Teacher K-12 & Education Advocate: all majors and career backgrounds welcome

About the Role

Teach For America (TFA) offers a paid, full-time opportunity for graduating seniors and early career professionals who want their work to have a direct social impact.

As a Teach For America Corps Member, you’ll work as a full-time educator in a public school while gaining hands-on leadership experience. You’ll support students in classrooms, collaborate with families and school teams, and learn how to lead in complex, real-world environments.

TFA provides training, coaching, and ongoing support so you can grow into the role and succeed. All backgrounds and university majors welcome. Certification not required.

This is a two-year commitment designed for college seniors and recent graduates who are motivated by social impact, willing to grow through hands-on experience, and interested in building transferable leadership skills that carry into many future career paths.

What You’ll Do

• Lead a PK–12 classroom in subjects like STEM, humanities, special education, or bilingual education
• Partner with students, families, and communities to expand educational opportunity in underserved communities
• Learn to navigate complex systems and lead through real-world challenges
• Grow alongside a national cohort of purpose-driven peers

Why People Choose TFA

• Lead with purpose: Make a tangible, immediate difference in students’ lives
• Build transferable leadership skills: Communication, adaptability, decision-making, and collaboration
• Join a powerful network: 70,000+ alumni across education, policy, nonprofit, medicine, and business
• Gain clarity, not just experience: A meaningful first step for values-driven careers

Benefits

• Competitive salary ($32,000-$38,000) with full benefits (health, dental, vision, retirement).
• Need-based financial supports, including regional stipends, grants, and zero-interest loans.
• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award and loan forbearance benefits (if available).
• Pathways to graduate degrees and teaching licensure.
• Intensive training in leadership and instructional practice.
• Lifelong access to a robust professional network united by purpose and impact.

Who This Is For

You might be a strong fit if you are:

• A college senior or early career professional (any major) with a track record of achievement and resilience in any field.
• Motivated by social impact, leadership, and expanding opportunities for kids.
• Comfortable learning on the job and growing through challenge
• Holding a bachelor’s degree with a 2.5+ GPA
• Authorized to work in the U.S.

No teaching experience required.

About Teach For America

For over 30 years, Teach For America has developed leaders who expand opportunity for children and communities. Our alumni include educators, founders, policymakers, and executives working across sectors to create the conditions necessary to transform schools and education systems, ensuring that every child has access to an excellent education.

Why Teach in Appalachia

As a Teach For America Corps Member in Appalachia, you’ll work alongside students, families, and educators to address real challenges facing local schools and communities. This region offers a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills while contributing to meaningful, place-based impact — all while being supported by a strong local network and TFA’s national community of leaders. You’ll build deep relationships and see the direct impact of your leadership at the community level.

Location: Bell County, Floyd County, Harlan County, Jackson County, Knott County, Leslie County, Magoffin County, McCreary County, and Montgomery County, Kentucky and Cabell County, West Virginia

Learn more about being a corps member in Appalachia and our other 41 regions nationwide here.

Learn More & Apply

Watch a 30-minute Virtual Info Session: here

Explore the Digital Brochure

Application Deadlines: Apply here

• February 2, 2026
• March 9, 2026

Start Date: Training begins May 2026 | Role begins Fall 2026

Commitment: 2 years