The recent selection of Barack Obama signaled to the world that the young people of America are ready for a change. However, no matter how much we desire change, it will continue to be handicapped in America until we fix our educational system. A significant portion of our citizens, minorities and low-income households, in particular, are failed by our current educational system. I encourage you to become part of this change by completing an application for Teach for America. As Harvard economist Ed Glaeser points out in his recent Op-ed in the Boston Globe, “Teach for America has achieved remarkable results by putting capable young people, often with little formal training as teachers, in classrooms.” Teach for America will train you and then place you in a school where you can make a significant difference in the lives of Americans.

Upon completing your application for Teach for America, I encourage you to mark the Mississippi Delta region as ‘highly preferred.’ Currently, I am in the second year of my commitment, teaching high school special education in Shelby, Mississippi. The area I teach in is ravaged by immense poverty, failing schools and remnants of the Jim Crow era. For this entire generation of students to have any chance of success they need new, dedicated teachers with fresh ideas to come in and work with the veteran teachers and administrators on the front line. It is for this very important reason that I ask you to submit applications to Teach for America, marking a preference for the Mississippi Delta.

If you have any questions about Teach for America or the Mississippi Delta please e-mail me at [email protected]

R. Paul Russell

2007 Alumni