By wpengine September 8, 2003
Michael Shapiro ’03 plans to go to medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon, but after graduating as a biology and society major last May, he put those plans on hold to join two thousand other college graduates in the quest to improve the quality of education in America’s public schools. “I had [been a] TA at Cornell and I enjoyed teaching,” Shapiro said. “I always thought it would be really cool to teach science for a little while. Teach for America was a way for me to help the community I’m from, and it lets me experience the real world.” Teach for America is a national corps of college graduates who commit two years to teaching underprivileged children in urban and rural communities facing socioeconomic challenges. Shapiro has been assigned to teach science to eighth-graders in the South Florida community he grew up in. It is only his first week as a full-time teacher, but so far, he’s keeping his classes under control. “So far, so good,” he said. “It was a little hectic at first, but after teaching summer school as part of my training, I was pretty confident going into school here. I was definitely nervous on the first day though.” Molly Buckley, Teach for America’s eastern recruitment director, said that ideal candidates possess tremendous critical thinking skills, a record of achievement both academically and in other areas and personal responsibility. “We’re looking for people who we would consider to be promising future leaders and who will go above and beyond in their two years in the classroom to impact their students’ lives. We welcome people of all majors and backgrounds and all areas of career interest,” she said. A teaching degree is not required, as corps members get a five-week crash course in teaching during the summer before they begin teaching. Teach for America’s rigorous training program provides members with basic teaching skills and experience and requires them to work with experienced teaching professionals and attend a series of workshops and discussions. As a member of the 1999 Teach for America Corps, Buckley taught English and social studies to middle school students in Washington, D.C. She had majored in English at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and was interested in a career in public policy within a school district. “What really appealed to me was that I was going to get to do this right away. I was 21 and I was going to be in control of my classroom, and at the end of the year it was up to me whether my students were up to grade level,” she said. Buckley added, “In addition, I was really attracted to the network of these 800 other people who were smart and passionate and equally motivated to take on this challenge.” Princeton University graduate Wendy Kopp founded the corps in 1989 to help close the achievement gap between children growing up in low-income areas and high-income areas. Since 1990, more than 9,000 college graduates have participated. Each year, graduating Cornell students help make up the corps. Last year, Kopp visited Cornell and addressed over 300 students in Barnes Hall on the goals of Teach for America and on the characteristics recruiters look for. Subsequently, 137 seniors from the Class of 2003 applied. Twenty-eight are currently participating in different communities nationwide. According to Teach for America’s student campaign coordinator, Tiffany Scott ’04, the program has become a more popular option for graduates each year. “With the economy being so tough now, it has been really difficult for students to find jobs, so Teach for America is a great solution. It offers a competitive salary and benefits. Plus, it is acknowledged by … top-ten law schools and graduate schools who offer a two-year deference to students who participate,” Scott said. The two deadlines for application to Teach for America are Oct. 15 and Feb. 15 for seniors. Teach for America will hold a formal information session on campus on Sept. 30. Archived article by Stacey Delikat
By wpengine September 8, 2003
Tomorrow night, Carolyn Peterson and her campaign team will gather at the United Auto Workers Union in downtown Ithaca to await the outcome of the democratic primary for the upcoming Ithaca mayoral election. There are two other candidates for the democratic primary: Lt. John Beau Saul ’97, an officer in the Ithaca Police Department, and Eric Lerner Ph.D. ’75. The general election will be held on Nov. 4. Peterson, who is currently the alderperson representing the 4th ward on the Ithaca Common Council, has 10 years of experience in local government. She served from 1984 to 1992 as the representative of the 5th ward, and was chosen for the acting mayor position by her fellow Common Council members from 1990 to 1991. The time she has devoted to Ithaca government is one of the strengths of her campaign, Peterson said. “The experience that I have in city hall seems to be resonating with a lot of the voters.” Peterson has used her experience in City government to build a campaign platform on several major issues affecting the Ithaca community. Peterson first addressed the state of the City budget. Ithaca is coming off “its most difficult budget year,” Peterson said, “and it will be a long process to turn the budget around.” Last year, due to some national fiscal issues and a very late start to the budget process, the Ithaca budget culminated in a two million dollar shortfall, which led to layoffs, city positions that had to be eliminated and the highest tax hike in Ithaca history. “I am in the city council now, so I’m right in the middle of things, and I’m looking for ways to control spending [and] manage the budget so we don’t have this problem again,” Peterson said. The fiscal issues facing the city are at the root of other parts of Peterson’s campaign platform. In particular, the economic development of Ithaca in the coming years will be crucial to the direction the city takes with a new mayor. During the tenure of current Ithaca mayor Alan Cohen ’81, economic development concentrated on big box stores in the south-west area of Ithaca. Peterson believes that in doing so, the city put “all its fiscal eggs in one basket.” Since the revenue did not increase as was hoped, Peterson believes it is time to diversify. With the opening of Home Depot near Buttermilk Falls by the end of the year, there will be a need to keep “the downtown area a strong and vital part of our city,” Peterson said. One idea Peterson has is to pursue “national historic designation, which can help preserve the downtown area.” It is also important to “have good signage off route 13 to draw people into the downtown, since that road kind of skirts outside it,” Peterson added. Mayor Cohen’s attempts to bring big box stores to Ithaca also spurred many of the current road projects in the area. These road projects connect the economic development issues to the budget issues. “the widening of route 13 and the additional lane bridge project, for example, was estimated to cost 1.7 million dollars, but is currently at $5.5 million, and it isn’t finished,” explained Peterson. As mayor, Peterson would like to concentrate on returning downtown Ithaca to a similar area as it was in the 1970s when she first moved to Ithaca. “What I like about living here is the ability to walk anywhere, or ride a bike, and not have to get in a car,” she said about her residence on E. Buffalo St. “The problem is that there aren’t any daily general goods stores in the downtown area any more,” added Peterson. Another issue Peterson addresses in her campaign is the accessibility of the Ithaca government to the citizens. Peterson believes she has a “reputation of good constituent service.” In her 10 years as the Fall Creek representative to the Common Council in the 1980s, she established herself as one who “responds to problems and issues” in the community. Her experience representing different wards in the Common Council has helped Peterson recognize that the “strengths of neighborhoods are a key to Ithaca.” Keeping neighborhoods strong can help the relationship between the Ithaca government and the citizens. As an alderperson, Peterson tried an “informal community forum, where there was a lot of give and take, so that issues could be addressed in a timely manner.” Such an idea could be continued on a wider scale in the future. Peterson emphasized her experience in city government as her commitment to the citizens of Ithaca. This commitment has garnered endorsements form the Midstate Central Labor Council, the Working Families Party and the United Auto Workers. “I am very pleased to have these endorsements, and I believe they are a reflection of my concern for working people and unions,” Peterson said. Peterson also claims to have a good track record with environmentalists. She began her career in elected office after working on a ban of nuclear waste that was being transported through Ithaca. That ban came after the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island. “That’s when I first got interested in environmental work and lobbying at the city council level,” remembered Peterson. Her environmental work went on to include work to preserve the Six Mile Creek area in Ithaca and a place on a conservation advisory council. These environmental concerns overlap Peterson’s campaign with the Green Party platform. “I have an excellent track record with the Greens, and even had their endorsement two years ago,” Peterson said about her successful run for the Common Council. Peterson believes greatest strength lies in her experience in Ithaca government. “I am the only candidate who has city elected experience, and I am finishing my tenth year of city elected office. I also served on the planning board, which is a judicial board that deals with land usage. My experience with neighborhood constituent service is extensive,” she said. When it comes time for the voters to go to the polls, Peterson hopes they will keep in mind her proactive stance on city government as an elected official. “While my opponents are talking about what they will do and what they can do, I ran two years ago for city council because I was already seeing the need for some different viewpoints in city government, and so I have been working, already, on City Council to try to bring those viewpoints forward.”Archived article by Tony Apuzzo