Teach For America Corps Members Honored With the Symantec Award for Innovation

Teach For America today announced the recipients of the Symantec Award for Innovation, which recognizes outstanding Teach For America teachers — known as corps members — who demonstrate original thinking and teamwork in the service of increasing student achievement.

The award, sponsored by Symantec Corporation, was established in 2003 to recognize Teach For America corps members who demonstrate innovation (through a project, program, or approach to teaching), collaboration (with fellow teachers, their students’ parents, and/or community members), and measurable gains in their students’ academic achievement.

“The impact of instilling and maintaining a high level of self-esteem in a child cannot be understated in terms of their motivation to learn,” said John W. Thompson, chairman and CEO of Symantec Corporation and a member of Teach For America’s national board of directors. “In order to truly be effective in that effort, today’s educators must use innovative techniques both in and out of the classroom to foster an atmosphere of learning. The recipients of this year’s award embody that kind of commitment. Through our involvement, Symantec hopes to draw attention to their accomplishments and encourage other educators to develop their own innovative approaches for teaching.”

“Every day, we see that our corps members do whatever it takes to help their students succeed,” said Eric Scroggins, executive director of Teach For America-Bay Area. “We are thrilled that Symantec recognizes the impact of our corps members in addressing what is perhaps our nation’s most fundamental domestic challenge: the unjust academic achievement gap that exists along socioeconomic lines.”

The Symantec Award for Innovation was launched for Bay Area corps members and this year expanded to include corps members in Charlotte, N.C.; Houston; Los Angeles; and Metro D.C., with at least one winner from each region.

The recipients of this year’s award are as follows:

 —  Bay Area – Jessica Barrett (Corps ’05), Meyer Elementary School, Alum     Rock, Calif.; Jennifer Thompson (Corps ’06), Skyline High School, Oakland,     Calif. —  Charlotte, N.C. – Paige Elisha (Corps ’05), Northampton East High     School Houston – Jason Esteves and Chris Frasier (Corps ’05), Fonville     Middle School —  Los Angeles – Amy Hermalik (Corps ’05), Bret Harte Middle School —  Metro D.C. – Rachael Brown (Corps ’05), Bell Multicultural High     School, Washington, D.C.      

Teach For America corps members are a diverse group of top college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools. Gaining insight and added commitment from their corps experience, they become lifelong advocates for education reform, working in education, policy, law, medicine, and other sectors to effect the broader changes needed to bring about educational equity in our country.

About Symantec

Symantec is a global leader in infrastructure software, enabling businesses and consumers to have confidence in a connected world. The company helps customers protect their infrastructure, information, and interactions by delivering software and services that address risks to security, availability, compliance, and performance. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

About Teach For America

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This year, nearly 4,400 corps members are teaching in over 1,000 schools in 25 regions across the country; more than 12,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.

 Contacts: Jennifer Carnig Teach For America 212.279.2080 x623 jennifer.carnig@teachforamerica.org  Cris Paden Symantec 408.517.8547 cpaden@symantec.com

SOURCE: Symantec