According to Teach for America, nine-year-olds growing up in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities. Half of them won’t graduate from high school. Those who do graduate will, on average, read and do math at the level of eighth graders in high-income communities.

Teach for America is a non-profit organization of recent college graduates of varied academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools.

Teach for America will be on campus today at 7:30 p.m. to provide information to any students interested in the organization.

Caitlin Sharp, campus campaign manager for Teach for America, said that the organization recruits SMU students because “SMU is a school that, through its amazing extracurricular opportunities, cultivates great leaders.”

“Teach For America believes that effective teaching in a low-income school has to do in large part [with] effective leadership,” said Sharp. “As intangible or varied as that quality might seem, SMU students have had plenty of opportunity to hone these skills and prepare for real challenges.”

All majors are accepted into Teach For America.

“Studies have shown that math, science and engineering majors are particularly effective in the classroom, so they are heavily recruited,” said Sharp. “We have developed many great relationships with grad programs and med schools to offer deferrals and scholarships to Corps members.”

On Feb. 5, Kylie Slater, a Teach for America educator stationed at Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Academy in St. Louis, spoke at SMU about her experiences with Teach for America.

“It’s an important mission,” said Slater. “One day, all children will be given the opportunity to get a good education. That will only happen if enough teachers join our pursuit.”

Slater is a 2006 graduate of SMU, where she received a major in political science and a minor in journalism. Of her graduating class at SMU, 37 applied to Teach for America and 13 were accepted.

“Part of our theory of change is that our alumni will go into all sectors like law or business and make systemic change that way,” said Slater. “It’s just a matter of seeing what the issue is, and I didn’t see until I got there.”

Teach for America says that a major problem in low-income schools is a lack of resources. According to Teach for America, this lack of resources limits the “life prospects of the 13 million children growing up in poverty today,” including black and hispanic children, who are three times as likely to grow up in a low-income area. The disparities between high- and low-income schools therefore prevent many children from having equal opportunities in life.

“If businesses in the area wanted to sponsor classrooms or teachers, that would be great,” said Slater. “These low-income children need more resources to help them learn.”

According to President Bush’s State of the Union address, test scores have gone up across the country and the achievement gap (the gap between high and low-income students) is closing.

“For many, this is true,” Slater said, “but many are still behind.” Slater says the Teach for America organization makes a difference.

Slater’s once rambunctious seventh-grade communication arts class at Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Academy now “begs for math drills instead of free time.”

“I can see that they’re excited about learning, and that’s what was missing before,” said Slater.

Slater’s main concern once her two-year term with Teach for America is over is who will take over for her.

“What’s going to happen next year when they get a new teacher?” Slater asked.”Will all the hard work go to waste? Will the students drop out?”

This is the reason that Teach for America continues to recruit more college graduates each year. Teach for America currently employs between 4,000 and 5,000 people. By 2010, Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp wants 8,000 teachers in the program.

“‘Be the change you want to see in the world,'” said Slater. “That’s a Gandhi quote. I tell people that. Maybe they’ll take that and change the way the education system works.”

Teach for America is holding an information session tonight in the Hughes-Trigg Forum at 7:30 with food provided by Chipotle. The deadline to apply to Teach for America is Sunday, Feb. 18.