The Mississippi Delta schools used to depend on Teach for America teachers. This year, they are looking at other options. In the 2015-2016 school years, the number of teachers or corps members in the state grew from 140 to 80. The state’s funding has also declined. Teach for America received $6million from the state last year for teacher training and recruitment. After the Legislature gave less money to state agencies for the fiscal year, there is only $2 million left. The state money goes towards the 5-week summer training each corps member attends prior to the start of their first school year. It also supports recruitment efforts, ongoing training and professional development by teacher coaches and content specialists who work alongside teachers throughout the school school year. This year, Teach for America’s teacher education program did not suffer from the reduction in funding. TFA’s funding cuts could affect staff and training in the future, according to Barbara Logan Smith, head of TFA Mississippi. Smith stated that she is grateful for the state’s funding and said, “We have a team trying to figure out how we can help you and who else can support us.” “Having no allocation is an indication that the state still supports us.” This year, school districts will have to pay a higher fee for TFA teachers. The cost of a teacher was $3,000 two years ago. It was $3,500 in last year. In 2016, it is $4,250. According to a Teach for America spokesperson, districts usually pay the fees using federal Title I funds. This, along with a decline in applicants to Teach for America over the last three years, makes it difficult for rural areas such as the Mississippi Delta to attract the same number of students as in the past. Elisa Villanueva, Teach for America CEO, stated that this is a different economy. She spoke to Mississippi Today at Delta State University on Wednesday, where she hosted trainings for TFA teachers. Beard stated that there has been increased competition from other fields to hire college graduates with high performance since the nation’s economy improved. Beard stated that Teach for America has made several changes to its approach to this problem. The primary recruiting campaign for Teach for America has been focused on college seniors over the past 25 years. TFA made a change to its policy last year to allow juniors to apply in their second semester. “This generation is very career-oriented. Beard stated that people are reaching out to people earlier. “We are working to get 1,400 juniors to TFA this school year. We had 800 applicants last year.” Rural areas are often left behind because Teach for America places applicants where they want. Beard stated that the organization consults with applicants over the phone to explore other areas and not automatically place people based on where they were ranked on their applications. It’s difficult for rural areas like the Mississippi Delta or all of our rural communities. Beard stated that people have different assumptions and misunderstandings about what it is like. Smith stated that Mississippi’s demand for TFA teachers exceeds the supply. Smith stated that it has been difficult to decide where to place people. According to Superintendent Leeson Taylor II, Greenville School District had 60 TFA teachers in one year, while it had 12 this year for its 5,000+ students. According to Leeson Taylor II, the district can offer instruction and courses that it would not otherwise be able to because of the availability TFA teachers. TFA applicants must be willing to teach for two years. The organization hopes to have 40% of its members stay for the third year. Two alumni from Mississippi are working together to recruit Mississippi college graduates to teach in Mississippi. This will increase their chances of staying in the community for more than two years. Cody Shumaker is one. He was born in Illinois, and he began teaching at Broad Street High School in Shelby in 2009. Since then, he has been a teacher in the Delta. He is currently principal at Parks Elementary school in the Cleveland School District. He stated that being comfortable in Cleveland was a major factor in his decision to stay. Noting that Cleveland is a desirable location for Teach for America teachers, he also said that Cleveland was one of the most attractive locations in the Delta. He said that he was driven by the desire to do more and decided to continue his administration career. He said that there was only so much he could do in Room 15. “If I wanted to make an impact, I had to consider a leadership position.” Smith stated that despite the decrease in first-year TFA teachers it is important to remember that the number of alumni and second-year teachers jumps to 500. “We also have more than 200 alumni in the area. We have almost 500 people in the region doing great work, both as 2nd and 1st year graduates.”_x000D