Hello from Saint Louis! My name is Amy Kordus and I am a second year corps member with Teach For America. I am contributing to this blog in order to share my experiences as a seventh and eighth grade remedial reading teacher within the Saint Louis Public School district. I joined the Teach For America corps because I realize how my education has given me endless opportunities, and I wanted to help empower other students in the same way. As a teacher, I am learning just how much is at stake with our education system today: for example, by the time most children in low income communities reach the fourth grade, they are already two to three years behind their peers in higher income areas. Only 50% of these children from low income communities will go on to graduate from high school, unless we help them reach their full potential by closing the achievement gap—once and for all.
I first heard about Teach For America while I was a junior at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, and I joined the corps right after I graduated in 2008. I live and work with fellow corps members who hail from around the country: Texas, Ohio, California, Florida, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, and several native Saint Louisans, just to name a few. Even though our backgrounds are diverse, we are united with a common mission to end educational inequality by providing a quality education to all our students.
I grew up in Holmen, Wisconsin, just ten minutes north of La Crosse and about seven hours north of Saint Louis along the Mississippi. When I’m not teaching or writing, I enjoy cheering for the Badgers’ football and basketball teams, running, and exploring all that the city of Saint Louis has to offer. I hope you will continue to check back to our columns and learn more about what is happening in education!
www.teachforamerica.org
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