Prospective candidates applying to Teach for America (TFA) will no longer have to balance the desire to volunteer against the prospect of losing out on a more lucrative job offer, thanks to a new policy enacted by financial giant JP Morgan.
In a partnership between the two organizations, students accepted to both JP Morgan and TFA will have the option to defer their finance jobs for two years to work at TFA. They will still receive their starting bonuses immediately.
Those who take up this offer will fulfill their TFA obligation during the academic year by teaching in rural or inner-city schools and reaffirm their commitment to JP Morgan by participating in an "externship" at the company during the summer.
"In essence, we feel that the kind of students that apply and are accepted to TFA are the kinds of individuals we want here at the firm," JP Morgan vice president Adam Castellani said.
Students who complete TFA exhibit leadership, organization and motivation, Castellani added, which are capabilities that will serve them well in their careers.
The partnership is meant to benefit both organizations as well as the participants of the joint program.
"Teach for America has seen phenomenal growth in our application numbers over the past few years, and this past year alone, we received some 19,000 applications," TFA's vice president of communications Josh Taylor said. "However, in some cases we expect that this partnership will eliminate the need for some graduating seniors from having to decide between TFA and JP Morgan, since they'll be able to do both."
JP Morgan believes that it is the first company to enact such a policy, Castellani said. "We've long been an advocate of what Teach for America does for public education in this country ... and we felt it was something that would benefit Teach for America but also help us attract really qualified candidates."
TFA was founded by Wendy Kopp '89 as her Wilson School thesis. The organization recruits college seniors to spend two years after graduation teaching underprivileged children. Kopp has previously stated that Teach for America's goal is to become the largest employer of college graduates in the country.
About 66 percent of TFA alumni are working or studying full-time in education, Taylor said, and 91 percent of the program's total participants continue to support the organization's objectives through career, philanthropy, volunteer activity or graduate study.
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