Teach for America S.C. calls for “homegrown” teachers

[gtxvideo vid=”YZt9vZ2t” playlist=”” pid=”rkijshg2″ thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/YZt9vZ2t.jpg” vtitle=”rural teacher recruitment”]

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WOLO) — Teach for America is nothing new, but there’s a new push within the national program to get native South Carolinians teaching in our high-need schools. RiseSC promotes the value of Palmetto college students starting and growing their careers here at home. Inside Julie-Louise Doe’s fourth grade classroom at Marshall Elementary School in Orangeburg, kids are engaged. 25-year-old Doe realized her fate two years ago. It took a year away from her home state to realize where she needed to apply her efforts. “There are problems at home that need to be fixed,” she says. “Why go somewhere else when the work needs to be done there?” A born-and-bred Columbian, Doe found it easy to connect with her students. “Being able to have those relationships with my students, makes it so much easier for the teaching to happen.” Marshall Elementary School principal Dyisha Taylor says when they get TFA teachers who are from the state, it’s more likely they’ll stay in the district long-term. “When you’re closer to the community, you become more invested, so when you become invested in the community, you’re invested in the kids,” Taylor says. TFA says 28% of its South Carolina corps members have ties to the state. Their goal is to reach 50% by 2020. “It’s definitely an advantage to have teachers who are familiar with the area, familiar with the students,” Taylor says. Despite a lack of resources, and 12 hour days, Doe has learned her own lesson. “What I have is enough within myself,” she says. “And the rest of it; if I don’t have it, I’ll find another way.”