Teach For America–Arkansas announced today that it will be opening a new office in Helena. The office, which is set to open at the end of August, will serve as a meeting place and resource hub for Teach For America teachers and staff, as well as other local educators working in area schools.
“This new office will provide additional support for our teachers and staff working in Helena, as well as provide a gathering place where all teachers in the area can come to work and share classroom resources and support,” said Jared Henderson, executive director of Teach For America–Arkansas. “Providing greater education opportunities to the students in Helena is a team effort between Teach For America, school leaders and the community. Our hope is that this office will serve as a place for everyone to come together to work towards this goal.”
The new office will be located in the Historic Cherry Tree District at 104 Missouri Street (corner of Missouri Street and Cherry Street). Teach For America purchased the building and is in the process of remodeling. The office is scheduled to open at the end of August. Teach For America–Arkansas also maintains an office in Little Rock and supports teachers in 20 communities in Eastern and Southern Arkansas. Each year Teach For America trains and supports over 30 Teach For America teachers to lead classrooms in Helena-West Helena, and the city continues to be home to about two dozen Teach For America alumni.
“We are thrilled about the opening of the new Teach For America-Arkansas office in Helena – West Helena,” said Helena Mayor Arnell Willis. “This investment signifies not only Teach For America–Arkansas’s increased investment in education in Helena and the Arkansas Delta, it is also part of the growing confidence in Helena’s economy and our redevelopment. This office is part of a series of recent and planned investment in and around our downtown, and is an exciting addition to Missouri Street where all Helena teachers can gather to work, prepare and grow.”
Teach For America has been a community partner in Arkansas since 1991. After growing to over 550 teachers in Arkansas and Mississippi in more than 50 districts in 2012, the Mississippi Delta region split to deepen the impact by focusing efforts in the two states independently. Last year some 190 Teach For America corps members reached more than 16,000 students in Arkansas public schools, and over 115 alumni of the program call the region home.
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. Our corps in the 2013-14 school year included 11,000 teachers in 48 urban and rural regions across the country. Today, our 37,000 alumni are working across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact: Taylor Keeney 804.543.7053 [email protected]