Teach For America - Alabama

Given that nearly 28 percent of Alabama’s children live below the poverty line, reaching as high as 39 percent in some of our Black Belt counties, Alabama’s education system is leaving our most needy students behind.[1] Alabama’s high school graduation rate is among the lowest in the nation. [2] More than one third of graduating seniors who attend college in Alabama have to take remedial classes, which costs the state a total of $80 million during the 2007-2008 school year.[3] The achievement gap that exists causes not only low test scores, but also has a ripple effect that contributes to high unemployment, low adult literacy rates, and the lack of an educated workforce that we face in Alabama.

Despite all of these factors, we see evidence every day in classrooms across our region when students in low-income communities are given the educational opportunities they deserve, they excel. The clear potential of the students we work with every day makes the disparities in educational outcomes so unconscionable and fuels Teach For America’s sense of urgency and responsibility to do everything we can to ensure educational opportunity for all.

In 2010, 32 Teach For America corps members began teaching in Alabama. From Huntsville to Birmingham to Selma, they are helping prove that all kids can achieve at high levels, even those living in poverty. Today, we support a corps of 76 teachers serving eleven school districts, changing the academic and life trajectories for more than 5,000 children.

Alabama corps members don't just teach - they're part of the fabric of their communities. They've coached the state champion basketball team, co-founded an award-winning robotics club, and even created a summer school for eighth-graders.

We believe that the problems facing children in low-income communities in Alabama is solvable. Together, we can work to address what we believe to be one of the most critical issues facing our region and provide the most underserved children with the quality education they deserve.

[1] Chandler, Kim. “Alabama Struggles with Number of Children Living in Poverty,” The Birmingham News, 2011; U.S. Census Records, 2010

[2] “School District Graduation Reports,” The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011.

[3] “Saving Now and Saving Later: How High School Reform Can Reduce the Nation’s Wasted Remediation Dollars,” Alliance for Excellent Education, 2011