Teach For America (TFA) is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence.

"[2] The organization aims to accomplish this by recruiting and selecting college graduates from top universities around the United States to serve as teachers.

Members of the founding team include value investor Whitney Tilson, former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service Douglas Shulman, and president and CEO of Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) Richard Barth.

[4] In September 2015, the organization reached a milestone of 50,000 corps members and alumni, who have collectively taught more than 5 million students across the nation.

In January 2011, Wendy Kopp released her second book, A Chance To Make History, which outlines what she has learned over the last twenty years working in American education.

The goal of Teach For America is for its corps members to make both a short-term and long-term impact by leading their students to reach their full potential and becoming lifelong leaders for educational equity.

Additionally, the organization reported that 84 percent of its alumni were working full-time in roles impacting education or low-income communities.

The five regions are: the Las Vegas Valley, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Eastern North Carolina, and Northeast Ohio (the Cleveland area).

[13] Studies in North Carolina and Tennessee suggest that Teach For America is the most effective source of new teachers in the two states, based on student achievement across subjects and grade levels.

The 13 scale-up grants required applicants to provide demonstrated evidence of success through objective, methodologically sound studies (e.g., experimental and quasi-experimental research designs) of student achievement.

[22] Teach For America has been criticized by opponents who claim the program replaces experienced teachers with brand-new employees who have had only five weeks of training during the summer, and who are brought in at beginners' salary levels.

[23] This criticism applies to the vast majority of new Teach For America teachers, though a small percentage may have some previous experience in education or advanced degrees.

John Wilson, executive director of the National Education Association, sent a memo in May 2009 stating that union leaders were "beginning to see school systems lay off teachers and then hire Teach For America college grads due to a contract they signed."

There is an elitist overtone to the structure of TFA, a belief that the best and the brightest can make a difference in the lives of children who are less fortunate, even when they are not professionally prepared to do so.

[41] In November 2015 the Walton Family Foundation announced a gift to TFA of $50 million over three years to support recruitment efforts and professional development for 4,000 new teachers across the country.

The Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Social Innovation Award is open to current TFA corps members and alumni.

[44] In 2011, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation was the first philanthropic organization to commit to the endowment fund with a pledge of $25 million and called upon other funders to match this figure.

[46] In Childhood Education, Joey Estes says "This book, while focusing on low-income, high-need schools and classrooms, offers a unique and candid look at the people who are successfully making a huge difference in the lives of under-served students every day.