Adam Kho, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate, admits that his first year of teaching math through the Teach for America program at the Alonzo A. Crim Open Campus High School in Atlanta has been quite a learning experience.

"I knew it was going to be difficult, but I didn't realize how difficult it would actually be," says the Decatur native, who earned his bachelor's degree in biological and chemical engineering from MIT in 2008 and started his TFA training the day after graduation. "My first three months of teaching were overwhelming. There were times when I came home exhausted, passed out and just went to bed. There were times when I wanted to quit."
 
It took perseverance, but Kho - a top-of-his-class graduate of Lakeside High School, where advanced-placement classes and extracurriculars were the norm - eventually found his bearings at Crim, a nontraditional institution designed to help at-risk students get their high school diplomas. Part of that was learning that, to succeed, most of his students have to overcome challenges he never even fathomed growing up.
 
"It was expected that I do my homework, it was expected that I catch on," he says. "Here, I can't expect my students to always do their homework. A lot of them have children. They're working jobs at night and coming to school in the day, and they just can't manage it all."
 
Well into his second year, however, Kho's seeing positive results-and he truly feels he's making a difference.
 
"I'm establishing some great relationships and, hopefully, setting a good example as a positive male role model in their lives," says Kho, who's working toward his master's degree in teaching. "All students can learn and want to succeed; you just have to find a way to reach them."
 
The College of Education began training this fall about 170 TFA-Atlanta corps members.  College of Education leaders have crafted a program specifically designed for TFA- Atlanta members who specialize in early childhood education. The college is also counting the training and professional development that corps members receive from the TFA program as credit toward their teaching certificate or master's degree. Members teach during the day in Atlanta Public Schools and attend classes at Georgia State at night. For more information, visit http://education.gsu.edu.