Teach For America, Relay Graduate School, and the Charter School Networks - The Making of a Parallel Education Structure

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag

In New York City, a partnership between Teach For America (TFA), the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), the Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay), and three charter school networks produced a parallel education structure within the public school system. Free-market ideologies that emerged in the late 1970s drove both the partnership and the parallel structure, shaping two distinct pathways. One pathway serves conventional local public schools administered by NYCDOE; the other involves failing local public schools run by charter networks. The analysis goes beyond TFA’s in-class influence to explore market forces and relationships with other education organizations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

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SPECIAL ISSUE Teach For America: Research on Politics, Leadership, Race, and Education Reform education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University | Volume 24 Number 17 | February 8th, 2016 | ISSN 1068-2341 | | --- | --- | --- | Teach for America, Relay Graduate School, and the Charter School Networks: The Making of a Parallel Education Structure Angus Shiva Mungal The University of Texas at El Paso United States Citation: Mungal, A.S. (2016). Teach For America, Relay Graduate School, and the charter school networks: The making of a parallel education structure. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(17) . [http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2037](http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2037 This)[ This](http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2037 This) article is part of EPAA/AAPE’s Special Issue on Teach For America: Research on Politics, Leadership, Race, and Education Reform, guest edited by Tina Trujillo and Janelle Scott. Teach For America, Relay Graduate School and the charter school networks: The making of a parallel education structure Abstract: In New York City, a partnership between Teach For America (TFA), the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), the Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay), and three charter school networks produced a parallel education structure within the public school system. Driving the partnership and the parallel education structure are the free market ideologies that emerged in the late 1970s that helped to open education to outside organizations. This paper captures two intertwined phenomena; the formation of the parallel education structure and the various partnerships that helped built it. This has resulted in two unique pathways within the public school system. One pathway focuses upon local area conventional public schools that are administered by the NYCDOE. The other pathway represents failing local area public schools that are run by charter school networks. This paper looks beyond TFA’s current influence within the classroom and exploreshow market forces led to its role with other educational organizations. Keywords: Teacher For America; Relay Graduate School of Education; alternative teacher preparation programs; charter school networks; education schools; parallel education structure; partnerships; market ideology; competition; innovation; choice Teach For America, Relay Graduate School y las redes de escuelas charter: La fabricaciónde una estructura de educación paralela Resumen: En la ciudad de Nueva York, una asociación entre Teach For America (TFA), el Departamento de Educación de la ciudad de Nueva York (NYCDOE), la Escuela Relay de Postgrados en Educación (Relay), y tres redes de escuelas charter produjo una estructura deeducación paralela dentro del sistema de escuelas públicas. Orientadas por ideologías de libre mercado que surgieron a finales de 1970 esta asociación y la estructura paralela de educación Este artículo recoge dos fenómenos entrelazados; la formación de la estructura de la educación paralela y las diversas asociaciones que ayudaron a construirla. Esto ha dado lugar a dos vías únicas dentro del sistema escolar público. Una ruta se centra en la zona de las escuelas públicas convencionales locales que son administrados por el NYCDOE. La otra vía esta configurada por escuelas públicas que se consideran poco efectivas y que están a cargo de redes de escuelas charter. Este trabajo va más allá de la influencia actual de TFA en el aula y explora cómo fuerzas de mercado tomaron ese papel conotras organizaciones educativas. Palabras clave: Teach For America; Escuela Relay de Postgrados en Educación; Programas alternativos de formación docente; redes de escuelas chárter Teach For America, a Escola Superior de Educação “Relay” e redes de escolas charter: criando uma estrutura de educação paralela Resumo: Na cidade de Nova York, uma parceria entre Teach For

FAQs

What parallel education structure did the study describe in New York City?

The study describes a parallel education structure created within the public school system through a partnership involving Teach For America, the NYCDOE, Relay Graduate School, and charter school networks.

Which ideologies are described as driving the partnership and the parallel structure?

The document states that free market ideologies emerging in the late 1970s helped open education to outside organizations and supported the partnership and its structure.

How do the two pathways within the public school system differ?

One pathway focuses on conventional local public schools administered by the NYCDOE. The other pathway involves failing local public schools run by charter school networks.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag