Teaching and impacting Baton Rouge for 35 years

Baton Rouge was one of five cities Teach For America called when it launched in 1990. Three and a half decades later, that bet on Louisiana's capital is paying off—in classrooms, nonprofits and city hall.

Why it matters: The Greater Baton Rouge region ranks among the most educationally underserved in the country. Only 37% of third graders read at grade level. TFA has spent 35 years trying to change that math.

By the numbers:

• 1,000+ leaders have served Greater Baton Rouge through TFA since 1990
• 900+ students helped into four-year colleges through the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition
• 285+ college students tutoring local kids through the Ignite Fellowship this school year
• Student engagement in Ignite schools jumped from 58% to 96% in the program's first year

The big picture: TFA alumni didn't just teach—many stayed.

• Daniel Kahn and Lucas Spielfogel built the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition into a college access powerhouse
• Lori Halvorson leads City Year Baton Rouge, keeping at-risk students in school
• Sunanna Chand went from a north Baton Rouge classroom to leading TFA's national Reinvention Lab, rethinking the future of education

What's next: TFA is doubling down on early literacy. Its Ignite Fellowship—which pairs college students with K–3 kids for free, virtual tutoring—is expanding across East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes.

The bottom line: When TFA arrived in Baton Rouge in 1990, it was an experiment. Thirty-five years later, the alumni running nonprofits, tutoring kids, and shaping city policy are the proof of concept.