2008 Woodie Awards
Teach for America representatives educate students
Jill Radwin
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News
Last week, alum Jon Thatcher, '07, and Teach for America Recruitment Director Lindsey Ciochina stopped at Union to raise awareness about the program, a valuable opportunity for graduating seniors.
Teach for America is a two-year program that seeks to end educational inequality nationwide. Members are placed in a variety of low-income regions, typically rural or urban, to teach classes and hopefully raise the quality of education in poor public schools.
Thatcher is a current member of the program and presently teaches fifth grade in Las Vegas. Ciochina was a core member in New York City when she began her work with Teach for America. Several Union graduates have taught through the program since it began in 1990, though Thatcher is the only Union member from the class of 2007.
Both Thatcher and Ciochina met with students to boost enrollment in the upcoming years so that graduates can have the opportunity to end some of the staggering statistics associated with public schooling throughout America. According to Thatcher, nine-year olds in low-income communities are typically about three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities. In addition, 50 percent of students in low-income schools will not graduate from high school by the age of 18, while only one in ten will graduate from college.
Ciochina hopes that her visit provided students with some insight into this epidemic so that some may go on to alleviate this problem. She notes, "I visited Union for a few days and was impressed by the leadership and dedication of students. Most want to make some sort of positive impact."
Teach for America recruits "the best and brightest" students who are involved in an assortment of majors from colleges throughout the nation. Thatcher blames a lack of campus awareness on the dwindling involvement of Union alumni in Teach for America. He adds, though, that there has been an increased consciousness in the past few weeks, especially with him and Ciochina as representatives on campus.
Teach for America is a two-year program that seeks to end educational inequality nationwide. Members are placed in a variety of low-income regions, typically rural or urban, to teach classes and hopefully raise the quality of education in poor public schools.
Thatcher is a current member of the program and presently teaches fifth grade in Las Vegas. Ciochina was a core member in New York City when she began her work with Teach for America. Several Union graduates have taught through the program since it began in 1990, though Thatcher is the only Union member from the class of 2007.
Both Thatcher and Ciochina met with students to boost enrollment in the upcoming years so that graduates can have the opportunity to end some of the staggering statistics associated with public schooling throughout America. According to Thatcher, nine-year olds in low-income communities are typically about three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities. In addition, 50 percent of students in low-income schools will not graduate from high school by the age of 18, while only one in ten will graduate from college.
Ciochina hopes that her visit provided students with some insight into this epidemic so that some may go on to alleviate this problem. She notes, "I visited Union for a few days and was impressed by the leadership and dedication of students. Most want to make some sort of positive impact."
Teach for America recruits "the best and brightest" students who are involved in an assortment of majors from colleges throughout the nation. Thatcher blames a lack of campus awareness on the dwindling involvement of Union alumni in Teach for America. He adds, though, that there has been an increased consciousness in the past few weeks, especially with him and Ciochina as representatives on campus.
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