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On Monday, July 1st I was given the opportunity to help out CER at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Conference. Although I did not get to attend the exhibits, I was able to interact with a variety of people and get a feel for what exactly happens at the conference. While there I handed out tote bags to everyone that came to the conference (or at least attempted to hand them to everyone). One of the things that struck me was the variety of people that attended the conference. People came from all across the country. Some were dressed in business professional, while others were in more casual attire. All of these people were united under one roof for one reason: to learn about and support public charter schools.

The variety of people and the multitude of locations from which they came from is extremely symbolic of the charter school movement. Charter schools don’t just affect a certain group of people; they touch the lives of a plethora of people across the country. Everyone at this conference had felt the impact of charter schools on the public education system. For the most part, all of the people there believed that the impact was a good one. Some of them traveled great distances to show their support for charter schools and had a desire to gain more information about them along with presenting their own information. This shows the true power and support behind promoting the expansion of successful charter schools; the support is not constrained by a few elite but exemplified by people from across the nation with different stories and different backgrounds.

Though I was not at the conference long and did not get to hear any of the speakers the conference struck me. The simple action of handing out tote bags allowed me to interact with people from across the nation. People that came together for one reason and one reason only; people who had such strong feelings towards charter schools that they were willing to travel a great distance; people who cared about the U.S. public school system.

Callie Wendel is a rising senior at Lebanon Valley College majoring in History and Political Science. She is from right outside Philadelphia, and the Center for Education Reform is excited to have her on board as an intern this summer.