MIAMI—Aug.12, 2015— A program that invites Teach For America – Miami-Dade teachers to spend their summer interning with local startups and receive entrepreneurial workshops and training throughout the year, is receiving $70,000 in new support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Related Link
“By design: Teachers embrace the entrepreneur within” on Knight Blog by Kiesha Moodie, 8/12/2015
The program aims to draw new talent into the Miami startup community, while broadening the experience of Teach For America teachers. It also provides them with a greater understanding of the opportunities in and outside classrooms, so they can help narrow opportunity gaps in underserved Miami neighborhoods.
“We’ve seen Startup Summer interns become so inspired by their opportunities, that they’ve gone on to launch startups that focus on innovative opportunities for students,” said Kiesha Moodie, managing director of alumni and community impact with Teach For America – Miami-Dade. “Daniel Applewhite founded Agora, connecting students and travelers to world-wide cultural experiences. And Daniel Dickey and Nicole Azzi are among the founding members of Miami Exploration Academy, a summer school for student enrichment. With the opportunity for 20 additional teachers to participate in Startup Summer programming throughout the year, we expect to see even more inspiration and innovation in and outside of the school year.”
Twenty Teach For America – Miami-Dade corps members participated in the Summer Startup program from June 22 – Aug. 7, 2015. The educators committed 20 hours a week to work with 12 Miami-based startups. They also participated in bi-weekly webinars led by business and community leaders and past Startup Summer interns on topics ranging from Startup Jargon 101 to Search Engine Optimization.
Starting in fall 2015, Teach for America will host workshops for the interns at the Idea Center at Miami Dade College; workshops will focus on providing corps members and alumni with entrepreneurial skills to make an impact in the area of education. Summer Startup interns will also have the opportunity to take part in a spring startup summit in Miami in 2016 where they will explore entrepreneurship and innovation in education while developing the skills they need to address the root causes of inequity.
“Startup Summer is helping to ensure that Miami teachers are equipped to support the next generation of talented workers in our city, while encouraging teachers to contribute to Miami’s innovation ecosystem,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami. “Its unique model also encourages different groups, including entrepreneurs, to get involved with important community issues, build connections and support diverse ideas.”
Teach For America – Miami-Dade, which began a partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools in 2003, is a source of leadership and talent in the city, drawing 100 new corps member teachers to Miami each year. Corps members make an initial two-year commitment to teach in Miami Dade Public Schools classrooms that demonstrate the biggest need. There are over 450 Teach for America alumni living and working across Miami.
This is the second year that Knight Foundation has supported Teach for America’s Startup Summer. Support for Startup Summer is part of Knight Foundation’s efforts to invest in Miami’s emerging innovators and entrepreneurs as a tool to build community, while fostering talent and expanding economic opportunity. Over the past three years, Knight has made more than 100 investments in entrepreneurship in South Florida.
For more information on Teach for America, visit www.teachforamerica.org.
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding college graduates and professionals to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. Today, 10,600 corps members are teaching in 50 urban and rural regions across the country while more than 37,000 alumni work across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. Teach For America is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.
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Contacts:
Erin Bradley, Teach for America, 646-574-3465, [email protected]
Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, Knight Foundation, 305-908-2677, [email protected]