Figures reduced anew for Teach for America participants

Fewer people signed up for Teach for America, which is a nonprofit aiming to stuff the holes in education by assigning teachers in low-income communities.

The statistics of applicants who must be committed to two-year teaching jobs, reduced again for the second year consecutively.

The latest figures show that applicants declined from a high number of 57,000 in the school year 2013 to 50,000 last year and then 44,000 as of this year.

Teach for America is a non-profit and was founded in 1989.  It recruits, trains, and find jobs for mostly new teachers.  The jobs compensate between $24,000 and $55,000, depending on their locality, salaries are paid by the local districts.

Participants can get grants through AmeriCorps, a federal government program, to help alleviate the burden of student debt or certification for a teacher.

During the recession, when the unemployment rate was high, more people sought jobs from Teach for America.  But now that the economy has recovered, few people are applying according to Teach for America.  It was theorized that more job opportunities have been opened up for college students.

Teach for America deals with complaints from critics and alumni who debate that it is too politically connected, doesn't prepare its teachers well enough, enables rapid turnover at needy schools and doesn't generate long-term teacher, as reported by the Huffington post.

Student groups at some universities appealed to their schools to prohibit TFA recruits on campus.  Activists made accusations that Teach for America as being anti-union.

Some former alumni and career teachers of Teach for America have expressed themselves by criticizing the training that lasts for a few weeks only and the two-year turnover of the teachers.

Two of the teachers of Teach for America program have two different stories to tell about their teaching experience with Teach for America.

 Sarah Matsui, who taught in Philadelphia school system from 2011-2013, said in her book that the current structure of TFA doesn't provide teachers with adequate training before they enter the classrooms.  As a result, teachers usually felt unprepared and overwhelmed.   She recommended that Teach for America provide counseling of support for teachers.

Nicole Niewald worked on the program from 2008-2010 that inspired her to continue with her chosen career as a teacher instead of going into medicine.

According to her, she loves teaching Science as well as her students, however, there is a poverty gap in the STEM field and sees he work as a way to change it.

Takirra Winfield, Teach for America executive said, "We are about the broader movement for education equity, so if something isn't working, we want to fix it."