UF graduates among top contributors to Teach For America's 2010 teaching corps

July 20, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida ranked among the top 20 contributors of graduating seniors from large colleges and universities to work for the 2010 Teach For America teaching corps.

Among schools with 10,000 or more undergraduates, UF ranked seventh in Teach for America’s annual ranking, with 54 graduates preparing to teach this fall in urban and rural public schools across the country.

Teach For America is the national corps of top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in underserved schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of expanding educational opportunities for all students. Teach For America recruits individuals from all academic majors and backgrounds who have demonstrated outstanding achievement, perseverance and leadership.

During the 2009-2010 academic year, Teach For America accepted only 12 percent of 46,000 applicants. This fall, more than 8,200 new and returning corps members will teach in 39 regions across the country. The 4,500 incoming corps members have an average grade point average of 3.6.

Teach For America first produced its top contributors list in 2008. For the past three years, UF has ranked among the top universities of its size, ranking 11th and 14th in 2008 and 2009 respectively.