Teach For America Week 2009

Most of us remember our favorite teacher. You know, the one who opened our eyes to a whole new world, gave us the confidence to explore new ideas or motivated us to rise to the challenge. Through his or her dedication and commitment to education, doors were opened for hundreds, if not thousands of students.

Unfortunately, for many students in low-performing schools, they simply don't have the opportunity to reach their highest potential. For this reason, FedEx supports Teach For America.  TFA is the national corps of outstanding college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools, becoming lifelong leaders for expanding educational opportunity. In study after study, TFA corps members have proven to be highly effective educators and are raising achievement levels for students who were left behind.  Today, over 5,000 corps members impact nearly 425,000 under-represented students in twenty-nine regions across the country.

FedEx supports Teach For America because they affirm our commitment to Access, creating opportunities for students to achieve their dreams and participate in the global economy. In 2008, FedEx pledged $1 million over four years to support their plan to grow and diversify the corps. We have also provided support to launch regional offices in Memphis and Dallas in addition to providing the 5,000+ corps members with discounts at FedEx Office.

This week, nine FedEx executives will be entering the classrooms of Teach For America corps members, sharing their knowledge and personal insights with hundreds of students across the United States. Participants will be in five markets:

• Brian Phillips in San Francisco
• Rob Carter, Bob Quinn, Mark Colombo, Glenn Sessoms & Diane Terrell in Memphis
• Gina Adams in Washington, D.C.
• Cheryl O'Brien in Newark
• Rich Cocuzzo in Los Angeles

For all of us, we look forward to the day when all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.