ASU ranks No. 1 in 2024 for Teach for America corps members
Sheilah Utley teaches seventh grade English at Papago School in Phoenix as a Teach For America corps member while she works toward a master’s degree in secondary education at ASU. Photo by Jr De Chavez/ASU
If you want to get President Michael Crow fired up, ask him about Teach for America.
The program brings ASU’s charter to life, with recent Sun Devil grads signing up to become teachers in underserved areas to make a positive impact in the community. Their work, quite simply, is changing lives.
ASU ranks No. 1 in 2024 for new members in Teach for America, tied with the University of Texas at Austin and ahead of UCLA; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Michigan.
“Teach for America is a critical initiative to get great young teachers into some of our most important schools around the country,” Crow said. “Arizona State University has produced fantastic young teachers deeply committed to the success of our country. We are proud to be a major contributor in this important effort.”
At Teach For America, recent graduates spend at least two years leading a K–12 classroom in rural or urban America, committed to making a positive, substantive difference with their students and learning about the education system from the ground up. Then, the organization supports them in pursuing their next steps, whether that is in the classroom, administration, education policy or a completely different field where they can continue to work toward ensuring that every child has an equal chance in life.
ASU has 30 new members in this year’s corps, part of the 2,300 new teachers joining the program this year alone.
“With 30 Sun Devils as new corps members, ASU has played a pivotal role in expanding our educator workforce,” said Krishnaa Pradhan, managing director of recruitment at Teach for America. She said Sun Devils “are directly impacting the lives of students across the country, and we are excited to see the positive change they will bring to their classrooms and beyond.”
Pradhan added, “This year’s corps is one of the most diverse in our history, with 60% identifying as people of color, 64% coming from low-income backgrounds and 43% being the first in their families to graduate from college.”
Sheilah Utley, an ASU graduate student studying secondary education at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, finds fulfillment in connecting with underserved students through Teach for America.
“I've learned a lot of patience, and I've learned a lot of compassion and understanding with middle schoolers. Making them comfortable with being themselves and interacting with each other has been my forefront,” she said. “My experience with TFA has been really positive.”
And the impact is only just beginning.
Matthew Simon is ASU’s associate vice president for state and federal relations in the Office of Government and Community Engagement. He also is a 2011 alum of Teach for America in the Mississippi Delta. He says he still uses the lessons he learned then in his life today.
“Both ASU and Teach for America are focused on developing the next generation of leaders who will have a measurable impact in our country,” Simon said. “As a Sun Devil, you are embedded in a community that drives toward impact and supporting the communities we are in, and Teach for America leveraged those institutional values to develop my leadership skills in a way that is invaluable.”
ASU and Teach for America both measure themselves by whom they include and how they succeed, he noted, “and these synergies make ASU the optimal place to find the next generation of future leaders to serve students across the country.”
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