Teach For America announced on Wednesday that Dana Shearman of Oakville has been accepted to the organization’s 2011 corps.

Teach For America is the national corps of top recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity, according to a news release.

Dana Shearman is a 2001 graduate of Lutheran High School South and 2005 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Shearman will teach in St Louis.

This year, Teach For America’s talent pool was the most competitive ever, the release stated. Nearly 48,000 individuals applied and 11 percent were accepted. Shearman joins Teach For America’s incoming corps of 5,200 new teachers. These corps members earned an average undergraduate GPA of 3.6, and 100 percent held leadership positions while in college.

“This year’s incoming corps members represent a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, but they share extraordinary leadership ability and a deep commitment to ensuring that all children have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential,” stated Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America. “We are excited to be channeling the energy of such a diverse corps into teaching in urban and rural public schools and into the long-term effort to achieve educational excellence and equity.”