing programs during their two years of service. Roosevelt is an extremely overcrowded school, with an annual teacher retention rate of 60 percent. Located in a rough area notorious for drug use, the school is plagued by gangs. I believed that I could bring my students into my classroom, shut the door, and leave all of the problems of the inner-city community at the doorstep.