[he Battalion
iSTATE & LOCAL
3
: riday, February 16,1990
riFeach For America recruits different kind of corps
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By SUZANNE CALDERON
Of The Battalion Staff
A new organization at Texas A&M is re-
uiting a different type of corps — a tea-
icr corps, and they want you.
Teach For America is a national, non-
ofit organization whose purpose is to Cre
te a national teacher corps to combat tea-
cfier shortages across the United States.
| Teach For America Texas A&M recently
|as organized on campus to recruit grad-
iting seniors. The graduates teach for two
:ars in rural and inner-city areas in the
hited States where teacher shortages are
ie worst, Aloysia Schwabe, A&M represen-
itive for TFA, said.
■ Schwabe, a junior bioengineering major,
somen sM t ^ le uniqueness of TFA stems from the
||Htct that it’s aimed primarily at non-educa-
; Bon majors, and the recruiting is done by
Budents through the campus representa-
niaii] Bve and organization.
Education majors are welcome to apply,
Schwabe said, but the organization is
"eared toward non-education majors. She
id the organization especially is interested
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in liberal arts majors, science and engi
neering majors, and minority and bilingual
students.
“We hope to bring in people with a new
enthusiasm who before may not have con
sidered teaching — now they have an op-
Anything that will help us to
identify how important teaching
is to our society is going to be
helpful. The aspirations of
society cannot rise any higher
than the quality of our teachers.”
educator
— Dr. Dean Corrigan
portunity to try it,” she said.
Applying to be part of TFA may appeal
to seniors who aren’t sure what to do after
graduation, Schwabe said.
“This provides them (seniors) a chance to
do something in the meantime before they
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have to make a decision about their definite
career path,” she said.
The ultimate goal is to have the corps
members continue teaching after their two
years are over. One of TFA’s aims is for stu
dents to experience the positive and re
warding aspects of teaching, she said.
Many kids in rural and inner-city schools
need role models as well as teachers,
Schwabe said.
“The main gist of this is to encourage
kids to stay in school,” Schwabe said. “By
participating in the TFA program, you’d be
contributing to their future and serving as a
role model — that’s what the kids really
need right now.”
TFA, founded last year, is the brainchild
of 1989 Princeton graduate Wendy Kopp.
The idea of a national teacher corps to
help with education reforms and combat
teacher shortages was the subject of Kopp’s
senior thesis at Princeton. After her grad
uation from Princeton, Kopp made her the
sis a reality and started TFA.
This fall will be the first time TFA’s corps
will hit the schools.
Before getting to this point though,
corps members are required to attend an in
tensive eight-week training session that will
be in Los Angeles from mid-June to mid-
August.
Corps members then will head to their
assigned schools in places such as Washing-
We hope to bring in people
with a new enthusiasm who
before may not have considered
teaching — now they have an
opportunity to try it.”
— Aloysia Schwabe,
TFA representative
ton D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Chi
cago, Mississippi and North Carolina.
Although the recruiting is done by the
national organization, the individual school
districts do the hiring and decide the pay,
Schwabe said.
TFA members will receive the same pay
as other starting teachers in the area. The
average pay for starting teachers is around
$23,000 a year, but can be significantly
higher or lower depending on the area, she
said.
To become part of TFA’s teacher corps,
students need to fill out an application and
then go through a two-part interview.
Schwabe said that in addition to a stan
dard interview, applicants will be put
through a simulated teaching session.
Dr. Dean Corrigan, former dean of the
College of Education and currently A&M
President Mobley’s deputy for educational
leadership, said he thinks TFA is a good
idea.
“Anything that will help us to identify
how important teaching is to our society is
going to be helpful,” he said. “The aspi
rations of society cannot rise any higher
than the quality of our teachers.”
For more information and an applica
tion, contact Career Services or call
Schwabe at 696-3530.
Informational meetings will be at 7 p.m.
Tuesday in 504 Rudder and at 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 27 in 302 Rudder.
AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clem-
ejits said Thursday he agrees with
ducing the state’s portion of the
ari-mutuel racing tax and has no
rticular concern about expendi-
res by the Texas Racing Commis-
on that are the focus of an in-house
vestigation.
• And to the possibility of approv-
Bg a state lottery in the Feb. 27 spe-
1 legislative session, Clements said,
odeal.”
Clements said he would favor con-
eration of lowering the 5 percent
[xon betting during the special ses-
an “if we will tend to our knitting
aikl get down to business quickly” on
" leducation and j udicial reforms,
sheacisB elements said a reduction in the
)rtune. ate’s take may be needed to get
arse racing off the ground. More
are/eciri an t"* 0 years ago voters approved
ice wagering, but only one track
opened — G. Rollie White
owns in Brady — and it closed
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early because of financial problems.
The horse racing industry has
said the tax is too high and the Rac
ing Commission has lobbied Clem
ents, who initially opposed lowering
the tax.
On Wednesday Clements said,
“We don’t want to start out on the
basis of having it (the racing tax) so
onerous we kill the goose that we
hope is going to lay the golden egg.”
Clements said he favors a tax rate
that would increase as the amount of
betting increases.
He said if lawmakers begin se
rious negotiations on school finance
and judicial selection, “I will be
happy to consider addressing this
particular issue (the racing tax).”
The Texas Supreme Court has
declared the state’s school funding
method unconstitutional because it
allows disparities in financing be
tween rich and poor school districts.
Federal prosecutors bring civil charges
against apartment for 6 no children’ rule
HOUSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors
have filed a civil lawsuit against a Houston
apartment complex, claiming the operators vi
olated the fair housing law by prohibiting
families with children from renting apart
ments.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in a Houston
federal court is one of the first in Texas to test
1988 revisions to the federal law. .
“If we lease to two adults and a child, we’ll
have to lease to three adults,” said Bob Mat-
jeka, manager of Braeswood Park, which
planned to evict Dale and Carol Brant after
their daughter, Kelly, was born 16 months
ago. “We don’t have the facilities and the
parking to handle three and four people per
apartment.”
Matjeka said the 240-unit Braeswood Park
apartment complex has had a 15-year policy
limiting the occupancy of any apartment to
two.
But the Brants filed a complaint with the
Department of Housing and Urban Devel
opment in April last year. The ensuing HUD
investigation prompted the Department of
Justice to file the civil lawsuit against the com
plex’s owners and operators on Wednesday.
A 1988 amendment- of the Fair Housing
Act, that went into effect last March, prohibits
discrimination against families with children.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages
for the Brants and any other victims of similar
discrimination, plus civil penalties against the
owners.
Assistant Attorney General James P.
Turner, head of the Justice Department’s
Civil Rights Division, said the suit was filed “to
assure that young families would have unfet
tered access to the Houston housing market.”
The complex’s owners, Perrin W. White
Properties and James M. Hill Jr., had pre
viously filed a lawsuit seeking clarification of
the amended act. But their attorney was at a
seminar Thursday and could not comment on
that suit.
Matjeka said the complex now has “four or
five or six” tenants who have had children and
exceed the two-occupant limit but that the
complex will wait until resolution of the case
before acting.
The Brants moved out of the complex of
their own accord in August, Matjeka said.
Justice Department spokeswoman Deborah
Burstion-Wade said there has been a number
of discrimination lawsuits since the amend
ments went into effect. She attributed that to
the law being “clear cut” in prohibiting dis
crimination against families with children.
“The law says there’s no such thing as sin-
gles-only or adults-only,” Ms. Burstion-Wade
said. “Now, the only specialized housing al
lowed for is for older persons, aged 55 and
older.”
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CAMP DAY
Monday
February 19
M.S.C.
Room 226
9 am to 3:30 pm
40-50 Camps from Texas and the Northeast United
States will be interviewing students for positions in
summer youth camps.
If you have skills in aquatics, sports, nature study, equestrian
activities, handicrafts, hiking, first aid/emergency medical
care, or working with kids, and if you want to spend a reward
ing summer in the great outdoors, then visit with these camp
owners and directors.
Sponsored by the
Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences
and the Recreation and Parks Club
GE Information
Meeting
Who? All students interviewing with General Electric.
What? Your chance to learn about the GE businesses you’re
interested in before you sit down for a formal interview.
Not only will you be better informed, you wont have to
waste precious interview time asking about GE when you
should be telling us about you. Presentations will explore
the following programs:
• Distribution Management
• Technical Sales
• Field Engineering
• Manufacturing Management
Also, recent grads and current program members will be
on hand to discuss their experiences with you.
When and Tuesday, February 20th, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Where? College Station Hilton, 801 University Drive East
What else? Informal mixer with GE employees, immediately follow
ing the presentations. Refreshments will be served.
The mark of a leader.
An Equal Opportunity Employer