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Frequently Asked Questions |
MATCH Corps
Q: What is the MATCH Corps?
A: The MATCH Corps is a yearlong (August-June) urban education fellowship. Top college graduates work long days tutoring 6 to 10 students all year at a charter school in Boston called MATCH. Corps members choose one of two sites: the middle school or the high school. Corps members receive a modest living stipend and are provided (modest) housing.
Q: Who are the kids who get tutored?
A: MATCH students are generally from low-income families. Most are Black or Hispanic. Most arrive way behind grade level. Demographically, they arrive with just a 1-in-20 chance of earning a college degree. The mission is to flip that entirely, so that each kid succeeds in college and beyond. A tutor’s job is nothing less than to change the arc of his/her students’ lives.
Q: Are these super-motivated kids who attend MATCH?
A: Oh, no. Nope. Often they’re signed up for the random admission lottery by mom or a guardian. From a kid’s point of view, MATCH is longer hours, harder work, higher expectations, etc. There is no entrance exam or essay or process: just a straight lottery.
Every single MATCH student receives high-dosage tutoring: from the top students (who might arrive to Grade 6 with 6th grade skills) to the lowest students (who might arrive in Grade 6 with 1st grade skills).
Q: Who should apply to the MATCH Corps?
A: MATCH Corps members are incredibly hard-working graduates of all majors from top colleges and universities who are unflinchingly committed to their students’ success. The key personality trait needed: grit.
Q: How competitive is the application process?
A: It’s similar to Teach For America: very competitive.
Q: Tutoring sounds vague. What do Corps members actually do?
A: Click here for a typical week. Corps members provide their students with individual tutoring during the school day, frequently call kids’ parents/guardians, and help the most at-risk students with their homework after school. In addition, every Corps member also performs a “secondary duty” in which he/she assists a teacher, administrator, counselor, or coach (basketball, track, soccer, step team, drama, etc).
Q: Is The MATCH Corps a lot of work?
A: YES. Think med school. Think military. Think your toughest semester in college. The standard workday for a MATCH Corps member is from 8:30 AM-6:15 PM, BEFORE making phone calls home, preparing for tutorials, and performing his/her secondary duty. Corps members are virtually always “on-call” to help students succeed academically.
Q: How are secondary duties assigned?
A: After having the opportunity to meet with each teacher and administrator, MATCH Corps members rank their preferences. Corps members usually receive one of their top two or three choices.
Q: Where do Corps members live?
A: High School Corps members live on the third floor of the MATCH High School in a dormitory-style living space. Middle School Corps members live in apartments in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood, near the Middle School. Each year a few Corps members choose to rent their own apartments, which is welcomed.
Q: What kind of training do Corps members receive?
A: There are two weeks of training in August, before the school year starts. Then there’s additional training throughout the year. In training, Corps members learn how to run effective tutorials, enforce the MATCH Code of Conduct, build relationships with students and parents/guardians, and learn about the unique culture of the MATCH School.
MATCH Teacher Residency
Q: What is the MATCH Teacher Residency (MTR)?
A: MTR is an "add-on" to the MATCH Corps year. Essentially, Corps members who know they want to become math or English teachers get specialized, intensive Friday-Saturday training. MTR graduates end up being hired to teach in the nation's best inner-city charter schools. Another difference is that roughly twice per week, MTRs tutor 4th graders in traditional nearby public schools. This provides exposure to a very different setting.
Q: Do I really want to become a teacher in a high-poverty school?
A: Teaching in an urban school is a fairly ruthless way to expose every personal flaw you have. The job can sound romantic, but most super-smart recent college grads who do it describe it as an emotional and physical grind. For some people, teaching in the suburbs or a prep school is a much better fit -- and those kids need great teachers too! You should really have a sense of what you're signing up for.
Q: How is MTR preparation different from traditional masters in teaching programs?
A: Practice, practice, practice. Whereas students at traditional Ed Schools spend more time writing papers and reading theory, MTRs spend more hours practicing the specific moves that make first year teachers successful. Our approach to training teachers is similar to having them practice scales on piano or left-handed layups.
Second, our program is context-specific: we're training you for high-poverty charter schools like MATCH which have the same college-or-bust mission for inner-city kids.
Third, the theory we teach is more "applied" and context specific. An Ed School might be a better fit for you if you're looking for an intellectual exploration.
Q: What happens in MTR training?
A: There are four phases to the MTR year -- remember, all of this is on top of traditional MATCH Corps duties.
Phase 1 (September-October) is Friday/Saturday classes: the key topics are parent communication, how to teach an effective lesson, how to manage a classroom, and using data. All of this builds on the day-to-day work you're already doing with your tutees.
Phase 2 (November-December) begins lots of practicing “teacher moves” in small groups with other MTRs. These moves form the foundation of residents’ approach to classroom management, and are drilled until they become automatic responses. This culminates in an exam called the Gateway with "real kids."
Phase 3 (January-May) features co-teaching math or English classes on Fridays and Saturdays, with high-dosage coaching and feedback (including studying video of yourself in action).
Phase 4 (June-July) involves prepping and then solo-teaching classes in MATCH’s Summer Academy. While the Residents take full ownership over the planning and execution of these classes, they still receive observation and feedback from coaches for each lesson.
Upon graduation, MTRs go on to their various teaching jobs in Boston, New York City, or elsewhere.
Q: Do MTRs write their own lesson plans for the classes that they student teach?
A: MTRs begin their student teaching in January working from ready-made lesson plans that are written by coaches. Residents gradually assume more responsibility for writing lesson plans, until they become responsible for writing all parts of their lessons in Summer Academy.
Q: If I become a Resident, what are the chances that I will successfully land a teaching job after MTR?
A: All 21 of the Residents who completed MTR in the summer of 2010 were successfully placed in teaching positions for the following fall -- in a year where many graduates of the nation's top Schools of Education could not find work. Residents receive significant support from the MTR staff during their job search; we have relationships with many of the leading urban charter schools in the nation. Click here to see a list of the schools where Residents from the 2009-2010 cohort are currently teaching.
Q: If I participate in MTR do I get paid the same as other MATCH Corps members?
Yes.
Q: How does MTR compare to Teach for America?
A: We are huge fans of TFA. Both MTR and TFA have super-competitive admissions processes and similar values. The main difference: TFA puts you in a classroom right away. With MTR, you invest a year in yourself, so that when you do begin full-time teaching, you feel in control and well-rehearsed, and have the benefit of hundreds of hours of tutoring (thus developing an intuitive sense of how kids learn -- or don't).
At the end of the day, both MTR and TFA are highly selective programs that seek to provide high quality education to underserved students, and we encourage candidates to apply to both.
Q: Are MTRs successful in their first year of teaching?
A: Yes. Click here to see a summary of how our Residents outperformed other rookie (and second-year) teachers.
Q: Will I receive a teaching license if I participate in MTR?
A: Yes. Those who choose MTR will, depending on whether they choose to train for upper grades or lower grades, end up with slightly different types of teacher licenses.
MTR is authorized to grant "initial licenses" in middle school math, high school math, middle school English, or high school English. Science and history teachers first get our math or English license, and then add their "subject" license easily, simply by passing a test.
Starting in 2011, MTR's training program will also prepare teachers for elementary school teaching. You will receive a "preliminary" license. Please note: there are 2 types of licenses in Massachusetts which are similar. One is called "initial." The other is called "preliminary." Both types are valid for 5 years of teaching in Massachusetts. But there are differences. This Massachusetts Department of Education page explains the distinctions.
So to review:
- Those MTRs who want to teach in middle and high school will get an "initial license."
- Those MTRs who want to teach in elementary schools will get a "preliminary license."
Notes:
- All licenses require passing a set of exams called the MTEL.
- Most of the charter schools that hire our graduates are not concerned about these licensure distinctions. In our experience, they tend to make their hiring decisions based entirely on the quality of the candidate and the training they received.
- Every state has its own licensure rules, and these rules are in flux in many states.
- Under the current rules, if you are an elementary school teacher with a "preliminary" license in Massachusetts, then after 5 years you would need to get an "initial license" to remain teaching in this state. This is explained on the state's website link above.
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