Profile of the Month - April 2006 Dave Molina

Dave Molina, a member of the Mississippi Teacher Corps Class of 2005, is teaching math at Jim Hill High School in Jackson. “The biggest reward in the Teacher Corps has been the ability to collaborate and receive support from my colleagues," said Dave. "I chose the program because I find its small size to be an invaluable asset in such an intense situation."

Dave, originally from Cleveland, OH, is a graduate of Amherst College. "My biggest challenge has been making a prudent decisions about how much I can and cannot do at my school. It seems that each time I've got all the balls juggling in the air, someone comes by to see if I can handle a new one. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't."

 

The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most competitive alternate-route teaching program in the country. It is a two-year program that recruits recent college graduates to teach in critical-shortage areas in the Mississippi Delta, in exchange for a full scholarship for a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Mississippi. The program was founded in 1989 by Amy Gutman, a Harvard University graduate student, and Dr. Andy Mullins, then Special Assistant to the State Superintendent of Education. Since 1989 more than 350 participants, reaching an estimated 70,000 students, have taught in critical-needs school districts as part of the Mississippi Teacher Corps.