Rice houses Teach For America for 5th year

The 20-plus yellow school buses lining up behind Rice’s West Servery around 6 a.m. on weekdays this month are headed to 12 Houston Independent School District (HISD) schools. But instead of picking up kids, they’re transporting adults who are enrolled in Teach For America’s (TFA) Houston National Institute.

For the fifth year in a row, Rice is partnering with nonprofit TFA to provide housing and meals for recent college graduates and career-changing leaders who are learning to become teachers. Teach For America recruits and trains accomplished individuals who have committed to teach in high-need classrooms for at least two years. TFA’s mission is to ensure that all children across the nation will one day have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

The Houston National Institute is one of 16 sites where TFA corps members are being trained and are teaching summer school to help students master critical subjects for the fall. Nearly 600 corps members, mostly from the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio regions, are enrolled in the five-week institute in Houston, and more than 100 experienced teachers observe, coach and train them.

Whitney Myers takes advantage of the Copy Center set up in Duncan College for Teach For America corps members. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow)

Whitney Myers is one of the corps members. She graduated from Baylor University in 2010 with a professional writing degree and became a marketing coordinator for a homebuilder in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. “It was a great company and I loved it,” she said, “but I wanted to feel like I was making a meaningful difference in my community.”

Myers said she has always felt “really passionate” about education, so she pursued the opportunity to teach through TFA. “I want to look back and know I did something to help other people,” she said. Myers will teach English in grades 9-12 this fall in Dallas.

Myers and the other TFA participants spend most of their weekdays in HISD classrooms, where they teach Houston-area kids who need to complete summer school to move up to the next grade level in the fall and also kids who just need to improve their skill level. The TFA corps members also receive instruction on lesson plans and techniques when they’re not teaching.

Nights are spent at Rice, where TFA members live in Duncan and McMurtry colleges. Participants with families stay in the Rice Graduate Apartments. Breakfast and dinner are available at the West Servery. Parking and shuttle service are provided, along with Internet access. A Copy Center is set up in Duncan College so that teachers in training can make photocopies of materials they need for lesson plans and classroom use. Participants can use the Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center when they need a break from their assignments.

“Housing and Dining (H&D) embraced the opportunity to welcome TFA corps members to the campus as part of what we’re doing to help achieve Rice’s Vision for the Second Century goal to deeply engage with the city of Houston,” said Veronica Boorom, senior operations manager for H&D.

Rice’s H&D employees always look forward to the arrival of TFA, Boorom said. “From holding culinary competitions to making the residential colleges ready for guests, our staff enjoys staying busy.”

Food-service operations are open at 5:30 a.m. for breakfast, and “a seamless assembly line” prepares boxed lunches for pickup before teachers board the school buses, Boorom said.

“Rice executive chefs prepare delicious dinners and desserts, which don’t go unnoticed by TFA corps members,” she said.

The first day of teaching was celebrated with a big dessert party that showcased the culinary talents of the pastry chefs. TFA participants were treated to crème brulee, “Hunger Games”-themed cupcakes with white-chocolate molds of the mockingjay emblem from the movie and “specially prepared s’mores with a delicious chocolate ganache that is still being talked about,” Boorom said.

“The satisfaction ratings of corps members from the TFA Houston Institute continues to rise every year,” she said. Boorom attributed last year’s overall satisfaction rate of 97 percent to the support provided all across campus, including H&D, Parking and Transportation, the Rec Center, Office of the Registrar and Facilities Engineering and Planning.

Michelle Patterson, director of operations for the Houston Institute, said Teach For America keeps coming back to Rice because the university is able to accommodate all of its needs.

“Rice is an amazing place,” she said. “The campus is beautiful, the food is delicious and the staff members are extremely helpful. They care about our program and what we’re doing, and we enjoy working with people who share our belief that all students can achieve and that all students should get an equal opportunity for education.”

The Houston National Institute continues through July 12. For more info on TFA, visit teachforamerica.org.