Dive Brief:
- Columbia student George Joseph's recent article for the Nation, "This Is What Happens When You Criticize Teach for America," delves into an internal memo that details how the organization responds to bad press.
- The memo at the core of Joseph's article was created in response to an April 2014 article by TFA alum Alexandra Hootnick, which questioned how Teach for America was expanding in Seattle when traditional teachers were losing their jobs.
- Joseph's piece analyzes the internal memo, focusing on TFA's costly PR strategies and level of influence — they knew about Hootnick's article months before it came out because a U.S. Department of Education employee informed them of her Freedom of Information Act requests.
Dive Insight:
Interestingly, Joesph's article creates a very meta-reading experience. By rehashing a TFA internal memo on how the organization responds to bad press, Joseph forces the organization to essentially respond to negative press. Shortly after the Nation article went up, TFA posted on its own site an explanation of Joseph's article as well as the same document he zeroed in on.
Like most articles on TFA, it's highly polarizing. New America's Conor P. Williams, who recently wrote an article for the Daily Beast titled "Stop Scapegoating Teach for America," took to Twitter to comment on Joseph's article.
What happens when you criticize @TeachForAmerica (Spoiler: they respond publicly and civilly) http://t.co/ZnMOxOulQ6 #edreform
— Conor P. Williams (@ConorPWilliams) October 30, 2014
And while his comment indicates the article is overblown and the PR strategy is par for the course, not everyone is agreeing it's that simple. Education Opportunity Network Director Jeff Bryant, a regular contributor to Salon.com, responded to Williams with:
@ConorPWilliams @TeachForAmerica And use insider status w/ Dept of Ed as leverage to ensure their voices get advantage in media
— Jeff Bryant (@jeffbcdm) October 30, 2014
UPDATE: While critics of TFA remain wary of the organization's clout and large budget for damage control, William's has pointed out that letting TFA know about Hootnick's FOIA request is standard protocol and nothing unusual -- in fact it would have been concerning if they hadn't informed the organization about the requests.