Rochester to Host Teach for America Statewide Summit

The two-day event will feature keynotes, networking, and sessions on education innovation.

Apr. 16, 2026 at 6:35pm

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A bold, colorful silkscreen print featuring a repeating pattern of school supplies like textbooks, pencils, and rulers, conceptually representing the educational focus of the Teach For America summit.Teach For America's statewide summit in Rochester aims to spark new ideas and partnerships to address educational inequities across New York.Rochester Today

Rochester-area educational leaders will gather this weekend for the Teach For America New York 2026 Statewide Summit, a two-day event featuring keynote speeches, networking opportunities, lightning talks, and breakout sessions focused on topics like special education, policy, teacher retention, partnerships, leadership, and student career pathways.

Why it matters

The summit aims to bring together a diverse group of individuals passionate about education and creative solutions to prepare young people for the workforce of the future. As Teach For America expands in New York, the event in Rochester could signal the start of the organization's involvement in the city, which has some of the lowest student achievement levels and highest poverty rates in the state.

The details

The 'Empire State of Mind: Harnessing New York's Power to Fuel Progress' summit will include keynote speeches from Rochester City School District Superintendent Eric Jay Rosser and New York State Regent Adrian Hale. Tia Morris, executive director of Teach For America New York and New Jersey, says the event will bring together a 'variety of individuals who really care a lot about education' to think creatively about the future of the state's schools. While Teach For America's primary focus is placing corps members in full-time teaching roles at under-resourced schools, the organization is also expanding into areas like tutoring, professional development, EdTech, and AI-based solutions.

  • The Teach For America New York 2026 Statewide Summit will be held this Friday and Saturday (April 18-19, 2026).
  • Teach For America has seen 60% growth in the last four years, bucking the trend of declining enrollment in teaching colleges nationwide.

The players

Eric Jay Rosser

The superintendent of the Rochester City School District.

Adrian Hale

A member of the New York State Board of Regents.

Tia Morris

The executive director of Teach For America New York and New Jersey, and a Teach For America alumna.

Wendy Kopp

The founder of Teach For America, who started the organization in 1990 after writing her Princeton University thesis arguing that top college graduates could help fix America's least-resourced schools.

Shanai Lee

The executive director of READY, a Rochester-based education organization.

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What they’re saying

“It really is going to bring together a variety of individuals who really care a lot about education, as well as really want to think creatively about what it takes to prepare young people for the workforce of the future and what it will take to collectively lift our state.”

— Tia Morris, Executive Director, Teach For America New York and New Jersey

“When we look at where education is going in this country for the last 15 years, the education sector has been declining if you look at enrollment to teaching colleges. Teach for America is actually bucking that trend. We've seen 60 percent growth over the last four years. We've really gotten pretty good at not only recruiting talent, (and) these are individuals who never thought they might go into education, but getting them to commit to it.”

— Tia Morris, Executive Director, Teach For America New York and New Jersey

What’s next

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The takeaway

This summit highlights Teach For America's efforts to expand its presence in New York, including potentially bringing new resources and innovative approaches to education in Rochester. As the organization grows, it will need to navigate concerns about its ties to the charter school movement while demonstrating how its model can meaningfully improve outcomes for students in under-resourced communities.