Hiring Success

One of the greatest benefits in joining Texas Teaching Fellows is the support our staff provides Fellows in securing a teaching position. In 2007, 93% of Fellows secured a teaching position in their certification area. Moreover, 89% of principals who have hired a Fellow would do so again.

TTF builds strong partnerships with local school districts and works to recruit and select teachers to fill their specific needs. Through these partnerships, TTF staff and Fellows are able to forge connections with district HR administrators and principals that provide incoming Fellows with increasing opportunities to secure a full time teaching position.

Upon joining TTF and completing required exams, Fellows are referred to a partner district to begin the interview process. From that point, TTF staff assists Fellows in three primary ways:

• Secure information on district vacancies for Fellows to supplement their job search
• Facilitate opportunities for Fellows to meet with principals, including site-based interviews
• Provide resume review and interview feedback to prepare Fellows for the interview experience

District personnel are consistently impressed by many aspects of the Texas Teaching Fellows program:

Selectivity

Principals, teachers, and district staff are heavily involved in our selection process and praise both the quality of our candidates and the high standards of our selection model. They have found that the program selectivity translates into higher quality teachers. In fact, 100% of school district representatives agreed with the statement "TTF's selection model has resulted in high-quality candidates for my district."

Content Knowledge

The extensive backgrounds our Fellows bring with them – both in coursework and in professional experience – set them above many of their peers. Administrators and students alike appreciate the content expertise these teachers bring into the classroom. More than 85% of principals surveyed agree that their Fellows are stronger than other first year teachers in their understanding of the subject matter they were teaching.

Training and Preparation

The emphasis of TTF’s summer training Institute is on making Fellows as prepared as possible to enter the classroom, using a research-based curriculum, a high quality faculty, and a summer-school field experience. Overall, our partners have been impressed with the training Fellows receive: 81% of principals agree that Fellows are effective in planning and delivering instruction and an even greater percent agree that Fellows take the initiative to work with students outside of the classroom.

“I was very impressed with the quality of the applicant from the Texas Teaching Fellows program. She was able to communicate about high expectations for student achievement and had a grounded philosophy of education.” Austin principal