Wendy Kopp
Encyclopedia
Wendy Sue Kopp is the CEO and Founder of Teach For America
(TFA), the national teaching corps and the CEO of Teach For All
.
in Dallas, Texas
and later was an undergraduate in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
, Princeton University
. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton in 1989 and was a member of Princeton's Business Today
.
.
In 1989, Wendy Kopp proposed the creation of Teach For America in her undergraduate thesis at Princeton University. She was advised in her thesis by senior sociology
professor Marvin Bressler. She was convinced that many in her generation were searching for a way to assume a significant responsibility that would make a real difference in the world and that top college students would choose teaching over more lucrative opportunities if a prominent teacher corps existed.
In 2007 Wendy founded Teach For All, an organization that seeks to apply the methods of Teach For America to countries around the world.
Kopp chronicled her experiences at Teach For America in two books, One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way
and A Chance To Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education For All
.
Interviews and speeches:
Teach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
(TFA), the national teaching corps and the CEO of Teach For All
Teach For All
Teach For All is an international non-profit organization. The organization coordinates a network of over a dozen non-profits from across the globe; all the non-profits are united under a common mission of providing an excellent education to all students while simultaneously building a movement for...
.
Background
Kopp attended Highland Park High SchoolHighland Park High School (University Park, Texas)
Highland Park High School is located in University Park, Texas.Highland Park is a part of the Highland Park Independent School District. It serves all of the city of University Park, most of the town of Highland Park, and portions of Dallas.-History:...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and later was an undergraduate in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton in 1989 and was a member of Princeton's Business Today
Business Today (Student Magazine)
Business Today is an American, non-profit student organization that seeks to bridge the communication gap between college students and business executives. The organization publishes a magazine and hosts an international conference by the same name....
.
Teach For America
Shortly after graduation from Princeton, Kopp founded Teach For AmericaTeach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
.
In 1989, Wendy Kopp proposed the creation of Teach For America in her undergraduate thesis at Princeton University. She was advised in her thesis by senior sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
professor Marvin Bressler. She was convinced that many in her generation were searching for a way to assume a significant responsibility that would make a real difference in the world and that top college students would choose teaching over more lucrative opportunities if a prominent teacher corps existed.
In 2007 Wendy founded Teach For All, an organization that seeks to apply the methods of Teach For America to countries around the world.
Kopp chronicled her experiences at Teach For America in two books, One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way
One Day, All Children
One Day, All Children...The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way is the first book by Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder of Teach For America, published by PublicAffairs in April 2003, a decade after the launch of Teach For America...
and A Chance To Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education For All
A Chance to Make History
A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education for All is a book by Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder of Teach For America, that was published by PublicAffairs in January 2011 ....
Personal life
Kopp is married to Richard Barth, president of the KIPP Foundation. They have four children and live in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Honorary Doctorates
- 2010: Marquette University
- 2009: Washington University of St. Louis
- 2008: Georgetown University
- 2007: Mount Holyoke College
- 2007: Rhodes College
- 2004: Pace University
- 2004: Mercy College
- 2001: Smith College
- 2000: Princeton University
- 1995: Connecticut College
- 1995: Drew University
Awards
- 2011: Spelman College National Community Service Award
- 2008: The Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship
- 2008: Presidential Citizens Medal
- 2006: The Harold McGraw, Jr. Price in Education Award
- 2004: The John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award
- 2003: The Clinton Center Award for Leadership and National Service
- 2003: The Schwab Foundation's Outstanding Social Entrepreneur Award
- 1994: Aetna's Voice of Conscience Award
- 1994: The Citizen Activist Award from the Gleitsman Foundation
- 1993: Princeton University Woodrow Wilson Award
- 1991: The Jefferson Award for Public Service
Books
- One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the WayOne Day, All ChildrenOne Day, All Children...The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way is the first book by Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder of Teach For America, published by PublicAffairs in April 2003, a decade after the launch of Teach For America...
. (2001) - A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education for AllA Chance to Make HistoryA Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education for All is a book by Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder of Teach For America, that was published by PublicAffairs in January 2011 ....
. (2011)
External links
Biographies:- Official biography - Teach For AmericaTeach For AmericaTeach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
- Thesis sparks thriving teacher corps - Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
- Biography - John Glenn School of Public AffairsJohn Glenn School of Public AffairsThe John Glenn School of Public Affairs is a public policy school, public service research institute, and home to various public programs at The Ohio State University. The school is named after United States Senator and Astronaut John Glenn.-History:...
- Wendy Kopp: America's Best Leaders
Interviews and speeches:
- Feature video interview with Wendy Kopp on The Alcove with Mark Molaro
- Teaching Children - PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
- Change the World Interviews
- 2009 Commencement Speech - Washington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
- 2008 Commencement Speech - Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
- 2007 Commencement Speech - Mount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
- 2006 Commencement Speech - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Podcast Interview with Wendy Kopp Social Innovation Conversations, February 1, 2008