Story by Rob Eisele

Phoenix, Arizona—On a blistering hot Arizona morning, Nicholas Krump strides confidently into teacher Joe Seelbaugh’s 7th- and 8th-grade science classroom in the Sullivan Elementary School, a low-slung, brown stucco structure located in the heart of urban Phoenix.At Sullivan, 93% of the largely migrant student population are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, a widely employed barometer of socio-economic status.

Krump’s crisply starched blue shirt and geometric-patterned tie set him apart from the polo-and-khaki-clad Seelbaugh. He opens a slim laptop computer and sets up shop on a black-topped lab table, observing the orchestrated chaos of the “Coaster Challenge” physics demonstration that surrounds him.Within minutes, he is wading into the sea of faces, questioning, challenging and reinforcing amidst the excited din of young voices.

“What’s the total distance of the tube?” Krump poses to a student bent over a section of gray rubber tubing that begins against a wall and loops over and around a tower of textbooks in an approximation of a roller coaster.“What unit are you using to measure it?” As the class progresses, Krump visits each cluster of intent experimenters, his welcoming smile and warm brown eyes breaking down the barrier between teacher and student. In the pleasantly cluttered classroom lined with boxes labeled “Toxic Waste Lab Part A” and adorned with brightly colored cutouts of planets labeled in which he observes and supervises the work of 120 teachers in eight school districts throughout Arizona’s Valley of the Sun.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have a job as rewarding as being a classroom teacher,” Krump says during a stop in his downtown Phoenix office. On the wall behind his desk is a sign labeled with chalkboard-like lettering that reads “Mr. Krump 9-211,”a memento of his years at Paul Junior High School in Washington, where he taught 9thgrade science in room 211.“That goes with me everywhere I go. I really miss the daily interaction with students.But this position allows me to have an impact on a broader scale, to work with teachers and give them feedback, with the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement.”

Krump’s career path may seem an unlikely one, given the heavy research emphasis during his Oxbridge year at Homerton College in Cambridge. That year overseas, Krump says, “provided remarkable preparation in terms of being able to think independently and critically, along with developing my writing skills.” Although the rigors of research provided intellectual stimulation, he was seeking a career in which he felt he could have an impact on a more personal level. A Teach For America recruiting poster caught his eye during a summer internship in Washington, and by the fall of his senior year at Jewell he was certain he wanted to be a part of the program.Krump applied and was accepted for the Teach For America both English and Spanish, a bulletin board proclaims in bold block letters: “Exceed the Highest Expectation.” The stop at Sullivan is the first of many in a long day for Krump, who is senior program director for the Phoenix regional operations of Teach For America, a national program that places high-achieving recent college graduates from all academic disciplines in selected urban and rural classrooms in 18 regions across the country. October 20-24 marks the national “Teach For America Week,” a nationwide celebration of the strides being made in public school education as a result of the program’s innovative approach.

Krump, an Oxbridge molecular biology major from the class of 1997, spent three years teaching junior high school science in the inner-city schools of Washington, D.C., before moving on to his current position, in post in Washington following his graduation from Jewell in 1997, and was later profiled in a Christian Science Monitor article on the groundbreaking program. During summer breaks from teaching, he also completed fellowships at Washington’s Carnegie Academy for Science Education,working with a team to develop curricular units employed in the District of Columbia Public Schools. Many of those lessons have found their way into the Teach For America curriculum as well.

Following his stint in Washington, Krump moved to Arizona and spent a year as executive director of Phoenix Scores, a program that combined such qualities as persistence, critical thinking skills and the ability to influence and motivate others. In its first year, the organization attracted 2,500 graduating college senior applicants, from which 500 were selected, trained and placed in school districts nationwide. Private foundations, corporations and individuals chipped in more than $2.5 million for its operations.This year, more than 16,000 applicants are vying for the 1,800 available slots, and the organization’s annual budget has grown to nearly $27 million.

Although Teach For America has endured its share of growing pains, including some initial resistance from the mainstream educational community, a 2001 independent study of the organization’s Houston operations conducted by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes revealed some encouraging indicators of success.Corps members produced gains in student achievement as great or greater than other new teachers in their schools in every subject area and at every grade level. In addition, 97% of principals said that they would hire corps members again, while 3 out of 4 principals believed that corps members were more effective than their other beginning teachers. On 22 different indicators of successful teaching, more than 90% of principals rated corps members as good or excellent.

Successful applicants are required to observe master teachers during the spring and summer prior to classroom placement, then attend intensive fiveweek summer regional training institutes held in either the Bronx,Houston or Los Angeles.They earn a full-time teacher’s salary, which ranges regionally from $22,000 to $40,000. Thanks to an ongoing relationship since 1994 with the AmeriCorps federal national service network, Teach For America corps members can qualify for student loan deferrals and for awards of up to $4,725 that can be used to pay back student soccer instruction with an attempt to improve writing skills among at-risk youth. When the Teach For America program director job became available in the Phoenix office, he jumped at the chance.

The highly competitive Teach For America program,which requires a twoyear commitment, is the brainchild of Princeton graduate Wendy Kopp, whose 1989 senior thesis became the basis of this national educational movement. Its basic premise is a simple one: Recruit and train the country’s brightest college graduates to teach and motivate its most deprived children.

“Schools in America’s inner cities and poor rural areas have low academic achievement rates,” Kopp writes in One Day, All Children…, the 2001 book that recounts her experiences in founding the program. “As a result, the children they serve have fewer life prospects and opportunities than children in the rest of the country. This is not fair. My generation is insisting upon educational opportunity for all Americans.This is our civil rights issue.”

The fledgling Teach For America program sought candidates with leadership skills and a proven track record of achievement, along with leadership Teach For America instructor Joe Seelbaugh teaches 7th and 8th grade science at Phoenix’s Sullivan Elementary School. loans or for future educational costs. But the real rewards for Krump and his fellow Teach For America members are less tangible. The payback comes in the form of a glint of understanding of the principles of velocity and gravity seen on a student’s face during a “Coaster Challenge” physics lesson, or in the lines of poetry contained in a booklet, “See My Mind Dreaming,” a project undertaken by fifth-grade teacher Kendra Krause, one of Krump’s Teach For America charges. At a mid-day stop in Krause’s classroom at Laveen Elementary, Krump listens intently as 10-year-old Matthew Hernandez performs a reading of “Dreams,”one of the original poems that grew out of the creative writing exercise:

I am a falcon that flies through the heavens I am an eagle that flies through the cold winds I am a horse that rides through the bright dusk sky I am a deer that runs through the forest I am a morning dove that flies through the morning sun I am a dream I am a sound of freedom I am a fish that sails through the water I am a moon that shines in the ocean I am all these wonderful dreams.

“You have the amazing ability to express yourself with the written word,” Krause writes in a foreword to the collection of poetry.“Never forget or give up on this power. It will carry you far.” The first-year teacher and Vanderbilt honors English graduate peers out from behind the video camera that is recording the poetry reading:“Does anyone want Mr. Krump to read their poem?” she asks as hands spring up across the room. Krump settles in with the text of Mallory Padilla’s “Papa Who?” as class members listen intently:

Papa who says he loves me And tucks me in at night Who is the waves of the ocean Who is the wheels from a bike Ran away from me Who tells me in Spanish you are the prettiest girl Who tells me in English I’m his darling Who plays with me when I’m bored Is gone today…

The dedication of Gen-Xers like Krump Kendra Krause,a Teach For America instructor at Phoenix’s Laveen Elementary, uses poetry to encourage students to express their innermost feelings.

and Krause to the idealistic Teach For America program defies the cultural stereotypes of the “me” generation. “The desire to make a difference is what motivates our corps members,” says Jason Williams, executive director for the Phoenix region of Teach For America.“We can make an immediate impact in an area of tremendous need. I’d like to think that the majority of young people are committed to causes like ours. It’s just that they need the right opportunity to demonstrate that sense of dedication.”

Williams believes Teach For America is the right program at the right time:“We go against the culture of low expectations.We believe that despite the challenges of poverty or poor parenting, students can achieve at the same level as those who are more privileged. Our corps members have a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm about what they are taking on. We are committed to the vision, and we embrace the challenge.”

Williams credits much of the Phoenix region’s growth from 60 to 120 corps members over the last two years to Krump’s dedication to the cause. “The program director position is key to how corps members feel about their experience,” he says. “Nicholas is a tremendous influencer and motivator with a highly developed sense of personal responsibility, and he has been relentless in his pursuit of the program’s goals.” Back on the road, Krump expresses admiration for Krause’s innovative teaching methods. “Great teachers use original sources. Textbooks are only a resource.” His 12-hour day ends with a gathering of 1,500 Teach For America students and teachers at an Arizona Diamondbacks game, where star hitter Luis Gonzalez will welcome participants in the organization’s “Kids Going Gonzo for School,” an incentive program that stresses scholarship, citizenship and respect for others.In the 100-plus degree Arizona sun, he greets a caravan of school buses and ushers grade-schoolers into a locker room in the city’s sparkling new Bank One Ballpark complex.

All eyes are on the bronzed, rangy leftfielder as he enters the locker room.“Hey, guys,” Gonzalez says as he flashes a mega-watt grin.“I’m here for you today, so ask me any questions you want.”

A flurry of hands goes up: How old are you? Do you get nervous before a game? What was it like to get the hit that scored the winning run in the World Series?

“When I was your age, I used to dream about playing professional baseball, and about being in the World Series,” Gonzalez says. “So I want to tell you that if you have dreams, then go for them, and someday you may achieve them.”

Leaning against a locker at the back of the room, Nicholas Krump smiles and nods in agreement.