I am wondering WHY the record numbers of applicants. Is it because the applicant has a passion for teaching and will become a true professional or is it becase they can get a job? Years of experience has shown me that coming to the field because it is a job is not good for the system,student, or teacher.

I would point to two factors.

1. Obama, he's helped coalesce a new generation of idealists with a sense of civic duty.

2. TFA has done a very good job of marketing itself as a career-launcher. I believe Forbes magazine put them in the top 10 corporations to begin a career.

For those of us who truly care about the kids hopefully the first reason is the primary factor.

I wonder though, hasn't TFA grown every year since its inception? It could just be a matter the name and brand becoming better known.

I think you both hit it on the head. TFA does market itself as a career-laucher, which I think is a shame. School systems will suffer if the incomming generation of teachers look at the job as a temporary stepping stone while the economy is low.

Hopefully this is an Obama charged generation of teachers that will stay in the classroom... hopefully.

I would just point out that a fairly significant percentage (I forget, but it is for sure over a quarter) of TFA teachers stay in the classroom long-term.

I am not sure how TFA markets itself, but if it now is mostly branding itself as a career launcher, that would be ashame. What clinched my decision to become a teacher via TFA back in 2004 was that it marketed itself as an experience that would help mature our views and decisions in the future, regardless of career. As such, as a current medical student, I can't begin to describe here how much my experience in the classroom in BCPSS has shaped and will shape how I practice medicine and my goals for healthcare for children in urban settings.

Artie,

25% isn't a very high percentage. And you are an example of the type of TFA teacher we get mostly--in for the experience but not for the profession. I know principals who boast about how many TFA teachers have gone through their facilities. We seem to move them on through and manage to keep very few of them. Imagine that you are a business and 3/4 of your staff leaves every year and you have to retrain them. Granted some of them stay for 3-4 years but it is still a great number to replace. Inner city children deserve people who will remain--not come in to the system knowing that they will leave in a few years. You may have been shaped by your experience but you have chosen a more profitable path; so do most of your peers. Sad!

I'm not sure the "move on when you've learned what you can from the job" attitude is something peculiar to TFA. It seems to me there are a large percentage of young teachers who are always planning to move on, whether to a different school or a different profession. Nor is it just an attitude of teachers. I think that society is moving away from the idea of a single employer/profession for a life time.

At my job we have large numbers of college grads that come into the company, pick up skills and resume notes and move on to greener pastures. We're striving to adapt to this attitude instead of complaining. How can we make the job so great they want to stay? How can we get new employees doing productive work as quickly as possible? How can we see this constant turnover as energizing instead of frustrating? I'm talking about my company, but I think this applies to teaching as well.

I would imagine the increase is mostly about the job market. The military is also seeing an increase in applicants. Government is one of the few places that are hiring, so recent grads are going where the jobs are.

For the sake of argument...

TFA teacher retention rates are higher than those for:

(1) investment bankers after year 2 (before the Vice President promotion),
(2) second year associates at AmLaw 100 top-tier law firms, and
(3) introductory associate positions for most top marketing firms.

Blame TFA as you will, call it a "career-starter." That's fine. This occurs in many industries, not just teaching.

TFA is a powerful force shaping post-graduate job opportunities for top-tier college graduates (not sure I would have been accepted in 2005 based on the competitiveness these days!). If someone's going to burn out after 2 years, I'd rather they work to help children in emerging districts rather than sit behind a trading desk analyzing earnings reports. Just a thought.

I've seen some good teachers come out of TFA, I've seen some terrible teachers from TFA. It's just like anything else.
However, it seems to me that in Baltimore City, the learning curve for teachers is huge. Most first year teachers are just surviving in the classroom. No amount of training (especially not 6 weeks in another city) can really prepare you for being an urban teacher with your own classroom. So, by the time these teachers get into their groove, know what they are doing and really reach their kids, it's time for them to leave.

The difference between the retention of teachers and the retention of investment bankers (or whoever else) is that, in the first year when they are just figuring out what do to, that's an entire year of learning, or not learning, for a child.

This series of blogs has been great. I have been rethinking my position on who should teach and why. I am a career changer,although traditionally teacher trained. I can think of at least 5-6 tracks family, friends, and co-workers have taken to enter teaching. I highly respect the teaching of the people I am thinking about.Some had corporate jobs, some came through TFA, BCTR or similar programs, some worked up from para positions, and some left other jobs and went back to college full time to become a teacher. There seem to be as many paths as people. I would love to know more about how all these teachers and their students fare. Perhaps in the end, teaching really is what the teacher makes it. The learning never stops, the adjustments, the "aha "moments are there for me as well as my students even after many years of reportedly excellent teaching. I do know that many teachers I truly respect bring diverse experiences from other chapters of their lives.

Very fair point, Steph. I'd suggest that TFA does a pretty fair job, though, at weeding out those who are just "looking for a job" by going into teaching. With a 3,500 to 35,000 acceptance rate, they now have quite an ability to discriminate, bringing into the classrooms the most qualified and most motivated. Of course, poor teachers will come out of the program, but with any group of 3,500 people there will varying levels of quality.

I think a collateral issue here is the changing labor supply pool. With the 1 to 10 acceptance rate, there's evidence that 10 times the number of TFA-accepted teachers are interested in teaching in an emerging school district. Say what you will about TFA, but the marketing strategy and mission advocacy is brilliant. The on-campus recruitment has taken on a life of its own, and college seniors are motivated to apply for the program where they may not have been otherwise. The TFA app is no joke, so although the 35,000 may be inflated a bit, it's a positive result that so many young post-grads view teaching as a worthwhile career (starter or long-term).

Sara, I'd be interested to see whether apps to M.A. in Teaching programs are up as well. Are more people applying to education schools? Also, I'd imagine that at least some core group of the non-accepted 32,000 were still motivated to teach and joined other city-specific conditional teaching programs. Ultimately, the increase in application rate for TFA is great, but I think the better result is the changing preferences of the early post-graduate labor supply pool.

@steph - maybe that learning curve is what needs to be addressed. Some ideas that I'll throw out (knowing nothing about teaching, but lots about working with new grads):
- add a formal mentoring program, hard to do when senior staff is overworked but if you compensate them, maybe it could be done on weekends or evenings
- figure out a way to lighten the stress of the initial year, perhaps fewer periods, more external support, more reviews of their work (either in the classroom or looking at tests and plans)
- sponsored social events to informally ask questions, blow off steam and feel like they are part of the team

@ Parent

BCPSS used to have a formal mentoring program called The Blum Mentors. Alonso cut the program against protests from new and experienced teachers alike to save some cash. My Blum mentor kept me motivated and helped me through my first 3 years. Without her I probably wouldn't have made it and I went to college in Baltimore and majored in teaching in Baltimore... for Baltimore. Imagine what it's like now for new staff coming in from out of state.

As for schedules, my 1st year I was given a full schedule of English II which is an HSA tested course. Under my (and another new teacher's) instruction test scores improved 100%, but it nearly killed me. I was, again, saved by my mentor many times.

I think it takes grit to become a city teacher, and you should come in expecting to teach a full schedule. It's the lack of support from the administration and community that hurts the first few years. I can't count the times parents would respond to phone calls home about behavior with a statement that (paraphrased) stated I was a new teacher and white, so of course their child was going to act out in my class. The politics, culture, and programs of Baltimore need to change in order for this seemingly easy retention problem to dissipate. We need a Renaissance.

The point of TFA isn't just to have teachers in the classroom. TFA alumn often go into other professions but tailor their expertise to innercity (or rural) education problems. Whether they become doctors, lawyers, politicians or whatever, they use their experience in TFA to continue working to help inner city children.

I haven't seen the point yet that TFA retention rates are comparable to any other entry route in Baltimore. Yes, there is a drop off after Year 2, but but 3 yr retention rates are comparable to both other alt cert and traditional routes (MacIver 2007) http://tinyurl.com/czjz96

It seems like retention is province of the city. TFA brings a whole group of young energetic teachers here, and yet the city has no strategic plan for keeping them after their second year. The city has no systematic retention plan for any of its teachers. What incentives can we provide to get people to stay?

I'd argue that letting 2 yr teachers voluntarily transfer is one way to keep a group of them who leave because they feel stuck in their initial placement schools. I am sure some smart folks could figure out other incentives.

I left after two years in TFA because I couldn't take the abuse anymore. My admin was NOT supportive and the students ran around the school terrorizing the teachers and each other. It was hands down the hardest and most difficult two years of my life. Instead of quitting in December like the non-TFA teachers next to me, I stuck it out because I'd made a commitment. Teacher retention is a HUGE issue not just for TFA teachers. Teaching is a profession that gets little respect from the community and not much in the way of a financial incentive.