Alabama
About Us
We are committed to working towards educational excellence for every child in Alabama.
Firmly believing in the power of increased educational opportunity, four Black Belt community members sat down at Mustang Oil, a diner in rural Alabama, and decided to work to bring Teach For America to the state of Alabama. Despite many obstacles, they secured everything necessary to guarantee 30 teachers a place to work in Alabama’s Black Belt beginning in 2010. Since then, the Alabama region has rapidly expanded across the Black Belt and in some of our largest urban areas.
Our alumni base in Alabama is rapidly growing, with over 300 alumni living and working in Alabama, taking on major policy roles, becoming principals, and bringing AP classes, ACT prep, and college-level work to their schools. While we are far from finished in our fight for educational excellence in Alabama, we have maintained the grassroots spirit that first brought us here, and we are committed to our mission.
“I spent three years teaching in rural Alabama and fell in love with my students and their home. That experience and love brought me back to Alabama. Coming back, I knew I’d have so much support from the Bamaly and could have an even bigger impact here. That solidified my move back from across the country.”
Living Here
The story of Alabama is one of triumph. For our corps members, living in Alabama means honoring the history of the work that has happened here, while continuing to work towards educational excellence every day. Alabama is quickly being known for our vibrant art and film community, a thriving food and restaurant scene, and quickly growing entrepreneurial opportunities. Our members have found opportunities to build relationships with elected officials, community leaders, community members, families, and students in a way that might not be as easily accessible in other places in the nation. We have found that our members quickly grow and expand their networks by working side-by-side with local communities.
Our members also find opportunities for rest and relaxation by taking advantage of multiple sporting events all year long through professional and collegiate baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and gymnastics. They have also found opportunities to explore our state’s beautiful hiking trails, mountains, rivers, and campsites. Our state has multiple art and music festivals throughout the year and has been honored as one of the nation's fastest growing, high quality food scenes in the nation.
Our members mostly live in Birmingham, Marion, Tuscaloosa, Selma, and Montgomery and they teach in Birmingham, Greensboro, Marion, and Selma. These locations are centrally located and make trips around the state, Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans can all be quick weekend trips.
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Where and What You'll Teach
Birmingham City Schools
Birmingham City Schools
Birmingham is one of the largest cities in Alabama and has a thriving food, art, and sports scene that will give you something to look forward to every week. Birmingham’s 99 neighborhoods each have a unique history and the 20,000+ students who attend Birmingham City Schools bring all of those assets to their classrooms. Birmingham City is home to 42 schools and six feeder patterns: Carver High School, Huffman High School, Jackson-Olin High School, Parker High School, Wenonah High School, and Woodlawn High School. Ramsay High School is the magnet school for the school district.
Perry County Schools
Perry County Schools
Marion and Uniontown are the two cities in Perry County and have a history of educational opportunities that have impacted the state. Marion is known as the City of Colleges and is the birthplace of many Universities throughout the state. Uniontown has many recreational opportunities. Perry County has two K-12 schools: Francis Marion School and Robert C. Hatch School.
Selma City Schools
Selma City Schools
Selma is known as the Queen City of the Black Belt. It has a celebrated history of impacting voting rights for the entire nation through the historic Selma to Montgomery Marches. Selma has a legacy of arts, culture, and education and has wonderful proximity to outdoor recreation, hiking, and the Alabama River. Selma City is home to nine schools and one feeder pattern: Selma High School.
Hale County Schools
Hale County Schools
Greensboro and Moundville are the two cities in Hale County and both have historical importance in the state and nation. Moundville is home to Mississippian-era mounds built by Indigenous tribes more than 1,000 years ago and was a center of trade and commerce. Greensboro is known as Alabama’s Catfish Capital and was the birthplace of one of the nation’s first civil rights associations, the Hale County Civic Improvement League. Hale County is home to seven schools and two feeder patterns: Greensboro High School and Hale County High School.
What You'll Teach
Corps members may teach one or more of the following subjects, depending on the needs of our district partners. Approximately 70% of corps members are placed in middle and high school classrooms, with 30% teaching elementary.
- Elementary
- Middle School Science
- Middle School Social Studies
- Middle School Math
- Middle School English
- High School Science
- High School Social Studies
- High School Math
- High School English
- Spanish
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Your generosity helps create a future in which every student in Alabama can learn, lead, and thrive.
