Posted on: 05/22/2025

Advancing Educational Opportunity with Teach For America

Helios support helps expand programs to bring qualified teachers to Arizona and Florida

For nearly 20 years, Helios Education Foundation has proudly partnered with Teach For America (TFA) in Arizona and Florida to help ensure that every child—regardless of background—can learn, lead, thrive and co-create a future filled with possibility. Our first grants to TFA in 2007 supported their growing corps of exceptional educators in Phoenix and Miami-Dade. These early investments helped recruit, train, and place promising young leaders into classrooms serving low-income communities—positions that would serve as both an immediate solution and a long-term strategy for systemic change. In Phoenix, TFA was already focused on building a corps of 400 teachers by 2008; in Miami-Dade, the goal was to double their teaching force to nearly 200 by 2010.
From the outset, Helios saw TFA as a strategic partner aligned with our commitment to improving outcomes across the education continuum. Our early support was designed not only to expand the corps, but to unlock additional public and private dollars through matching grant opportunities—maximizing impact for students and communities. Over time, our partnership has deepened, evolving with the changing needs of local school systems and communities.

Teach For America in Arizona:

In Arizona, Helios supported TFA’s efforts to grow sustainable, community-embedded leadership. From building a statewide alumni network of education advocates to launching innovative teacher development programs like the Phoenix Summer Institute, we’ve worked together to ensure that impact doesn’t end when a teacher’s two-year commitment concludes. Alumni often stay rooted in Arizona as principals, school founders, nonprofit leaders, and policymakers.

Teach For America in Florida:

In Florida, our investments have helped TFA expand its reach, including into Hillsborough County. We’ve supported strategic growth initiatives, planning grants, and efforts to strengthen corps members and staff support systems. This work has helped build long-term sustainability and a more resilient education reform ecosystem. Our support has also helped TFA engage its growing base of alumni, energizing them to work toward educational equity.

Teach For America Testimonials:

Leslie Miller Saiontz Founder and President, Achieve Miami
At Teach For America Miami-Dade, we believe that transformational change begins with bold leadership—and for over 20 years, that belief has been fueled by partners like Helios Education Foundation. Their commitment to student success in Florida has amplified our work and deepened our collective impact. Together, we’re not just investing in classrooms—we’re investing in a generation of leaders who believe in what’s possible for every child.
Elisa Villanueva Beard CEO, Teach For America (2015-2025)
Teach For America’s vision that one day all children will have the opportunity to obtain an excellent education remains as true today as it was when I first joined the teacher corps almost three decades ago. It is what sets TFA apart. TFA is all-in for kids, and our teachers have a radical belief in every child and in what is possible in our classrooms and schools. While there are no singular solutions in education, leadership is vital, and that is what TFA contributes.
Alex Tucker Miami-Dade Kindergarten Teacher, Teach For America (2020)
I really like that Teach for America gives you a pathway for becoming a teacher, even if you didn’t go to school with the intention of becoming an educator because when you’re 18 most of us don’t really know for sure what we want to do for the rest of our lives. So I like that TFA encourages you to become a teacher as long as you have the passion and the knowledge.
Jason Catanese Phoenix Math Teacher, Teach For America (2011)
I was going to do Teach For America for two years, go to law school, and then become the president. I just thought that was how you make a difference. And then I walked into room 227 at Pueblo del Sol and I realized that’s actually how you make a difference – is showing up every single day for kids that are the most inspiring kids in the world.
Kayla Luckett Miami-Dade Teacher, Teach For America (2014)
I never saw myself in the classroom, but I wanted to try something new. I wanted to challenge myself. So that’s how I ended up with Teach for America. The day after I graduated, I flew to Miami initially, we had institute there. When I got to the school site and I saw how different things were. How there was so much lack in resources, more specifically for Miami. I got a chance to understand the Miami demographic and what goes into that and what is missing and what is needed.
Leslie Miller Saiontz Founder and President, Achieve Miami
At Teach For America Miami-Dade, we believe that transformational change begins with bold leadership—and for over 20 years, that belief has been fueled by partners like Helios Education Foundation. Their commitment to student success in Florida has amplified our work and deepened our collective impact. Together, we’re not just investing in classrooms—we’re investing in a generation of leaders who believe in what’s possible for every child.
Elisa Villanueva Beard CEO, Teach For America (2015-2025)
Teach For America’s vision that one day all children will have the opportunity to obtain an excellent education remains as true today as it was when I first joined the teacher corps almost three decades ago. It is what sets TFA apart. TFA is all-in for kids, and our teachers have a radical belief in every child and in what is possible in our classrooms and schools. While there are no singular solutions in education, leadership is vital, and that is what TFA contributes.
 

Barbara Ryan Thompson, Vince Roig and Paul J. Luna pictured with TFA leadership at their 25th anniversary celebration in 2019.

Longstanding collaboration creates continuous improvement

Over the years, we’ve supported new strategies focused on teacher retention, alumni leadership pipelines, and rigorous training models. These include localizing summer institutes, diversifying funding bases, and integrating career advancement pathways with local school districts.

One innovation we’re especially proud to have supported is the Ignite Fellowship, a virtual tutoring program TFA developed in response to learning gaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program launched in the fall of 2020 across nine schools in Phoenix and has since expanded to other states, including Florida. Ignite now brings research-based tutoring services to more than 5,000 students in grades K-12 nationwide and has received national recognition.

Through it all, the results have been meaningful. In Phoenix, TFA has created a local force of teacher-leaders and advocates inspiring the future of Arizona education. In Miami, TFA teachers helped students earn higher test scores in their classrooms and schools improving their letter grades in a short period of time. Together, we’ve laid the groundwork for a broader, more systemic impact.

As we celebrate Helios Education Foundation’s 20th anniversary, we reflect with gratitude on the enduring partnership with Teach For America. Their unwavering commitment to students, leadership development model, and belief in the power of education to transform lives have made them a vital ally in our mission.