Adventures in Arizona

I have just finished my first five days as an official member of Teach for America, and it has been a great experience. Titled “Induction,” these five days were all about getting to know my fellow corps members in Phoenix and learning more about the organization as a whole. The week began with a rousing welcome from ‘08 corps members as I arrived at the hotel. Similar to Gustie Greeters at orientation, but a tad more laid back.

I was originally slated to have an interview with a school district this week but it fell through. The “placement landscape” in Phoenix is looking much better than even a few weeks ago, and I feel confident that I will get a job, likely in the next week or so. The majority of ‘09 corps members have at least a tentative placement.  For those of you who don’t know, I have to be hired and paid by a school district, TFA simply provides extra support.

My other major accomplishment of the week was finding an apartment for Ashley and me. It is a wonderful 2 bedroom townhouse-style apartment in central Phoenix, just off a highway (if you want to know exactly where it is, email me, but this is the world wide web after all, so I’m not just going to broadcast it!).

Sunday morning I will leave the hotel and check-in to my dorm room at ASU-Tempe which will be my home for the next five weeks of Institute. While Induction is all about relationship-building, organizational information, and enthusiasm; Institute can be described as boot camp for teachers. I’ll find out my daily schedule tomorrow and share with another blog post. It’s my goal to make posts twice a week through institute, and use this as my main outlet to the real world. I hope you enjoy it!