What We’re Talking About
Welcome to TFA’s Connection Blog. A space to bring you the latest news, resources, and events happening among the Teach For America Community. Here is what we’re talking about in January:
📰 New Year, New Opportunities
We’re entering 2026 with renewed optimism about what’s possible for students and communities. From Gen Z leaders increasingly choosing the classroom, to 10,000 people gathering for the 35th Anniversary Summit, the momentum toward One Day is growing.
If you believe that doing beats dreaming, we hope to see you in Las Vegas October 2-3 for a once-in-a-decade gathering with a fresh look and feel to match the energy of this moment, and to inspire and mobilize The Power of Us for impact.
⭐ Purpose in Action: Insights from Aneesh, TFA’s CEO
Leadership begins in classrooms and extends across careers, communities, and systems. In his forthcoming Substack, The Leadership Launchpad, Aneesh will share lessons from classrooms, peers, and communities nationwide—and how they shape his thinking on leadership, progress, and opportunity. Expect candid reflections from Aneesh, guest voices from TFA’s broad network, and real-world insights from people driving change in complex systems.
🔦 Spotlights
Embracing Innovation for Impact
Teach For America’s launch of OneApp marks a major leap in centralizing resources and creating efficiencies for educators. The platform streamlines the path into the classroom, delivers real-time insights to better match talent with high-need schools, and enables programs like Ignite to scale nationwide. With OneApp, TFA is investing in technology that strengthens teacher preparation and expands opportunity for students and communities.
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🎓Alumni Highlights
Forbes’ 30 Under 30
Abby Coyle (Hawaii 2018)
Abby co-founded Classbank, a digital platform that doubles as a classroom economy, with fellow TFA alumna Katie Draper Gracey (Nashville 2015). Students carry out jobs, budget, pay bills, and earn bonuses—practicing positive behaviors and learning financial independence. School districts using Classbank include Orange County, New York City, and Arlington, TX. Take a look inside Abby’s impact.
Yasmin Barkett (Bay Area 2018)
Yasmin co-founded ROYO (Read On Your Own), a website that empowers teachers to personalize books in real time, letting students see themselves as avatars in stories. ROYO interactively listens to students reading aloud and provides supportive prompts for improvement. 3,000 teachers nationwide are using ROYO, reaching about 10,000 students.
📚TFA in the News
- Lessons from a Veteran Math Teacher – Alexandria Brown (Greater New Orleans ’14) shares with Word in Black how strong relationships, openness to feedback, and broader thinking help close opportunity gaps.
- Future of Education Reimagined – ABC highlights TFA North Carolina’s statewide convening on how AI is reshaping learning and life beyond the classroom.
- Better Ways to Support Teachers – Juliana Finegan (Los Angeles ’04) uses new data in District Administration to show what educators need most and why relationships matter.
*Note: In pursuit of our vision of One Day and our 2030 impact goal, Teach For America has built a broad coalition, and we work alongside over 300 communities across 37 states, the District of Columbia, and sovereign nations. To meet the needs of the children we serve and our participants, we partner with several other organizations and entities to establish a repertoire of resources and supports. While we review these resources, we recognize the content of links may shift, change, or be not fully aligned with our complete view, values, or vision. The inclusion of any link is intended to direct users to potentially useful information. Teach For America encourages users to exercise their own judgment when accessing linked websites.
🙌 Opportunities
AI for Job Seekers Bootcamp (Job Insiders x TFA)
A two-week virtual program focused on translating your TFA experience to broader sectors, strengthening your resume and LinkedIn profile, improving your application strategy, and preparing you with strong interview stories.
Jan 20–29, 2026
Early Bird Deadline: Jan 7
Kode With Klossy: Paid Summer Instructor Roles
Get paid to leverage your curiosity, facilitation skills, and a passion for helping young people build their confidence in computing. This is a two-week summer camp with approximately 40 hours asynchronous training. No coding background required!
Application Deadlines: Priority: Jan 4 Final: Jan 11
Mission Collaborative Career Design Fellowship
This proven career design process helps you get clearer on what you want next and build a pathway to it.
Feb 28–Mar 30, 2026
Teacher Innovator Institute
Middle school STEAM educators (grades 5–8): Apply now for the 2026 Teacher Innovator Institute, a fully funded summer professional development experience in Washington, D.C. hosted by the National Air and Space Museum. Join a national cohort to explore museum-based learning, inquiry-driven teaching, and informal education strategies. The program spans two summers (July 6–17, 2026 & July 12–23, 2027) and supports passionate teachers eager to expand their practice and professional network.
Application Deadline: Jan 23
What’s Happening This Winter
Stay Connected
Whether you just joined the Corps or completed your service decades ago, there are many ways to find your fellow Corps members and friends and connect. We provide both an alumni directory for looking up your old friends and a career networking platform – TFA Connect – for when you want to expand your career network, and several networking events each year. You can even join the national TFA Alumni group on LinkedIn! Wherever you go, the TFA alumni network is accessible and ready to support you.
