Our Scale and Impact
3,300+
Our
Network
Since 2000, Teach For America’s network of leaders has worked with families and students to expand educational opportunity in Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Network Growth in Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana
Our current network is made up of 125 corps members and 3,180 alumni
1,000+
Our
Teachers
Corps Members
62%
of corps members identify as people of color and/or are coming from a low-income background.
69%
of current corps members teach the high needs subjects of early childhood education, diverse learning, STEM, and bilingual education.
Alumni
50
cities across Illinois have TFA alumni teachers.
Francesca Sigmond
Englewood STEM High School
Greater Chicago—Northwest Indiana ’20
The Learning Curve
Francesca grew up near Chicago and always wanted to be a special education teacher. She always loved school and feels lucky to have had several supportive teachers. After graduating from Vanderbilt, she was looking forward to “returning to Chicago to make sure every student had a great teacher.” She didn’t know that when she accepted her offer from TFA that her first year of teaching would be remote. Although the pandemic presented a steep learning curve, she feels thankful she had her TFA community to get through it. “I am especially thankful for the other corps members at my school. We connected on so many levels and we all have different expertise,” Francesca said. “They have been a major source of connection for me in a time where it was hard to feel connected to a lot of people. I’m also thankful for my instructional coach, who has been a real mentor to me and believes in my abilities.”
245
Our
School Leaders
80 principals
165 mid-level leaders
Dalonte Burns
Principal
UIC College Prep
Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana ’13
We Are Enough
Dalonte was born and raised on the westside of Chicago and attended Chicago Public Schools. After becoming a first-generation college graduate, he was a corps member in Chicago. As a principal serving in the community he grew up in, he believes in the power of liberatory education practices to shift power to the most marginalized. “This little Black boy from the west side of Chicago was enough and I want my students and their parents to know they are enough. Despite the racism, trauma, and oppression, we can know that we were built for this moment and we are enough.”
Watch Dalonte’s participation in The Hidden Work: Conversations on Mental Health in Education.
Organization Leaders
950
Our
Beyond the classroom, we develop a generation of leaders who are equipped to solve educational inequity from every sector and every field.
TFA alumni lead many mission-aligned organizations in Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, including:
Ballot Ready
Braven
Chicago Public Schools
Equality Illinois
KIPP Chicago
Noble Schools
OneGoal
One Million Degrees
Surge Institute
Teach Plus Illinois
Teachers Supporting Teachers
The Chicago Public Education Fund
VOCEL
Pallavi Abraham
Executive Director
Teachers Supporting Teachers
Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana ’13
A Passion for Empowerment
Pallavi has spent her entire teaching career working in Chicago schools. After completing the corps in Chicago, she taught science in Bronzeville and Pilsen. Pallavi was a TFA Elevate Executive Leadership Fellow before becoming the Executive Director of Teachers Supporting Teachers. Pallavi has a passion for empowering minority women to join competitive fields and become the future of educational leadership.
Pallavi told us, “We know teachers are the primary in-school influence on student achievement. Teachers Supporting Teachers was founded to invest in retaining the excellent educators who are working to provide equal access to opportunity for our historically marginalized students.”
Watch Pallavi thanking our TFA community in our Gratitude Video.