WELCOME!

To all of you, the newest corps members to join Teach For America Greater

Philadelphia: welcome to the Philly Pham and to the 2015 TFA Philly corps!

 

We are Alex Leader-Smith and Becca Rossi and for the next few months, we

will be your primary points of contact as you get ready to start teaching in

Philadelphia.

 

Alex is the Director of Matriculation and Onboarding for Greater

Philadelphia.  He writes most of what's in the weekly e-mail blast and other

TFA Philly communications.  You will hear a lot from Alex regarding

placement, among other topics.  Alex has been on the Teach For America

team for eight years, and while he's now visited 35 states and (more

importantly) 17 MLB teams’ ballparks and counting, he's always been proud

to call the Greater Philly region home.

 

Becca is the Associate for Community and School Partnerships.  You will

hear a lot from Becca regarding testing and paperwork, in particular.  Becca

grew up in Jersey City, NJ, but has loved living in the Philly area for the past

eight years.

In this Issue

April 2, 2015

WELCOME!!

FIFTEEN THINGS TO DO RIGHT NOW...

TWO MORE THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR...

We’re both so excited to begin working with you to move our city towards

educational equity.  We're already counting down the days until regional

induction begins on Thursday, June 18 - when we'll all meet in person to lay

the groundwork for everything you'll be doing over the next two years and

beyond.

In the meantime, we'll be keeping in touch virtually.  Starting on Tuesday,

April 14, you'll begin receiving an "e-mail blast" from us every Tuesday up

through the summer.  These e-mails will contain important to-dos and critical

information about placement, summer programming, and more.  We ask that

you read these e-mails carefully, keeping an especially close eye on items

that are required actions.  We’ll also be regularly updating the TFA

Philadelphia 2015 corps site with useful info and resources.

 

You can also always e-mail us at GreaterPhillyInfo@teachforamerica.org.  Or

if you have a more complex question – especially involving testing or

paperwork – you can sign up to have Becca call you during her regular “office

hours”.

 

Congratulations again, welcome to Philadelphia, and welcome to Teach For

America.

           - Alex and Becca

TEN THINGS TO DO RIGHT NOW...1. Register for Your Praxis and/or PECT Exams   -- required by Fri. 4/17Then forward your registration to the GreaterPhillyInfo mailbox. 

 

2. E-Mail Us a Headshot Photo of Yourself – required by Fri. 4/17For our office photo wall.  These can go to GreaterPhillyInfo too.

 

3. Add Some TFA Style To Your Resume! – required by Fri. 4/17Step 1: Review these TFA resume guidelines

Step 2: Update your resume in the TFA style and e-mail it to… you guessed

it, GreaterPhillyInfo.

This is what we’ll eventually send to schools considering interviewing you.

 

4. Listen to the TFA Philadelphia Overview of Placement – required by Fri. 4/17Thirty minutes all about how you’ll get your teaching position in a school.  To

access:

1. Log into Cornerstone:

http://www2.teachforamerica.org/e/29012/2015-04-02/nv9n/179013

81 (make sure pop-up blockers are off!).

o Username: The e-mail address you used when you applied

to TFA

o Password for first-time users: tfa12345

2. Click on the Learning tab on the upper left hand corner of the

homepage. Under Learning, select View Your Transcript.3. The 2015 TFA Philadelphia Overview of Placement will be listed

at the top of your transcript.  Click Launch to start.

4. After you’ve finished listening, click Submit so we know you were

able to listen successfully

5. Complete Your Placement Survey – required by Fri. 4/17This will take about 20 minutes – and will help us greatly as we arrange

interviews for you over the months ahead. 

 

6. Begin Studying for the Praxis and/or PECTThese tests can be hard, so early preparation is key.  Here are a few basic

resources to get you started.  The Certification Test Keys document is an

absolute must-read.

7. Review Your Summer Calendar and Submit Summer Leave Requests

Step 1: Review the Summer Training Calendar

Step 2: If you anticipate an irresolvable conflict with induction (June 18-20,

2015), e-mail GreaterPhillyInfo

Step 3: If you anticipate an irresolvable conflict with institute (June 21-July

24, 2015), review the TFA Summer Institute Attendance Policy and submit a

Summer Leave Request as soon as possible

 

8. Volunteer to be an Induction Driver – optionalWill you be bringing your car to induction?  Are you willing to be a driver for

yourself and a group of other corps members for minimal distances on

induction Thursday 6/18 and Friday 6/19?  If so, please send an email to

Emily Ewing indicating the number of spots you have in your car.  Note: All

mileage will be reimbursed by TFA.

9. Explore the Philadelphia Institute CM HubCurrently under construction, but will eventually contain all the logistical

details you’ll need to be prepared for summer institute. 

 

Important note: for now, you can ignore all items listed as due on May 22 on the institute hub.  We’ll include instructions for these items in your

mailed matriculation packet (see below)

 

10. Provide Us with Your Summer E-mail Address - required by Fri. 5/1This will allow you to retain access to the Philly Institute Hub after it become

password-protected in mid-May.  Note: because the institute hub is a Google

website, if your summer e-mail address is not a Gmail account, you will need

to take 5 minutes to link your e-mail address to a Google account using these

instructions.

11. Complete the Institute Accommodations Request Form - optional, but recommendedTeach For America strives to accommodate the needs of corps members

with disabilities during institute.  Please let us know if you have a

disability/condition that will impact your housing, mobility, medically-dictated

dietary needs (e.g. diabetes), learning materials during summer training, etc.

so our Disabilities Accommodations Officer and institute staff can follow up.

12. Complete the Institute Personal Information Form - required by Fri. 5/1

Close sibling of the above form.  Will take about 15 minutes to complete and

includes space for you to share non-medically dictated dietary needs and

other crucial info that will help the Philly institute team support you this

summer.

 

13. Dig Into Your Summer Pre-Work – required by Fri. 6/5This work will take about 13-14 hours and is entirely self-paced.  Just be

ready to upload your completed reflections by Friday, June 5.

 

14. Apply for Need-Based Transitional Funding – optional by Thu. 4/16If you feel you’ll need financial assistance to join the corps, we encourage

you to apply.  You can find the application on the Applicant Center under the

Need-Based Transitional Funding tab until Thu. 4/16.  Supporting documents

are required.

 

You may also wish to join the webinar on Making the Financial Transition to

the Corps that our CM Finances team will be hosting next Tuesday, April 7 at

8pm ET.

 

15. Join the 2015 TFA Philly Facebook Group - optionalThe best way to get connected to other 2015 TFA Philly corps members.

TWO MORE THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR...

1. Your Mailed Matriculation Packet – arriving next weekContains important paperwork that you will need to complete by Friday, May

22 to be on track to attend TFA summer programming and begin teaching

this fall.  Will require you to arrange fingerprinting appointment and doctor’s

appointment, among other things.

 

2. Invitation to Google Drive folder – arriving next weekThis is where you will upload your completed summer pre-work