LaShawnda Henderson graduated from college last spring, and this winter she's right back where she started -- sleeping in her childhood home in Compton, eating her mother's cooking every night and returning every day to her elementary school, three blocks away.
Henderson is a new teacher at her old school, Dickison Elementary, one of 13 Teach For America members in Compton, the first new contingent in the city since the district stopped hiring them five years ago. The 22-year-old abandoned her initial plans to become a pharmacist or a lawyer and decided her life's ambition is to improve education in her hometown.
"I really wanted to go back to my community," she said. "I'm making a difference in someone else's life."
Teach For America, a highly selective program that assigns recent college graduates for two years to low-income, underperforming schools across the country, had a long history in the Compton Unified School District. But after the 2003-04 school year, the district ended its relationship with the organizationreportedly because of declining enrollment.
Teach For America has moved in and out of school districts based on teacher needs, but the controversy in Compton appears to be the first time in Southern California that the group has had trouble reentering a district.
TFA repeatedly tried to return, but some school district trustees and union leaders questioned the wisdom of investing in teachers who sign on only for a couple years and who often pursue other careers outside the classroom when their time is up. Tensions were exacerbated when a former TFA member wrote a scathing book about her experiences in Compton.
Underlying the debate in Compton is criticism that has been leveled against Teach For America in academic circles. Frustrations sometimes arise when idealistic but inexperienced teachers attempt to turn around schools run mostly by veteran educators. The TFA instructors are sometimes viewed as affluent outsiders who think their enthusiasm can solve societal ills that have been festering for decades. The program has been derisively called Teach For Awhile.
The Compton Board of Education eventually allowed the program to return on a 4-3 vote. At least one board member fears for its future after the three-year contract expires. Several board members are openly disdainful of the program.
Board member Satra Zurita said she fears TFA is often a "pit stop" between college and graduate school and that the group's five weeks of training before their classroom assignments are incomparable to the training traditional teachers receive. Her colleague, Micah Ali, agrees, saying he doesn't think the district should be spending money to train teachers who aren't going to stay. In addition to their salaries, the district paid $4,000 per teacher to offset TFA costs.
Supporters said teacher tenure is irrelevant, especially when the district has difficulty filling positions in fields such as math and science.
"This program has repeatedly proven itself by bringing innovative, young, enthusiastic individuals to the realm of education," said board member Joel Estrada.
TFA leaders point to data showing that 90% of its members in recent years return to teach a second year, compared with 83% of new teachers in low-income communities. (Two of the 13 teachers placed in Compton this fall have dropped out.)
Henderson, who is black and was born in Compton, said she understands the concerns but hopes the district continues to allow TFA inside local schools.
"I know sometimes you don't want to let other people in whom you don't know," she said as she watched children during recess. "But at the same time, any time someone is passionate about wanting to help the community, you should let them."
Supt. Kaye Burnside supports the program and said Henderson is a role model for her young students.
"The message is you can be whoever, whatever it is you want to be," Burnside said.
Compton Unified has a history of academic and financial problems -- in 1993, the district was the first to be taken over by the state. Student test scores were among the lowest in California, and the district was $20 million in debt.
Local officials regained control in 2001. Academics have improved, but the 28,000-pupil district is struggling to meet math and English goals under federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
When Henderson began her freshman year at Compton High, she had nearly 900 classmates. By the time she gave the class' salutatorian speech in 2004, hundreds were missing.
Henderson and her two older sisters flourished despite their district's challenges, a success partly attributable to mother Lawanda Matthews and stepfather, Arthur Evans.
They placed a strong focus on academics and values.
Henderson wanted to be a cheerleader in high school, but her mother thought her time could be better spent. So Henderson joined the debate team and student council.
"Her education is more important to me than that; it would look better on transcripts," Matthews said.
