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Every year, seniors at Chávez schools present and defend their theses, which focus on current public policy issues, during the César Chávez Public Charter Schools Public Policy Symposium. Students include a background of the issue, analysis of the policy, and their recommendations on how to improve/change the policy in their thesis presentations. This year’s topics ranged from the militarization of the police to the conflicts in Israel/Palestine. The three seniors who presented their theses rivaled that of a college student well into their studies. Each presentation was a thoughtful piece that brought me into their minds and helped me understand the basis of their thesis.

Before the student presentations, keynote speaker Jamal Simmons, who plays an active role in politics and helped both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama win elections, spoke about his idea of “Generation One”. Generation One includes the millennials who he described as having a greater scope of things that they can become in life compared to earlier generations. He recounted a popular saying from when he was younger about minority parents telling their kids that they can be anything they want in life, and parents knowing they were not telling the truth. Children then suffered from the generational suppression that lasted decades before them. This is unlike today, when there are people who look just like them who are owners of television networks or even President of the United States. Today, Generation One believes they can indeed be anything they want in life.

This led us into the student presentations, and it was clear that these students are a part of Generation One (in fact, they might be the next leaders of Generation One!). The first presenter spoke about student loan debt, and provided his very own solution to help with the debt crisis, including rethinking grants and lowering interest rates. Another presenter compelled the audience to action to bring peace between Israel and Palestine, and may even be a prospect for Secretary of Defense one day. Last but not least, one student tackled the issue of the militarization of police and, in light of the “battles” in Ferguson and Baltimore, presented a proposal that would enforce police body cameras and a cop-watch database.

The symposium was a fantastic opportunity to engage with students and get their take on real world problems and solutions. Overall, the symposium showed that the program the Chávez schools are offering to their students will more than prepare them for a successful journey as college students and beyond. As an advocate for parent choice, I can honestly say if this symposium is an indicator of the things being done at César Chávez Public Charter Schools, then these parents made a great choice.

Rahdaysha Cummings, CER Intern