Witnessing at first hand the struggle of her college roommate from the Bronx to overcome the inequality of the American education system led Wendy Kopp to develop the concept of a national teaching corps. Among the issues she identified was an insufficiency of talent, leadership and hours in the day for teachers to catch-up students who start out behind; and the prevailing ideology in the US has not led to the necessary policies and investments to eliminate educational inequality. Teach First recruits the country’s best minds to commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools thereby helping the nation’s most under-served students while influencing the consciousness and priorities of these future leaders.
