NEW ORLEANS — Teach For America Greater New Orleans (TFA GNO) is gearing up to commemorate its 30th anniversary and launch a corresponding public outreach campaign initiative throughout 2020. The banner year will operate under the theme of “transformation” to support the vision, innovation and forward-looking evolution of the Teach For America mission in the years ahead. The culmination of the three-decade anniversary will be a celebratory signature event, bringing together a host of partners, community members, teachers and supporters, scheduled for October 2020.
Since the inception of her leadership tenure, TFA GNO Executive Director Joy Okoro has successfully overseen the organization’s recruitment, training and development of more than 200 TFA corps members for the 2018-2019 school year. In addition, TFA GNO cites 90 percent of its alumni working in education or adjacent industries serving and impacting children in historically underserved or low-income communities. To put that statistic in deeper perspective, more than 500 alumni work directly in schools, including 350 teachers, 32 school leaders and 22 school system leaders. TFA GNO leadership is encouraged and excited to continue building upon its legacy of progress.
“As Teach For America Greater New Orleans celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, I’m reflective of our learnings since our organization launched in Louisiana in 1990,” says TFA GNO Executive Director Joy Okoro. “I’m also encouraged to continue our work and foster new relationships with partners and allies. I believe our city will need a renewed commitment from us all to continue fueling the incredible progress we’ve seen in Greater New Orleans over the past three decades.”
Among TFA GNO’s forward-looking priorities are strengthening the impact of its teaching corps, expanding school partnerships and continuing to recruit and retain classroom teachers reflective of the racial and economic backgrounds of students. The organization seeks to set the stage for further evolution and empower a new generation of teachers, leaders and students dedicated to improving New Orleans for the next three decades and beyond.
“Despite the hard work, dedication, and progress we have made, our current education system does not yet provide an equitable experience that enables economic mobility. We must own our progress and our reality and work collaboratively to deliver on the promises we make to students every day. Our city needs innovative leadership to transform our education system,” says Okoro. “At Teach For America, we’re not solely building teachers, we’re building leaders.”
To learn more about Teach For America Greater New Orleans and its mission, click around https://www.teachforamerica.org/where-we-work/greater-new-orleans.