District 79 (D79) is the umbrella district for all alternative schools and programs in New York City. D79 supports students under the age of 21 whose studies have been interrupted due to a variety of reasons, and because of this, each D79 school setting is different. Some schools operate like any other district school, with large classrooms and standard curriculum, but are specifically for students who previously dropped out of school. Some school sites feature small class sizes with a low student-teacher ratio (6:1) with a focus on individualization and differentiation for students working towards their high-school equivalency exam. Transfer schools support students who have previously dropped out of high school or fallen behind on credits. 

Placements in these schools are opt in/opt out, if you are interested, email MoMo at newyorkregion@teachforamerica.org.

Geoffrey McGee NY '18  shares his experience and positive impact of working in a D79 school setting: 

“Working in D79 might be the most important thing I’ll ever do. These kids need an education like every other child in this city, and they are some of the most perceptive and hardy people I’ve ever met. They’ve been willing to overcome lots of challenges to try and stay in school, and we owe it to them to fight for them every day. D79 perfectly exemplifies the work that TFA was founded to accomplish: one day, all children. With TFA’s D79 work, that one day might come sooner than we think.”