TNTP Teaching Fellows Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was quite straightforward. If you met the basic criteria, you'd upload a few videos demonstrating your teaching approaches in a "video interview" format, and you had two attempts to make the best video. I declined the offer because there was absolutely no human interaction prior to my acceptance. I typically decide whether to join a program based on the people I'll be working and learning with, as that's where the real value in non-profit work resides. It wasn't until after I was accepted that I had the chance to talk to someone about the program. This really felt desperate, which makes sense given how this program perpetuates the very issues they claim to address by significantly devaluing the teachers they accept. Not only is there a major lack of financial value that they impose on their fellows, but the absence of human interaction before my acceptance solidified my decision to reject the offer. To be objective, the program offers very little. They provide a 6-week unpaid, full-time training bootcamp. Either during or after this bootcamp, you're expected to find a job, with no guarantees. You get a discounted master's in teaching degree from Marian University, though this is offset by the cost of the program's summer training. This is what the ITF program offers. What's disappointing is the human element of their work. As a non-profit organization that's supposed to be people-centered, they should want the opportunity to meet their potential fellows before bringing them on, just as I wanted the chance to meet who I'd be working and learning from. If you believe teachers are underpaid and overworked, it's a no-brainer to stay away from this program and similar ones. If you're looking to transition into teaching and want to find the right mentors, it's probably best to look elsewhere, as it's evident that the program's leadership has lost touch with the human side of what they do.

After submitting a pretty long application with some essay questions that felt like they were asking the same thing over and over, I got scheduled for a phone interview the following week. The interview itself had questions that were also repetitive, but it wasn't too hard. They give you some notes to study beforehand, and you're expected to review them. They asked me about those notes, and also about things I'd already written in my application.

Teach For America passed my info to TNTP, and they reached out. I decided to apply, but beware of the $30 application fee they add at the end without warning. I almost didn't pay it, but I'd already done all the application work, so I went ahead. After submitting the application, they informed me I had earned a phone interview. I thought it went poorly, but they later accepted me into the program, so it must not have been that bad!

I applied online the day before the deadline and heard back a week or two later to set up a phone interview. Expect questions about working in high-need urban schools. The first part was about that and was similar to the application. The last part was a "role-playing" activity where the interviewer gave me a scenario and I had to act like a teacher talking to my class. Then, she gave feedback and asked me to try again.