Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Dr. T. Jameson Brewer and Dr. Barb Veltri.

Does TFA deploy mafia-style political attacks? We interview Diana Davila, a former Houston board member who was elected for more than a decade of service.  We discuss the Board's vote to ban TFA in Houston and how TFA implements political strategy and punishes policy makers who disagree with their temp agency approach to training teachers and much, much more.

Special copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 24 A Lost Episode: TFA's Political Strategy and Mafia-style Attacks

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Is Teach For America as prestigious as it is perceived? Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer and Barbara Veltri interview Angie Kraemer-Holland. Dr. Kraemer-Holland is the author of the study Skepticism, Gratitude, and the Neoliberal Narrative: TFA Teachers’ Conceptualization of Occupational Stature published in the Action in Teacher Education Journal. We discuss whether Teach For America is a prestigious choice or whether there are unintended negative consequences for Corps members.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: https://www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29/REM%20World%20Leader%20Pretend%20Permission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 23 Is Teach For America as prestigious as it is perceived?  — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA)that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Dr. T. Jameson Brewer and Dr. Barb Veltri.

This episode explores whether someone should support or choose Teach For America. The podcasts features special guests Professor Tom Pedroni (Wayne State University) and Jeremy Singer (former Detroit TFA corps member) to the discuss the ethical and emotional dilemmas of supporting and choosing Teach For America.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: https://www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29/REM%20World%20Leader%20Pretend%20Permission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 22 Choosing Teach For America?: The Ethical and Emotional dilemmas

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 21 feature two TFA corps members that were assigned to early childhood education. We discuss their perspectives on the lack of relevance of the training that they received at TFA Summer Institute and the Relay Graduate School. They also discuss their departure from Teach For America, the required usage of their Americorps stipends for graduate school and many other issues.

Dr. Barb Veltri guest hosts this episode.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song “World Leader Pretend” in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 21 TFA and Relay Occupy Early Childhood Education

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders.  Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

In Episode 20, Jameson and Julian discuss and present the recent Calfornia Assembly Education Committee hearing of AB 221. AB 221 would require Teach For America to change their model from 2 to 5 year commitments. Also, TFA teachers would not be able to be placed in Low-Income schools. Finally, TFA would not be able to charge districts fees up to $5,000.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21886773/Cloaking%20Inequity/REM%20World%20Leader%20Pretend%20Permission.pdf

Ep. 20 Will California force TFA to change their model?

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 19 was LIVE at a California state capitol research forum entitled: Should TFA be banned? The conversation features Dr. Kerry Kretchmar (Carroll University), Dr. Barb Veltri (North Arizona University), Dr. Lori Rhodes (Sonoma State), and Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). Considering California Assembly Bill 221 (2019), which would ban TFA in low-income schools, the forum explored TFA research and experience. Asm. Garcia talks about her motivations for the bill and researchers discuss and review the research about TFA.

Jameson wasn't able to make the forum because he was snowed in at the Denver airport.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: https://www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz...

Ep. 19 AB 221 Capitol Research Forum- Ban TFA?

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 18 featured Lynn Davenport, a Dallas public school parent. She discusses her research on no-bid contracts, social impact bonds, and how Teach For America corps members use networks to make $$ after they leave the classroom.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 18 How TFA network to make $$

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 17 features a conversation with Habiba Noor, a San Antonio parent and a former Teach For America corps member. Barb Veltri, Associate Professor at the University of Northern Arizona, also joins as co-host. In the podcast, Habiba discusses her experiences as a Oakland corps member and relays several critical perspectives about TFA— including her fear of having TFA for her own children.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 17 Was TFA, Now Parent — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA)that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 16 features a conversation with Lisanne Wirth a former Teach For America national office employee and Julia Campins an attorney with Campins Benham-Baker, a San Francisco Bay Area employment, employee benefits and civil rights law firm.  In the podcast, Lisanne discusses a hostile work environment at the TFA national office. She alleges that her efforts on behalf of accessibility, diversity, and inclusiveness led to her termination despite TFA's public statements about being a proponent for equity and access.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 16 Lawsuit: TFA not interested in equity and access — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA)that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 15 was LIVE at the 2017 Network For Public Education Conference held in Oakland, California. The episode features a conversation with Tina Andres (Southern California Special Education teacher)and Barb Veltri (Northern Arizona University professor). The fireside chat includes a discussion about whether TFA should be kicked out of communities. 

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 15 Should You Kick TFA Out? — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA)that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

They are joined in episode 14 by Ian Scott, a former Los Angeles TFA corps member and Dr. Barbara Pazey, Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. The conversation in this episode explores whether TFA is properly preparing corps members to teach special education. The podcast also discusses the relationship between TFA and charter schools.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 14 TFA, Charters & Special Education — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA)that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

They are joined in episode 13 by Reverend Kyle Boyer, a Philadelphia teacher and former TFA corps member. Where does TFA’s $$$ come from? The conversation in this episode reviews TFA’s financial resources. The podcast also discusses the relationship between TFA’s funding and the agendas of billionaires, foundations, and charters.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 13  $$$ and Agendas? — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

They are joined in Episode 12 by Dr.  Rolf Straubhaar, a University of Georgia researcher and George Joseph, a journalist. Their conversation focuses on Teach For All, the American export of the Teach For America model around the world. The discussion focuses on a recent article that George Joseph published in The Nation about Teach For All where he interviewed participating teachers in India. The podcast also discussed Rolf Straubhaar's peer reviewed research that discusses the role of Teach For All in Latin America and his conversations with corps members in Brazil. 

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29…rmission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 12 Exporting Teach For All — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 11 was LIVE at the 2016 Save our Schools March and Conference held at the Lincoln Memorial and Howard University. The episode features a conversation with David Green (experienced teacher of teachers), Tina Andres (Santa Ana special education teacher), and Emma Howland-Bolton(TFA alum, Detroit teacher, and founding member of Learn with Detroit & the Corps Advisory Board). The conversation includes a discussion about the contracts that TFA signs with districts and universities, the role of Teach For America in school privatization in Detroit, New Orleans and elsewhere. We also discuss Wendy Kopp's original vision for TFA, how communities can influence conversations about TFA and review some of the conversations from the first ten Truth For America podcasts 

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Copyright permission from REM for use of song "World Leader Pretend" in Truth For America podcast worldwide: https://www.dropbox.com/s/80jynkybgpz5r29/REM%20World%20Leader%20Pretend%20Permission.pdf?dl=0

Ep. 11 SOS! LIVE in DC — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 10 features a conversation with Lita Blanc, President of United Educators of San Francisco. The podcast includes discussions about the recent decision by the School Board of the San Francisco Unified School District to stop their association with Teach For America. We discuss teacher shortages, alternative to Teach For America in San Francisco, the role of Teach For America in education reform and much more.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Ep. 10 TFA out in San Francisco — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 9 features a conversation with Dr. James Ladwig and Dr. Barbara Veltri, education professors who were involved with Teach For America in the 1990s. The podcast includes background about Wendy Kopp and the conversations that occurred during the birth of Teach For America, discussion about the very first summer training Institute, the idealism of the original TFA corps members and much more.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Ep. 9 Birth and History — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 8 features a conversation with Tiffany and Ann, two first-year TFA teachers. The podcast includes discussions about the difficult financial aspects of being a first-year TFA corps member, the role of TFA in the civil rights of children, the experience of being placed at a new charter school, the (in)adequacy of TFA’s support for new teachers and much more.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Ep. 8 TFA First-Year Experience — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

Episode 7 was LIVE at the 2016 Network For Public Education Conference held in Raleigh, North Carolina. The episode features a conversation with Dr. Diane Ravitch (historian), Karen Wolfe (Los Angeles parent), Dr. Amber Kim (TFA alum), and Dr. Beth Sondel (TFA alum). The fireside chat includes a discussion about whether a cyber war is being waged against TFA critiques, how communities can influence conversations about TFA, the role of TFA in the privatization of education movement, and the (in)adequacy of TFA’s summer training and pedagogical approaches.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Ep. 7 Ravitch et al. LIVE — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders.  Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

They are joined in Episode 6 by Dr. Terrenda White and Jesse Hagopian, both TFA alums.  Their conversation includes a discussion about diversity, racism in TFA, and the (in)adequacy of TFA’s summer training and pedagogical approaches.

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

Ep. 6 Racism? Diversity? — Truth For America

Truth For America is a podcast about Teach For America (TFA) that provides voice to educators, parents, students, and other key stakeholders. Truth For America is co-hosted by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig and Dr. T. Jameson Brewer.

They are joined in Episode 5 by Amber Kim and Sarah Matsui, TFA alums. They discuss two recent bestselling books in which TFA alums describe their experiences in more than 15 cities across the nation. 

Truth For America is sponsored by the Network for Public Education Action.

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