by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
Three times as many UNM students got accepted to Teach For America than the national average, said Christine Probasco, a member of the organization.
"The first deadline we only had 12 applications, and a total of eight of them were accepted," she said. "That's outstanding, considering the national acceptance rate."
About 20 percent of applicants are accepted nationwide.
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It takes a highly qualified candidate and five weeks of training to get in, said Probasco, a UNM alumna who teaches third grade in Thoreau, N.M.
Teach For America is a national organization dedicated to bringing better education to low-income areas of the United States.
"I really wanted a chance to make an immediate impact after graduating from college," Probasco said. "Teach For America is a great way to do that."
Lauren Lopez, campus campaign manager for the organization, said children in low-income areas do not perform as well as their peers from high-income areas.
"The whole goal is to get these kids up to grade level and exceed grade level so they have a real fighting chance at being successful," she said.
Student Ambrosia Ortiz was one of eight students from UNM that got accepted. She will be teaching in the Bay Area of California.
Ortiz applied to the organization after she read Jonathan Kozol's book, Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools.
"I feel that of all the things in society, public education is a way for all kids to have an equal starting point," she said. "These kids are two and three grade levels behind. I hope to bring all the kids in my classroom up to their grade level."
Probasco said it is difficult, but she managed to bring a student up three grade levels in a year.
Ortiz said the education system teaches inequality, because children know when their school isn't funded as well as others.
Grades K through 12 are important to development, and children should not feel inadequate, she said.
"Those are some of the most definitive years of your life," she said. "If the lesson is, 'I'm not as good as someone else,' that's not a good message."
Student Lauren Huesemann was also accepted to the organization this year.
She will be going to Connecticut.
"I really saw the incredible inequality in the education system," she said. "I thought that led to a lot of inequality in a lot of higher education and the workforce, so I wanted to do something about that."
She said it's not fair that students don't get a good education based on where they live.
"It's based on how much
property tax their parents pay," she said. "That's not OK."
Huesemann wants to make students excited about education and help them realize its importance, she said.
There are two more application deadlines. The next deadline is Jan. 7, and the final deadline is Feb. 18.
About 19,000 people across the country applied last year, but only 2,500 were accepted.
Students who are accepted are paid a full teacher's salary with benefits, but applicants don't need a degree in education to participate, Probasco said.
There are other benefits, including partnerships with graduate programs that offer scholarships to Teach For America members, Lopez said.
Teach For America encourages people of all backgrounds to apply so the program is more diverse, Lopez said. Only 2 percent of members have education degrees, she said.
Probasco said Teach For America isn't for the faint of heart.
"There are daily heartbreaks," she said. "There is also tremendous hope in your classroom."
