Schools and placement
Schools
Teach For Australia partners with secondary schools of educational disadvantage, as determined by socioeconomic and student performance measures. Before placing an Associate, we work closely with schools to ensure:
- Eligibility - Only those schools which fit our disadvantage criteria are eligible
- Potential for impact - Schools must provide an environment that will enable Associates to make an impact
- Capacity to support Associates - Ensuring the school infrastructure enables the Associate to be adequately supported for two years
To date, we have placed Associates in 30 different schools across
Victoria and the ACT. A large proportion of our placement schools
are in regions outside of metropolitan areas, across the government
and non-government sectors.
Teach For Australia will definitely be placing Associates into Victoria, the ACT, and Western Australia for our 2012/13 program. Placement schools in other states and territories may still be confirmed, however we know that we will not be placing Associates into New South Wales, Queensland, or South Australia next year.
Placement
It is important to note that our first priority is to place Associates where they can have the biggest impact on educational inequity. This may be in a metropolitan or a rural area.
In your application, you will be asked to submit your preferred placement locations. Although we will consider your individual circumstances and attempt to match your preferences, we cannot guarantee that a suitable vacancy will be available where you'd like to be placed.
We therefore encourage you to be flexible with your placement preferences as this will give you the biggest chance of being selected and placed, and ensure the greatest opportunity for impact.
Matching Associates to school placements is a complicated process that involves a variety of important stakeholders. If you are invited to participate in the program we will keep you informed and up-to-date of the matching process until your placement is confirmed.
Because schools are dynamic places, their staffing needs are often not confirmed until towards the end of the school year. This means there may be several months between deciding to participate in the Teach For Australia program and confirmation of your placement school. Our aim is to confirm all placements by the end of October, however there may be cases in which placement schools are confirmed later than expected.
Teaching
Associates teach in secondary schools and so may teach students from years 7-12. Associates teach subjects that are relevant to their tertiary study.
Although Teach For Australia Associates have the same level of responsibility as other beginning teachers, schools have a wide variety of approaches to learning. You may find yourself in a school where 'team teaching' (teaching in a team with other educators) is standard, or you may be in a more traditional setting with sole responsibility for your own classroom and classes. You will need to be open to and excited by the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from the expertise of other teachers.
These aspects are part of the excitement of working in schools and successful Teach For Australia Associates are adaptable, flexible and resilient and see change as an opportunity for development and growth.
Leadership development & alumni network >
