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.

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