<p>I do not have all the information at this time, so there may be more to this story. I just heard from a friend that another friend’s daughter just moved to the location of her Teach For America job, and is now being told the job is not available. The student has already gone through training and just moved across country for this job. It is my understanding that the job she was promise was one where the previous teacher, maybe another TFA employee, wasn’t coming back. Now, said teacher has decided to stay. The girl was told to find her own position.</p>
<p>I do not know if this girl was given a list of schools in the area with openings, but isn’t TFA responsible for placing this student? I believe the student signed a contract so I would think TFA would be responsible for placing this student. Now this girl is out in a new city with no family and no job. She actually turned down another job for TFA, so right now this really stinks for her.</p>
<p>Again, I don’t have the whole story but I just don’t understand how Teach For America can let this just go. I have suggested that on Monday this student gets in touch with the main office for TFA; I think she would know where to call. Any other suggestions or idea for this student?</p>
<p>Are you certain that TFA is just “letting this go?” Hearing from a friend about another friend’s daughter seems like third-hand information - not saying it can’t be accurate, but I would wonder what the entire story is here. This is what I could find in a quick search of the TFA website:
</p>
<p>TFA provides corps members with professional development resources and support both regionally and through the national office. Your friend’s daughter may have been told to “find her own position” by someone in that particular school system who isn’t really familiar with TFA. (Few people are, in my experience.) I’m certain that someone who is competent enough to qualify for TFA will be all about getting the national office on the phone on Monday; once she phones them, she’ll have a concrete plan. I’d hesitate to condemn TFA for abandoning this corps member without more information.</p>
<p>Frazzled, that is why I said I don’t have the whole story. I can’t imagine that Teach For America just would drop the ball. I am waiting for more information and will pass it on.</p>
<p>I have a somewhat similar story, but not with Teach For America, it is with a Teach Abroad group. My best friend’s son was recruited at Rice. He graduated in May, and was accepted into the program to go to China in August. So, he’s gotten all the immunizations, visa, and travel stuff to go, only to get a call last week that it’s off. </p>
<p>They are going to try to place him in Thailand, but he won’t know for sure until September, and the placement runs from October until March, instead of starting in August.</p>
<p>So, meanwhile, he is cooling his heels trying to find some type of job that will hire him in the interim, knowing that he may or may not be leaving. </p>
<p>I feel so bad for him, he and this girl seem to be totally in limbo. At least he hadn’t flown to China yet :)</p>
<p>Usually what happens is that during training, the corps members go out and interview, etc. If this job did not pan out, they should be helping her get a different one. It’s possible the school yanked the position and said too bad, but TFA should be able to help her find another. My DD is going into her second year in TFA. Due to a severe budget crisis in CA, many TFA corps members were pink-slipped along with other first and second year teachers in the area. TFA followed the situation closely and then went to work finding charter schools with openings and sending the displaced corps members on interviews. My DD ended up in a really great situation for next year in an exciting charter school. But my point is that in an unprecedented situation in TFA’s history, they did not abandon the corps members.</p>
<p>Many public schools are undergoing losses in funding and cutting teachers so it’s easy to see that some jobs might no longer be there due to unforseen circumstances. I would expect TFA to have a contingency plan of some kind.</p>
<p>It’s possible that the young woman did something in training that caused Teach for America to terminate her. Out of embarrassment, she and her family may be telling a different story.</p>
<p>Got just a bit more information and I think it will come in a little at a time. It seems this girl, while going through the training for TFA for this city, she didn’t have a signed contract. She was told an opening would become available; some second years do not return, but it might be closer to the first day of school. This girl is not the only one in this situation, there are 20+ others in the same city that went through training and are waiting for an opening.</p>
<p>I am aware there is still more to this story, but I find it interesting that 20+ students would all take off across country for a maybe job. This young lady had another job offer, but decided to got with TFA. I just hope TFA hasn’t led these students on with what the real chance of an opening is. Luckily the girl has not signed a lease for house; she is staying with family friends for the time.</p>
<p>"I am aware there is still more to this story, but I find it interesting that 20+ students would all take off across country for a maybe job. "</p>
<p>While I’m surprised the young woman turned down a job for a “maybe”, that so many students went across the country for a “maybe” doesn’t surprise me. Jobs are hard to come by. A “maybe” is better than a “no.” Virtually no students whom I know who graduated this year have jobs of any kind, not even jobs working doing basic office work or being store clerks.</p>
I hope not, either - but it’s hard to see why TFA would do this. TFA assumes the expense of housing, feeding, and training corps members for their six weeks of induction/institute, before the first year of service begins. I wonder why TFA would do this if it didn’t expect to find placements for all of their corps members. </p>
<p>This has been a rough year for employment opportunities for college grads, as NSM notes. It’s unfortunate timing for this young woman to lose her expected placement once she’d already relocated. However, we don’t know that TFA will leave her hanging. It sounds as if her situation is not unusual, given that most first-year TFA members are placed in schools during their summer in training and don’t usually, to my knowledge, have a signed contract anywhere when they begin that process. You say there are 20-plus teachers in this situation - have they all been told to find their own positions?</p>
<p>mimk6, so happy to hear that your d found a great placement for her second year! I have been wondering what would happen to all the California TFA corps members, given the ridiculous cutbacks in public school teachers there. Her new students and school will be lucky to have her!</p>
<p>School districts are doing very unpredictable things this year, because their budgets are being severely impacted by the economy.
Hiring freezes, layoffs, etc. And most have teachers unions that are in the business of trying to protect the jobs of current teachers. So it could very well be that the jobs simply don’t exist. TFA can’t create a classroom teaching position. Our school district has done some very unexpected things because of the current climate, some of which have been interpreted by the union as violating the current contract.</p>
<p>TFA would have a contract with the district, but if the district simply doesn’t have the positions, and isn’t hiring ANYONE, there may be an out of some kind in the contract. I wouldn’t interpret it as TFA dropping the ball. </p>
<p>That might be why the young woman in question was encouraged to hit the pavement and meet principals and see if she can find a position. That might help TFA get her placed, if a principal went to bat and said he or she really wanted this particular individual.</p>
<p>As the other teachers on the board can attest, it’s not pretty out there right now.</p>
<p>Thanks, Frazzled. I think all the local corps members came out okay other than having a very stressful time of it. Some of them essentially have to have a second “first year” in terms of adjusting to new schools, possibly new grades and even new subjects - my daughter took the CSET today in a second subject as she is now expected to teach two secondary subjects as opposed to the one she passed last year.</p>