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Board approves partnerships with Teach for America and New Teacher Project amid budget questions
Summary
The SFUSD board approved consent items to partner with Teach for America (TFA) for up to 40 placements and to continue a New Teacher Project (TNTP) contract after discussion about costs, recruitment timelines and diversity goals; board members asked for further budget and sourcing data at the Budget Committee.
The San Francisco Unified School District board voted to approve district partnerships with Teach for America (TFA) and to authorize a continuation of the New Teacher Project (TNTP) contract after public comment and detailed questioning about costs, recruitment sources and retention.
Orla O'Keefe, the district’s chief administrative officer, described a three-year HR strategic plan that paired the two partnerships as tools to recruit teachers to high-need subject areas and to staff the 20 hardest-to-staff schools. "We believe partnering with both Teach for America and the New Teacher Project will help us further our goals of recruiting a diverse, highly qualified workforce," O'Keefe said.
Public commenter Dennis Kelly cautioned about the fiscal trade-offs, citing a $3,000 placement fee per TFA teacher and $250,000 for the New Teacher Project and urging the board to prioritize compensation for existing teachers. TFA and TNTP representatives answered board members’ questions about costs and outcomes. TFA said it invests roughly $20,000 per teacher for recruitment, training and support and that participation fees offset a portion of that cost; TNTP reported staffing or consolidating 190 teachers at 20 targeted schools in the prior year and described a model of side-by-side recruiting and principal-focused hiring workshops.
Board members pressed for more data on teacher sourcing (how many recruits are from California), timelines and retention. TFA said it had a September 30 recruiting deadline and would provide lists of placements when finalized; TNTP and HR agreed to provide outcome and staffing reports to the board and to present additional budget detail at the budget committee meeting scheduled for September 18.
Votes and next steps: The Teach for America consent item and the TNTP authorization were approved by roll-call votes during the consent portion and a separate contract authorization item; board members said they expect follow-up reports on recruitment sources, placement timelines and fiscal specifics.
