Teach for America Massachusetts executive director Shannah Varon receives a $25,000 check from United Way of Greater Fall River executive director Kimberly J. Smith on May 31, 2022 to support the work that Teach for America does in Fall River-area schools.
United Way of Greater Fall River has supported Teach for America Massachusetts (TFA) with grant funding totaling over $280,000 since 2011. This year was no different. United Way of Greater Fall River Executive Director Kimberly J. Smith presented Teach for America -Massachusetts Executive Director Shannah Varon with a check for $25,000.
United Way’s impact work focuses on advancing education, economic mobility, and health as a means of ensuring that community residents can live a “good life.” United Way engages partners throughout the community to work together to come up with holistic, integrated solutions that reflect the complexity of how education, economic mobility, and health interact to shape individual lives and community conditions.
“Our partnership with TFA maximizes the impact of our teachers and leaders on students’ academic achievement and life trajectories. TFA provides high-quality training, ongoing support, and critical resources at a time when educators are taking on increasingly hard and urgent work. It aligns perfectly with UWGFR’s focus on educational attainment and improved outcomes. This work ultimately leads to more students in our community graduating high school ready for college and career,” said Smith.
Teach for America is dedicated to increasing educational opportunities for youth and recruiting diverse college graduates to teach. Typically, TFA Corps members teach for two years in low-income schools. The grant provided by United Way will support the corps of nearly 30 educators working in Argosy Collegiate Charter School, Atlantis Charter School, Henry Lord Community School, Kuss Middle School, and Talbot Middle School in Fall River.
Varon said that with United Way’s support “we have continued to funnel high-quality talent to the South Coast…our footprint has increased from an original cohort of 13 corps members to our current total of 78 corps members and alumni teachers and school leaders, reaching over 4,500 students at seven South Coast partner schools.” Corps members work with mentors, coaches, and supportive administrators to successfully complete their corps years, and, increasingly, stay in public education to affect change and impact student lives.