A nice profile of TFA's first year in Massachusetts and a new corps member:

Their impending arrival stirred controversy in Boston last year, when the teachers union challenged the wisdom of adopting the program as school officials were predicting layoffs of hundreds of teachers. But those concerns died down after only a few teachers lost jobs last year.

The Patrick administration is eager to see Teach for America spread to other districts, especially in such places as Holyoke and Springfield, which have difficulty attracting and retaining young teachers, said Paul Reville, the state's education secretary.

The expansion into Massachusetts comes as Teach for America is experiencing a boom among soon-to-be college graduates and career-changers. This year, the program received a record 46,000 applications nationwide, 32 percent more than last year, for roughly 4,500 slots. Applicants are motivated by a desire to perform community service, as well as the reality of a national unemployment rate that has been hovering around 10 percent.

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