Study.com, an award-winning online learning platform for K12 curriculum, college courses and test prep, has partnered with Teach For America (TFA), a nonprofit that works to confront educational inequity by recruiting exceptional and diverse leaders to teach, tutor, and lead schools and systems. The collaboration will support incoming TFA teachers as they prepare for and meet local certification requirements in the communities where they work.
Through the partnership, TFA’s new corps member teachers have unlimited access to Study.com’s proven test preparation and academic support. This is part of their ongoing training, learning, and support to ensure that students have access to high-quality and impactful educators. Additionally, the company provides TFA insights on new corps members’ preparation progress, informing TFA’s coaching and support model.
With learners and educators in over 11,000 school districts nationwide, Study.com is recognized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for meeting Level IV evidence standards. Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, the company has donated $29 million across social impact programmes committed to increasing educational equity. These programmes include Working Scholars®, an accelerated pathway for working adults to earn a debt-free bachelor’s degree, and Keys to the Classroom, which seeks to help aspiring educators prepare for and pass their teacher certification exams.
Speaking about the collaboration, Erin Rackers, Vice President for Matriculation of Teach For America, said:
Every year, Teach For America recruits thousands of emerging diverse leaders to teach in high-need classrooms across the country. As these new educators prepare to lead classrooms where every student has the opportunity to learn, lead and thrive, they spend months training and earning the certifications necessary to take on their new roles. Study.com’s research-backed teacher test prep and resources provide our new teachers with important support so that they can focus even more of their energy on the needs of their students and classrooms.
The alliance began as part of Study.com’s Keys to the Classroom Initiative, a coalition committed to deploying what is working to develop a more diverse and representative educator pipeline and help prepare aspiring educators in the Classroom. The platform works with state education departments, school districts, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations that support education to help aspiring teachers prepare for and pass their credentialing exams.
Dana Bryson, SVP of Social Impact of Study.com, added:
As the teacher shortage and retention crisis affects schools nationwide, we are honoured to partner with Teach For America to foster a more diverse and representative educator workforce. We are proud to collaborate with innovators like Teach For America, who are committed to developing new and sustainable pathways for recent college graduates and other young professionals entering the teaching profession to become certified teachers nationwide.
Teach For America was established in 1990 to discover, foster, and assist a broad network of leaders who will increase opportunities for students not only in classrooms but also in every other sector and field that influences the larger structures that govern education. It collaborates with localities nationwide to increase children’s access to education. Currently, 70,000 alumni, corps members, and Ignite fellows are working to bring about significant systemic change to provide each child with an equal chance to study, lead, thrive, and co-create a future full of opportunities.
