by Amy Potthast

Corps Finances: The Problems of Unbanked and Underbanked

Barriers to banking are highlighted in results of an FDIC survey published earlier this year, with implications for corps members and the communities they serve.

An important gateway to building financial assets is having a checking and savings account at a bank or credit union. People without an account at a mainstream financial institution are less likely to own a home or other significant assets, and more likely to pay higher transaction fees for cashing their paychecks, taking out small loans, and remitting money to family members in other countries. Also without an account to deposit money in, cash can be more easily stolen, lost (as in a house fire), and spent.

Meet the unbanked and underbanked members of the community. According to the FDIC, “unbanked” refers to people Continue reading →

05.01.09

by Amy Potthast

Boston Teacher Residency

The Boston Teacher Residency, an AmeriCorps program, offers education and support for new teachers willing to commit to three years of teaching in Boston Public Schools.

Modeled after the medical residency, the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) aims to meet Boston Public Schools’s goals of recruiting, educating, and retaining teachers of color and teachers of math, science, and special education. Though the residency is less than a decade old, already ten percent of math and science teachers in Boston Public Schools are graduates of BTR.

Placement and education

Aspiring teachers in BTR co-teach with a mentor teacher four days a week for one year in Boston Public Schools, and take part in intensive, tailored pre-service and post-service training.

Wednesday evenings and Fridays during the residency year, the 75 participants take cohort-based education courses taught by professors from University of Massachusetts Boston. The coursework leads to a Master’s degree by the end of Continue reading →

05.01.09

by Amy Potthast

U.S. Public Service Academy Bill Re-Introduced in the House

This week, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) re-introduced legislation that would establish the U.S. Public Service Academy, a civilian counterpart to the military academies.

The Academy would offer four years of tuition-free civilian education to train new generations of public service leaders, in exchange for five years of service in public institutions, meeting critical needs.

The Academy’s mission is “to educate, develop, and inspire civilian leaders who have the character, intellect, and experience necessary to serve the nation honorably and effectively, and who are committed to devoting their lives to public service.”

The curriculum as drafted emphasizes civics, history, economics, constitutional law, ethics, leadership, foreign language, and service, and includes an internship component.

Similar to the military academies like West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy, applicants would be nominated by their member of Congress and then compete for admission with other nominees from their own state (each state to have its own allocation of students). (Read more…)

The legislation has 37 co-sponsors, according to the U.S. Public Service Academy website. Read (and comment!) on the full bill, H.R. 2102.

This Huffington Post article by Grayce Cheng offers insight and analysis.

Check out my 2007 podcast interview with one of the founders of the U.S. Public Service Academy — Echoing Green Fellow and TFA Alum Chris Myers Asch, and other news about the Academy.

You can also follow news on the Academy’s blog and Twitter feed.

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