Walton Family Donates $20M For Hundreds Of New LA Teachers
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — Los Angeles will get 700 new teachers thanks to a $20 million donation from the Walton Family Foundation to a nonprofit that recruits college graduates to teach in public schools.
The Los Angeles Times reports the foundation's latest gift continues its decades-long support for New York City-based Teach for America that has totaled more than $100 million.
Around 340 teachers will begin teaching in L.A. County starting in early August, according to Lida Jennings, the executive director of Teach for America's Los Angeles office.
Jennings told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO will work closely with United Teachers Los Angeles to achieve common goals in the classroom.
Teach For America's Lida Jennings
"Where our teachers are working in union schools, they are union members and teach right alongside their union peers," Jennings said. "So we're very supportive of the mutual goals that we have."
The new teachers will be in addition to - and not in replacement of - current teachers serving in the LAUSD, according to Jennings.
The Walton Family Foundation was started by Sam and Helen Walton, founders of the retail giant Walmart.
The donation will cover about 20 percent of TFA's expenses this year in the Los Angeles region.
Walton's cumulative contribution to TFA in Los Angeles is more than $10 million.
Altogether, Walton's donation will help recruit and train nearly 4,000 first- and second-year teachers in nine regions across the nation.
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