Fellowship Program develops leaders

Executive Summary

Teach For Japan (TFJ), a member of the global Teach For All network across 63 countries, is dedicated to realizing a world where every child has access to an excellent education. This report outlines the results of our Fellowship Program, which recruits and trains high-potential leaders from diverse backgrounds to serve as teachers for two years in public schools. In 2025, we scaled our impact to 101 Fellows reaching over 8,000 students across Japan, demonstrating that diverse talent can drive systemic change in the public education sector.

1. 2025 Impact Metrics: Quantifying Change

Our program bridges the "teacher shortage" while simultaneously elevating the quality of instruction through diverse perspectives.

• Reach & Scale: 101 active Fellows in 27 prefectures and 95 schools, directly impacting 8,389 students.
• Talent Diversity: 81% of our Fellows are career-changers from the private sector, bringing professional expertise into the classroom.
• Alternative Certification: 57% of Fellows began their service without a standard teaching license, utilizing TFJ’s negotiated provisional and special license pathways.
• Principal Approval: In a survey of school principals, over 95% rated Fellows as "Standard or Above" across eight core competencies, including instruction, student engagement, and professional collaboration.

2. Proven Impact on Educational Quality and Teacher Well-being

TFJ’s interventions go beyond simple placement; we are redefining the "School OS" to improve outcomes for both students and educators.

• The Moriguchi Model (Structural Reform): In collaboration with Moriguchi City, TFJ Fellows helped introduce a “Subject-Teacher System” in elementary schools. As a result, the average monthly overtime working hours for teachers were reduced from around 50 hours to less than 30 hours
• Mental Health Outcomes: By optimizing workloads, Moriguchi City achieved zero resignations due to mental health issues among new teachers over a two-year period.

3. Corporate Collaboration & Volunteering

Global companies have played a pivotal role in strengthening our Fellows’ instructional capacity and expanding students' horizons.

• Strategic Volunteering: In 2025, partners like DHL, Dow, and EY participated in our training programs. Specifically, 80 volunteers provided feedback on lesson designs, indirectly benefiting approximately 1,080 students.
• Future Skills Development: Collaborating with financial sector partners like IG Group and Asset Management One, TFJ developed financial literacy curricula to equip students with problem-solving and decision-making skills for the future of work.

4. Strategic Roadmap: Toward Systemic Change ("The Endgame")

TFJ’s mission is not merely to supplement teacher numbers but to act as an R&D hub for the public education system.

• Collective Leadership: Our Alumni (260 to date) continue to drive change from within education boards, policy-making bodies, and private ventures. This "vertical integration" ensures that classroom insights inform national policy.
• 2027 KGI: Our goal is to reach 100 new placements per year by 2027, focusing on 20–40-year-old professionals as our primary talent pool to ensure high placement and retention rates.
• Open Sourcing: We aim to open-source our teacher training and evaluation frameworks, allowing municipalities to self-sustain the fellowship model independently.

Conclusion

Corporate support is not just a donation; it is a leveraged investment in Japan’s human capital infrastructure. By supporting TFJ, your organization contributes to a sustainable model that eliminates educational inequity and cultivates the next generation of leaders. We look forward to continuing our partnership in 2026 as we move toward our next milestone of 100 annual placements.

Teach For Japan Building a better future from the classroom.

Teach For Japan Fellowship Program – Quarterly Progress Report (FY2025 Q3) Overview

During this quarter, Teach For Japan (TFJ) continued to place passionate Fellows in under-resourced schools across Japan. Fellows work full-time as teachers while receiving ongoing training and mentorship. Through this program, we aim to improve student learning outcomes and develop leadership capacities that contribute to long-term educational equity.

Key Progress

• New Cohort Launched: In April 2025, 43 new Fellows began teaching in public schools across Japan.

• Addressing Teacher Shortages: While teacher shortages have been reported in 48 regions nationwide, TFJ’s Fellow placements helped prevent or resolve shortages in 30 regions, ensuring learning opportunities for approximately 3,000 students.

• School Leaders’ Evaluation: Principals rated Fellows highly compared to other new teachers. Across nine evaluation items—including teaching practice, student guidance, school operations, and community engagement—95 % of Fellows received scores of 3 or higher on a 5-point scale.

• Professional Development: Fellows participate in monthly leadership workshops and receive one-on-one coaching. Many have launched school improvement initiatives, such as establishing student peer-mentoring clubs.

Story of Impact

In Japan’s remote islands, challenges extend beyond teacher shortages—students often lack access to innovative educational opportunities.
One Fellow assigned to an island school collaborated with companies from urban areas to host a STEAM education camp during the summer break.
The camp welcomed 150 students, providing them with experiences in cutting-edge science and technology fields rarely available in their community.
Through this initiative, children not only discovered the joy of learning but also began envisioning new possibilities for their future.

Key Metrics (FY2025 Q3)MetricResultFellows currently active101Students reached8,389Regions where teacher shortages were prevented/resolved73Community events held3

Challenges & Actions

• Teacher Workload and Well-Being: Japan continues to face one of the world’s longest teacher working hours, with increasing cases of stress-related resignations. TFJ Fellows also work in demanding environments; therefore, in addition to enhancing teaching and leadership skills, it has become essential to strengthen mental health care. However, budget limitations have constrained our capacity to do so. To address this, we are prioritizing fundraising for wellness support programs.

• Data Collection: Collecting consistent performance data remains challenging due to variations in school reporting. We are developing a unified tracking system to capture both academic and socio-emotional indicators more effectively.

Next Steps

• Recruit and train the next cohort of Fellows for deployment in Spring 2026.

• Develop a common framework for evaluating Fellows’ educational impact, adaptable across different local governments.

• Continue to collect and share student success stories to deepen engagement with donors and partners.

Appreciation

Your generous support empowers young leaders to transform classrooms and communities across Japan.
We are deeply grateful for your continued partnership and look forward to sharing further progress and success stories in the months ahead.