2008 Woodie Awards
Spring '08 grads tabbed for Teach for America
Brenden Filkens
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
Five of UVM's soon-to-be graduates are actively addressing America's academic achievement gap in educational institutions.
Thirteen million American children are growing up experiencing socio economic and racial inequality that directly affects educational opportunities and success, according to www.teachforamerica.org.
The Web site explains that Teach for America is a corps of "talented recent college graduates and professionals" who are seeking to bridge this immense academic achievement gap in lower socio-economic institutions.
This fall the University of Vermont's Web site officially announced a record-high acceptance rate comprised over four undergraduate seniors and one graduate student into the two-year program.
Dennis Robillard, Henry Melcher, Chris Costello, Maggie Taylor and graduate Ashley Foell have been accepted into the program, according to a UVM press release.
UVM senior and Teach for America inductee Dennis Robillard describes the program as "an opportunity to do concrete good in for an under-recognized problem."
The program takes college graduates and sends them through what Robillard describes as "teacher boot camp", then places them for two years in schools all across the country that are facing racial injustices and socio economic disparities, according to the Teach for America Web site.
The program is notoriously competitive and online statistics boast that 95 percent of members held leadership positions at their college campus and average over a 3.5 GPA upon graduation, according to the Web site.
True to the statistics, Robillard is currently the director of Volunteer Action and oversees many initiatives ranging from alternative spring breaks to food salvage.
He will be spending the next two years of his life dedicated to this cause living in what he said would be "essentially a trailer park " and teaching on an Indian reservation in North Dakota, said Robillard.
"I wanted to go to a place I though I would never actually go" said Robillard and also hopes that he will bring a "multicultural perspective" to the community.
Thirteen million American children are growing up experiencing socio economic and racial inequality that directly affects educational opportunities and success, according to www.teachforamerica.org.
The Web site explains that Teach for America is a corps of "talented recent college graduates and professionals" who are seeking to bridge this immense academic achievement gap in lower socio-economic institutions.
This fall the University of Vermont's Web site officially announced a record-high acceptance rate comprised over four undergraduate seniors and one graduate student into the two-year program.
Dennis Robillard, Henry Melcher, Chris Costello, Maggie Taylor and graduate Ashley Foell have been accepted into the program, according to a UVM press release.
UVM senior and Teach for America inductee Dennis Robillard describes the program as "an opportunity to do concrete good in for an under-recognized problem."
The program takes college graduates and sends them through what Robillard describes as "teacher boot camp", then places them for two years in schools all across the country that are facing racial injustices and socio economic disparities, according to the Teach for America Web site.
The program is notoriously competitive and online statistics boast that 95 percent of members held leadership positions at their college campus and average over a 3.5 GPA upon graduation, according to the Web site.
True to the statistics, Robillard is currently the director of Volunteer Action and oversees many initiatives ranging from alternative spring breaks to food salvage.
He will be spending the next two years of his life dedicated to this cause living in what he said would be "essentially a trailer park " and teaching on an Indian reservation in North Dakota, said Robillard.
"I wanted to go to a place I though I would never actually go" said Robillard and also hopes that he will bring a "multicultural perspective" to the community.
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