Who We Are
Teach For India is a nationwide movement that aims to narrow the education gap in India by placing India’s most outstanding college graduates and young professionals, of all academic majors and career interests, in low-income schools to teach for two years. In the short run, Teach For India will provide a source of dedicated teachers who will work tirelessly to expand, in a measurable way, the educational opportunities available to hundreds of thousands of India’s most underprivileged children. In the long run, Teach For India will aim to build a powerful and ever-growing leadership force of alumni who, informed by their experiences and insights, will work from inside and outside of the education system to effect fundamental, long-term changes necessary to ultimately realize educational opportunity for all.
In its launch year, Teach For India had placed 87 Fellows in schools in Mumbai and Pune. By its fifth year, Teach For India will aim to place increasing numbers of Fellows in eight metropolitan cities and rural areas in surrounding 4-5 districts. Fellows will be recruited largely from the top 25 undergraduate institutions in each field of study based on a rigorous selection process that will test, among other things, critical thinking skills, perseverance and ability to influence/motivate others. Fellows will be placed in low-income primary and upper primary, English medium schools (mainly government and some low-end private schools), to improve both academic achievement and retention rates in high-need urban and rural areas.
Teach For India will provide Fellows with a variety of support structures to ensure that Fellows feel safe, are looked after and meet their ambitious goals throughout their two-year teaching period.
Mentor Support
For the entirety of the 2-year Fellowship, Fellows will have a Teach For India Program Associate, at a ratio of approximately 10 Fellows per Program Associate, whose main responsibility is ensure that the Fellows build skills and maintain energy to reach their classroom and community project goals. Program Associate will continuously visit classrooms and meet with Fellows to develop plans and troubleshoot challenges.
Pre-Service Training
Before entering the classroom, Teach For India will bring all Fellows together for a residential, full-time pre-service training Institute, where we will teach them the keys to excellent teaching and leading. The Institute will also give them the opportunity to build personal and professional relationships with all Teach For India Fellows, who have diverse academic and professional backgrounds, a common history of success and a unifying commitment to ending educational inequity.
In-Service Training
Excellent teachers and leaders build new skills by learning a new practice, implementing it, reflecting on the implementation, and taking steps to improve the practice immediately. During the first month of teaching, Teach For India will provide intensive, structured support to enable Fellows to build their skills quickly and effectively while they are practicing them in the classroom. In the evenings and weekends, they will attend workshops to learn new skills, and a Teach For India staff member will visit them and their students multiple times a week to help them improve their practice.
Formal Reviews
Once in a quarter, Fellows will meet with their Program Associates, Training Managers and City Directors to formally review their performance against goals and set targets for improvement for the next quarter. Once a year, they will receive a 360 degree review, taking into account their students’ results and input from the administration at their school, and Teach For India staff members. At the end of the two year-Fellowship, they will give a formal presentation to Teach For India.
The Leadership Forum
On an ongoing basis, Teach For India will invite prominent corporate, government social and education leaders to speak to Teach For India Fellows about their experience with leadership. Some of the leaders who have addressed our Fellows are Aamir Khan (Actor), Dr. Mashelkar (President, National Innovation Foundation and Indian National Science Academy), Nandita Das (Actor), Anu Aga (Former Executive Chairperson, Thermax Group and Director, Thermax Social Initiatives), Wendy Kopp (Founder, Teach For America), Kiran Sethi (Founder, Riverside School), Aditya Natraj (Founder, Gandhi Fellowship), Anand Shah (Founder, Indicorps), Roopal Shah (Founder, Indicorps), Nachiket Mor (President ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth) and Rahul Bose (Actor).
The Teach For India Network
The Fellows will have multiple opportunities to interact with each other, through in-service support workshops, the Leadership Forum, online networking, and social gatherings. They will be a critical source of motivation and support for each other.
Teach For India is also in the process of creating a Parents Network for parents interested in supporting our Fellows and Teach For India’s mission.
Future Career Prospects
Teach For India will give Fellows the skills necessary to succeed in any career, and will connect them with opportunities and networks to enable them to enter the career of their choice afterward.
By teaching for two-years in a high-needs school, Fellows will quickly build project management, motivational and communication skills, which are skills that are highly-valued across sectors.
Additionally, the Teach For India’s Alumni Services will help Fellows learn about and apply to jobs in their intended sectors, such as education, banking, journalism, consulting or social work. Many top organizations in all sectors will actively recruit Teach For India Fellows during the second year of the Fellowship.
Testimonials
“As a mother of two young children, here is why I’d support their decision to do the Teach For India Fellowship.
I’d support it because I believe India needs them.
I’d support it because I know the experience will challenge them, stretch them, and push them to be people who believe that anything is possible.
I’d support them because every day they will touch the lives of a class full of children. I’d support them because through relentless hard work, they’ll change these children’s life paths.
I’d support them because a challenging classroom is perhaps the most conducive place to learn key leadership skills – setting a vision and big goals, investing stakeholders, planning purposefully, executing effectively, working relentlessly and reflecting constantly.
I’d support them because I know that after the Fellowship, they’ll be the kind of leaders that are valuable in any job.
I’d support them because together, as alumni, they can change India for every child.”
(Shaheen Mistri – CEO, Teach For India)
“I was very skeptical when my son Gaurav Singh joined Teach For India, as I felt he was taking a big chance with his career. But, children have a way of winning such battles, and Gaurav joined Teach For India. From the outset, I struggled to explain to friends and family what my son was doing. Indirectly, through that process, I became a strong advocate of Teach For India, explaining to anyone and everyone the mission of Teach For India. Through my relentless effort, many people came to understand and appreciate what my son was doing. Today I no longer worry about Gaurav’s future. He is doing something which has enriched his life for the years to come. When parents and young people inquire about Teach For India, I happily endorse and promote the program.”
(Anita Singh – Mother of Gaurav Singh, 2009 Fellow)
Answering your common concerns
Would the Teach For India Fellowship be considered work experience by prestigious institutions of higher studies in India and abroad?
“Yes. I think the Fellowship is of great value. It is a very challenging program which imparts the skills and abilities to deal with difficult situations and restricted time lines. You need to be very committed to the cause. In essence, it is a leadership program that would add value not only to your personality but also to your career and education prospects. The value of the Fellowship can be gauged by the fact that certain organizations like Axis Bank and ICICI Bank offer sabbaticals and count the Fellowship as work experience. Institutions of higher study abroad attach great importance to an applicant’s experience in the Teach For America program because of its selectivity and its emphasis on excellence in the classrooms. Similarly, Teach For India is also making a name for itself in these prestigious universities considering its selectivity is more than Teach For America itself and its ability to attract India’s best and brightest young graduates and young professionals.”
(Irin D’Souza – Parent of Karen D’Souza, 2010 Fellow)
Why is Teach For India a full-time 2 year commitment instead of a volunteer program?
Teach For India has undertaken a huge mission and has ambitious plans; these cannot be delivered without full time commitment from the Fellows. It would be impossible to hold Fellows accountable for their performance if the program was voluntary.
How is teaching going to add to the skill sets of someone with work experience in the corporate sector?
“In this program Fellows learn critical attributes required for leadership in any sphere. Fellows learn how to motivate, how to communicate effectively and persuasively to overcome strong resistance. People skills are developed to handle the most challenging interpersonal situations. Fellows learn to innovate and overcome problems that cannot be addressed by routine solutions.”
(Mr. Subramanian – Father of Madhumita Subramanian, 2009 Fellow)
Does Teach For India help a Fellow settle in his placement city in any way?
“Given the challenge offered to the young people joining Teach For India, the Teach For India staff is prudent in allocating the area and city requested by the candidates, since if they are comfortable in their area it will help them settle and be productive, thus achieve results much faster. At the Teach For India training Institute, there is a lot of support and advice offered by Teach For India regarding places to stay and brokers that Fellows can get in touch with. Even after Institute, Teach For India offers temporary accommodation for a period of 15-20 days till the Fellow has found a permanent place to stay.”
(Melissa Romer – Parent of Raisa Romer, 2010 Fellow)
