<p>I would really appreciate if somebody could shed some light on Teach For America. My kid is considering this option. Basically I am looking for any and all info. This is all new to me.</p>
<p>What are the pros and cons? What to watch out for? Are there any issues that I need to be aware of or need to address with my kid before my kid commits to it?</p>
<p>I did review their site and got some information. I am looking for people who have done it and their personal experiences or whose kid has done it or is considering doing it. What are the other options that they were looking into? How long were they in the program?</p>
<p>I know I can tap into the rich, diverse and resource rich parent pool.</p>
<p>Thank you, mathmom, for the link. Sorry for not getting back to you earlier. I was busy and wanted to completely review all the threads before I responded. </p>
<p>Mathmom, I did review all the discussions under this thread and the related threads. It really helped me understand different people’s perspective. My kid has decided to go with TFA and is assigned to NY area.</p>
<p>I have some additional questions with regards to this. I would appreciate if any parent or corp member who was assigned to this area can respond to my questions.</p>
<p>I am told that there is an intense 5 week training. And you have to report for an induction ceremony 3-4 days before. Do all the inductees have to report on the first day of the induction period or can they report any day within that period. </p>
<p>What does the induction entail? Do they do anything during this period other than checking in and getting to know one another? How crucial is it to show up on the first day and what is the disadvantage of showing up later? Are there going to be any bonding activities? Also, during this time, will there be accommodations or should the kids fend for themselves?</p>
<p>I understand that TFA provides accommodations during the training period and after the intense training period, the kids are supposed to remain in the area to attend interviews for assignment, additional training, etc. They are supposed to find their own accommodation after their training till the beginning of the school year. Where will the kids stay at this time? I understand the kids need to find their own place. But without knowing if they will find an assignment or where they will be assigned, how can they figure out where they want to live? How will they know who to approach? Are there any specific areas that most of the TFA corp members usually stay during their assignment period? Do they have any understanding with any rental complexes, apartments, agencies for TFA corp members to seek? </p>
<p>I would appreciate if any existing corp members (especially in the NY area or any other area, as these kinds of info may help others) or parents of the corp members to share their knowledge.</p>
<p>Thank you once again for any and all info provided.</p>
<p>I think that the system of TFA logistics is a challenge and makes kids rely on their own resourcefulness. The highly selective screening process chooses intelligent, independent, resourceful college graduates, their moms worry in the spring and summer about where the heck their kid is going to live in the fall (a close friend of mine is in this situation now), and then the kids (oops - the adult college graduates) work it out (another friend’s daughter finished her two-year TFA commitment in Philadelphia and it worked out so well, she stayed there and became a certified teacher).</p>
<p>LOJ, my daughter joined TFA after college and worked in the LA area. She has been a corp member advisor at Institute for the past few years (the people who train the new members during those five weeks) and currently works for TFA full-time. I would say that being there on the first day is important. There is no frittered time during Institute. I don’t know exactly what happens during those few days but I imagine they are placed into their smaller group, get to know their advisor and group, undergo training, etc. The summer program is very intense. Usually people do look for a place to live while they are at Institute on the weekends. Also, people often do get assigned to a school while at Institute and do know where they will be working. Since leases run for a year, people usually rent from August to August. You don’t want to be moving once school starts. You really do need to move in that small window between Institute and the beginning of school because that’s the only time you really have. When my daughter joined TFA there was a conference call for parents to attend and we were able to ask a lot of questions. I don’t know if they still do that, but it was helpful. My advice is to rest up before Institute because they get very little sleep during those five weeks and it’s best not to arrive tired. There is a a lot of support for corp members at Institute and your daughter will be able to figure out the logistics as she gets closer and during that time.</p>
<p>I’m a current CM in a different region, but I imagine that many things are similar across the country.</p>
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<p>You have to report on the first day of induction.</p>
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<p>Induction probably depends on the region. It was definitely a time to get to know other corps members, and we had a little time in the afternoon and in the evening to get to know the area. A few principals also conducted interviews during Induction. I don’t know of any CM who arrived after the first day; that would be strongly discouraged, if not prohibited. TFA provides accommodations.</p>
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<p>The TFA network is huge. My region is a bit smaller than NY, but a lot of current CMs, alumni, and staff reached out to us toward the end of Institute. They emailed us a Google Doc with a list of people willing to host CMs for anywhere between a few days to a few weeks. Since Institute is in NY, CMs should have some time on the weekends to check out neighborhoods, talk to potential roommates, and visit apartment complexes. A good number of CMs in my region (2/3 or so) were placed by the end of Institute, so a lot of us had an idea of where to start looking.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have more specific questions!</p>
<p>Thank you all who replied with valuable information. It eases my mind. I did not even know my kid had applied for this program and or what this program did. I had heard very little about it and I am slowly learning this process. Looks like TFA has a good handle on it.</p>
<p>Yes, there was a parent conference call that we could call into. I could not make it but my husband did. We did not know much about this program to ask appropriate questions.</p>
<p>The reason we needed to know is my kid graduates the previous weekend and has to be in NY by Monday in order to attend the induction on Tuesday. It is a very short time we have to completely empty one place and settle in a totally different place. Oh, well, I am sure lot of you have done this before and are pro at it. We just have to plan it properly so we will not be overwhelmed at that time.</p>
<p>I’m late to this thread, but relevant: my daughter was a TFA corps member in NYC from 2009-2011. And, yes, she had to show up for training six days after she graduated, in Chicago. And she had to find a place to live in New York without having any idea where she was going to be teaching. All of that is par for the course.</p>
<p>It may have gotten slightly better since then, but her year many corps members did not get placements until well after the school year began. There was a lot of stress and uncertainty around that. Overall, though, I thought the NY TFA organization did an impressive job supporting the corps members (and forcing them to do a lot of work and thought that they might not have minded ducking). TFA was not an easy experience at all, but it was pretty valuable, and potential employers showed a lot of enthusiasm for it, too, when she decided to leave after two years. It was definitely a life-changing thing.</p>