FAQ
Do I declare WorldTeach on my taxes?
How do I get letters of recommendation?
Who can I list as a job reference?
How do I stay in touch with my host family and/or school?
How can I find out if there is a current volunteer at my school?
How do I participate in another program?
How do I get an Interviewer Packet when I agree to interview a prospective volunteer?
How can I stay connected to WorldTeach?
How can I update my contact information?
Do I declare WorldTeach earnings on my taxes?
We at WorldTeach are not tax advisors. While we try to be as helpful as we can, it is important to check with the IRS or certified tax advisors to determine if you are required to pay taxes. We have also gathered this information to get you started.
Some volunteers, particularly in year-long programs departing in December and January, will make less than the minimum earnings threshhold for filing taxes. However, most volunteers departing at other times will have income from other employers during the calendar year, pushing their total income over the filing minimum.
Since WorldTeach is/was not technically your employer, most volunteers you will not receive a W-2 or other earnings statement from WorldTeach, nor are you likely to have pay stubs from your host school (although if you do, keep them for your records). Volunteers in some programs may receive a 1099-MISC. However, if you do not, it is still your responsibility to declare your earnings as accurately as possible. It may be a good idea to include a letter with your tax return explaining your situation: that you were a full-time volunteer overseas and earning a basic living stipend of x amount per month, totaling y amount over the whole tax year.
How do I get letters of recommendation?
As part of their job, our Field Directors are required to file a recommendation letter for every volunteer who ends their service in good standing. These letters are written after your End-of-Service conference, and then emailed to the WorldTeach office in Cambridge, MA, where we keep them electronically filed. If you did not provide your Field Director with the necessary information to complete your letter, it is possible that a verification of service letter is on file instead.
To request your Field Director’s letter of recommendation, email the Alumni Coordinator (alumni@worldteach.org) at least two weeks before you need the letter. Be sure to let the Alumni Coordinator know any pertinent details, including deadlines. WorldTeach can send these to you via post, fax, or email (PDF only).
Now that we are in the internet age, many graduate schools require online applications, including online submission of recommendation letters. For the recommender, this involves answering several personal questions about you and uploading a letter of support. It also includes signing a statement declaring that the recommender is who they say they are. For these reasons, we strongly encourage you to approach your Field Director first regarding online applications. The general letter we have for you on-file is unlikely to cover all of the aspects these recommendation forms cover (from “how trustworthy is this applicant?” to “in what percentile would you rank this person in terms of their academic excellence?”). If your situation is dire and you absolutely need a central WorldTeach staff person to take care of some recommendations, please contact the Alumni Coordinator.
Who do I list as a job reference?
When applying for any position, it is always best to use someone who knows you personally as a reference. In your case this should be the Field Director, Assistant Field Director, or Summer Program Coordinator who supervised you most closely. As with professors and former employers, your ability to ask a Field Director to serve as a reference depends completely on your personal relationship with them. Our field directors are not required to serve as a lifelong reference for you, particularly because many of them are only WorldTeach employees for two years. You will find that, in most cases, current and former field staff members are happy to help their volunteers advance their professional and academic careers.
If you are unable to ask your Field Director to serve as a future job reference, you may list the Alumni Coordinator. It is likely that this person will not know you personally and thus will only be able to verify where and when you worked for WorldTeach.
How do I stay in touch with my host family and/or school?
WorldTeach keeps record of volunteer placement information as well as host family information in its database. Thus, if you have misplaced this information and would like to be in touch with your school and/or family, email us at alumni@worldteach.org and we can try to put you in touch. Please note that we may have some difficulty locating such information for alumni from our early years (e.g. pre-2000) as our record-keeping systems were not quite in place until more recently.
How can I contact the current volunteer at my placement site?
If there is a volunteer currently serving at your site, WorldTeach would be happy to put the two of you in contact. However, because placements are determined in coordination between local partners and our Field Staff, it is possible that we are not serving your site this particular year. Contact alumni@worldteach.org if you would like to find out if there is a current volunteer at your site, and be in touch with him or her.
How do I participate in another program?
WorldTeach encourages alumni to participate in other programs! We keep your application on file for at least five years after your completed service. To reactivate your application for another program, first contact Admissions. Let them know you are an alum and for which program you would like to now be considered. You will be asked to submit one new reference as well as an updated program-specific essay. If you are applying for programs in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Namibia, Panama, Rwanda, Tanzania, or Thailand (i.e. non-funded program), you will receive a $500 discount off your volunteer commitment fee.
How do I get an Interviewer Packet when I agree to interview a prospective volunteer?
All applicants for our yearlong as well as semester programs must complete an interview, ideally with an alumni from the program they are applying for or with an alumni living in same area. Applicants are provided alumni to contact about setting up their interview, and once confirmed, the applicant should then tell Admissions who is their 'alumni interviewer' so we can send that person the Interview Packet. If you set up an interview with a prospective volunteer and have yet to receive the Interview Packet, please contact Admissions to request one.
How can I stay connected to WorldTeach?
There are many ways to stay connected. Visit our Staying Involved section for more information on:
- Assisting with recruiting potential volunteers.
- Serving as an interviewer for perspective volunteers as part of their application process
- Sharing your experience during as a WorldTeach volunteers with a perspective volunteer as a Reference
- Being a Campus Outreach Manager at your college
How can I update my contact information
Be sure your contact info is always updated so we can send you the WorldTeach Dispatch, program-specific newsletters, and let you know about WT alumni events in your area! Please click here to update your alumni information.