[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 50 (Thursday, March 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3611-S3612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Alexander, Ms. 
        Mikulski, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Durbin):
  S. 959. A bill to award grant to enable Teach for America, Inc., to 
implement and expand its teaching program; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
increase the number of high-need school districts and communities 
served by Teach For America. My legislation will address the need to 
build a pipeline of talented teachers to prepare our children to 
compete in the global economy.
  As the teaching population ages, more and more schools will face 
significant shortages of qualified and motivated teachers. Schools 
across the country will need to replace at least 1 million teachers 
over the next ten

[[Page S3612]]

years. Our Nation's inner cities and rural communities will be even 
harder hit as their teachers move to suburban schools or leave the 
teaching profession altogether. That is why I am sponsoring the Teach 
For America Act.
  Teach For America is the national corps of exceptional recent college 
graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in 
public schools. Teach For America's corps members and alumni become 
lifelong leaders in the effort to ensure that all children in our 
Nation have an equal chance to succeed in life. Since its inception in 
1990, more than 12,000 individuals have joined Teach For America, 
directly impacting the lives of over 2 million students in under-
resourced schools across the country.
  This legislation will help Teach For America grow to over 7,500 corps 
members in 32 communities teaching over 600,000 low-income students 
every day. It will do so by providing funding for Teach For America to 
expand its program of recruiting, selecting, training, and supporting 
new teachers.
  Teach For America's alumni lead the way for fundamental long-term 
change across the country. After their two years of service, 63 percent 
of Teach For America alumni remain in education as teachers, 
principals, school founders and policy advisors. Others, equipped with 
insight gained through their classroom experience, go on to work in a 
variety of fields--including law, medicine, and social work--and 
continue to increase opportunities for children living in low-income 
communities.
  The Teach For America Act addresses the need to effectively build a 
corps of dedicated, talented college graduates to teach and make a 
lasting impact in our underserved communities. I am hopeful that my 
Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle will join me in moving 
this legislation to the floor without delay.
                                 ______