Carthage partners with Teach For America to prepare teachers for Milwaukee classrooms

Carthage and Teach For America (TFA) Milwaukee have partnered to certify a diverse group of teachers to address the ongoing teacher shortage in Milwaukee.

TFA finds, develops, and supports a diverse network of leaders who expand opportunity for children from classrooms, schools, and every sector and field that shapes the broader systems in which schools operate.

Carthage will add a special cohort of its long-running Accelerated Certification for Teachers program that is exclusively open to TFA Milwaukee teachers, known as corps members. These first-year teachers will obtain Wisconsin teaching licenses in as little as two years, with the option to complete a master’s degree.

Through a rigorous recruitment and selection process led by TFA Milwaukee Executive Director Michael Nguyen, the cohort of 20 corps members will begin the Accelerated Certification for Teachers program this fall. Carthage faculty members will provide in-person instruction and training.

Two of the College’s professors and administrators, Education Department Chair Nina Weisling and Associate Dean for Education Siovahn Williams, championed the partnership to bring a pipeline of educators into Wisconsin.

Prof. Nina Weisling, left, won the Distinguished Teaching Award for 2023-24.“This is a fantastic opportunity for Carthage to team up with an organization that is doing really important work,” says Prof. Weisling, a 2003 alumna of TFA Philadelphia who recently received the College’s Distinguished Teaching Award. “We share Teach for America’s goal to ensure that all students receive an excellent education, regardless of their neighborhood ZIP code. Together, we’re responding to the urgent call for more teachers in the buildings where they’re needed most.”

The new partnership dovetails with the mission of Carthage’s successful Urban Teacher Preparation Program, which aims to expand the pool of resilient, highly effective educators in high-need urban schools. Undergraduate students spend hundreds of hours in local classrooms, making it the most immersive program of its kind in Wisconsin.

The partnership also aligns with broader institutional goals that Carthage has established, centered on closing opportunity gaps in higher education.

“We’ve made great strides in closing achievement gaps among our undergraduates, taking a leading position in the national Moon Shot for Equity program,” says Carthage President John Swallow. “We are thrilled to be able to teach this expertise, which is so strong in our Education Department, to new teachers seeking to accomplish the same goals in Milwaukee schools.”

Under a teacher license with stipulations, TFA corps members will teach in Milwaukee classrooms while progressing toward full licensure. Participants’ tuition and other costs will be fully covered by the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award and Carthage scholarship aid. TFA corps members also serve as AmeriCorps members.

Through TFA, college graduates and career changers from a wide range of fields make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity. The program’s comprehensive training develops leaders who go beyond traditional expectations to advance the academic and personal growth of their students.

Through this development, they expand their perspectives, knowledge, and skill as educators, advocates, and systems-change leaders. Approximately 550 alumni have served in Milwaukee schools since Teach for America began local operations in 2009.

“This collaboration with Carthage College provides our corps members with a unique opportunity to make an impact in their classrooms while receiving a high-quality education,” says Mr. Nguyen, who is also a 2009 alumnus of TFA Milwaukee. “We are excited to partner with Carthage to develop our corps members into exceptional educators who will make a lasting impact in their communities.”