Starting a new job often involves a learning curve. But for Joseph Capalbo '08, training is taking place in front of an audience--of sixth graders.

Capalbo is a first-year math teacher at the Leadership and Community Service Academy in the South Bronx, N.Y. He's part of the Teach for America program, which plucks bright graduates from a variety of fields to teach in low-performing schools, particularly schools in urban and rural areas.

Like other new teachers in the program, he's learning as much as he is teaching. "Teaching takes a lot of management skills," says Capalbo, who is striving to balance confidence-boosting praise and discipline. "It's a lot better than it was at the beginning of the year."

His students are making progress, albeit slowly. They are predominantly African-American and Latino and 91 percent qualify for free lunch. Many are struggling academically. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with their abilities. "These kids face tons of social pressures when it comes to partying, sex, and even drugs and alcohol," Capalbo says of students who haven't yet hit their teens.

These pressures are sometimes coupled with a lack of parental supervision. Some students come into class tired because, without anyone enforcing a bedtime, they stay up until 4 a.m. Noting the challenges, he says, "It's amazing that they do as well as they do."

Capalbo entered the teaching profession to help students find an academic path that would lead to a high school diploma-and college. He understands the hurdles he faces teaching in New York City, where the high school dropout rate is 53 percent. "I really wanted to make a difference in their lives before it was too late," says Capalbo, who asked to teach sixth grade.

In exchange for a two-year commitment, he and other participants receive intensive training, a beginning teacher's position with a salary and a stipend that can be used for student loans or toward an advanced degree. Capalbo wants to stay at his school beyond the required two years. He has a transitional teaching certification; he is working on a master's degree and plans to earn a teaching license.

This first year of teaching has changed Capalbo more than he expected. "Who I am today is very different from who I was this time last year," he says.