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It is always interesting to see how the U.S. government divides its power between the state and federal levels. Though many of us have learned about the subject in theory, it isn’t always that easy to understand in practice. Attending the hearing of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce titled, “Reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2015 Budget for the Department of Education,” allowed me a glimpse into the often murky waters of federal education policy.

The hearing, chaired by Representative John Kline (R-MN), featured the testimony of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who answered questions from the representatives on the committee. Based on the questions and statements made, the disconnect that exists between the Republican and Democratic parties on education issues was very apparent throughout the hearing. After attending many events that featured speakers who focus on school choice and charters, I always wondered why there wasn’t more progress being made in education reform when there were so many passionate people supporting the cause. This hearing showed me both sides of the party lines on education issues as a whole and gave me a better understanding of how complex and multifaceted the subject of education reform is.

The differences between the statements made by the representatives on the committee and Secretary Duncan were vast, but all of them agreed that there needs to be change in the U.S. education system. The issues aren’t as simple as charter or public schools; Secretary Duncan agreed that there is a need for more high performing schools overall, it doesn’t matter if they are traditional or charter schools. The need to close the opportunity gap was a huge topic of discussion among the committee, but both parties had different opinions on what needed to be done to fix it.

Everyone is aware of the need for bipartisan cooperation in order to achieve progress, but neither side seems willing to budge. In order to solve the problems that exist in education today, it’s clear that there needs to be a shift between the party ideologies that are limiting the progress that can be made for America’s students.

Bethany Tietjen, CER Intern

The New America Foundation convened a panel discussion to “cash the check,” as Senior Researcher Conor Williams put it, on the information expounded in a recently published book entitled Our School: Searching for Community in the Era of Choice. The book follows two elementary school classrooms, a kindergarten class in the start-up charter school Mundo Verde, and a third grade class in the traditional district school Bancroft Elementary, for a full academic year.

In writing this book, author and former educator Sam Chaltain hoped to reveal the complexity beneath the polarized surface of the charter vs. traditional school conversation. “Teaching is heroic, underappreciated, and largely unsustainable work,” Chaltain remarked, in that “we expect teachers to succeed in a system that no longer serves our interests as parents and American citizens.”

Several panelists were invited to respond to Chaltain’s thoughts: Abigail Smith, Deputy Mayor of Education; Laura Moser, writer and DCPS parent; Scott Pearson, Executive Director of the DC Public Charter School Board; and Evelyn Boyd Simmons, DCPS parent and community leader.

Jumpstarting the discussion, Chaltain noted that the primary strength of either charters or traditional schools is the greatest weakness of the other. A start-up charter brimming with innovation faces a significant risk of implosion; a traditional district school with the scale to succeed may be hampered by stultification. Chaltain asked: what efforts are being made by each system to learn from the other?

In response, Smith highlighted the collaboration of charters and traditional schools on both curricula and development. She asserted that the entrepreneurial nature of charters energizes district schools to develop their own “brand,” which helps create a sense of ownership among parents and students of their district school. Pearson noted his personal collaboration with the DCPS Chancellor and added that any lessons learned from the charter school movement must ultimately serve efforts to improve all schools for kids.

Chaltain also pointed out the dichotomy of liberty and equality that permeates the American political and educational systems. He asked: how does the “me” of school choice lead us as an American community back to the “we” that fosters a common life?

The two parents on the panel, Simmons and Moser, responded with concern that the breakdown of the “neighborhood school” concept leads to the breakdown of the neighborhood itself. Moser expressed the internal conflict she faced when her child was selected by lottery to attend a charter school. Despite a positive experience with DCPS, she is choosing to leave because “everyone else leaves.” This phenomenon, which Moser termed “peer insanity,” leaves neighborhood communities fractured as each parent seeks the next great thing for their child’s education.

Simmons echoed Moser’s concerns, likening the presence of charter schools to Kmart moving in next door to Walmart: Walmart can’t continue selling the same products at the same price with the same advertising concept and not expect to lose customers. She issued a challenge to DCPS leadership to decide what the system should be and to pursue innovation and value in a visible way for parents and neighborhood communities.

Smith interjected that while the culture of choice in DC education (charters, vouchers, selective schools, etc.) can create instability and transience, it also opens the door to providing better education to everyone. “Historically,” she reflected, “the only way you could ensure a quality education for your child was if you could afford to buy a house in a certain neighborhood. Period. Today, that is no longer the case.

She continued wryly: “The genie of choice is not going back in the bottle. The question is, how do we use it to achieve quality and equity in our school system?”. She asserts that DC leadership is working hard to improve every school through new policy initiative like choice sets, which would allow students to choose from several public schools nearby rather than having one chosen for them.

Chaltain concluded the discussion by observing that before the advent of technology like the smart phone, education meant content distribution. Today, the concept of a good education encompasses “a set of skills, habits, and dispositions to guide young people through life.”

This new world of expectations for education puts educators in a difficult spot as they attempt to meet new demands within an old system. Charters and other choice opportunities help redefine educational practices, challenging the status quo and fostering dynamic improvement in the quality of education for all children. Though the present course may be muddy and riddled with mistakes, conversations like this one offer hope for achieving clarity and success in the future.

As my semester of interning at CER comes to an end, I am able to reflect on all that I have been exposed to in such a short period of time. When I first came to CER in February, I didn’t know what to expect.

As the first few days of my internship commenced, I had already been assisting with research and learning so much about education policy. I learned about CER’s goals and was able to see how this applied to the true problem of education persistent today. I was intrigued by education reform, and wanted to further immerse myself in the debate.

But after interning for months, there is so much more that I have done with CER. Not only have I been able to fully grasp the purpose of CER, but also I have been afforded the opportunity to apply what I have learned.

Recently, I learned more about what goes on in the production of CER’s Media Bullpen and through this I have been able to actually apply what I had learned throughout the semester to writing posts for the page. I have been tasked with critically analyzing news pieces and seeing how best to critique articles so that we can ensure the media is properly informed.

I also was able to watch a Digital Media Panel discussing the use of technology in education today. The opportunities I have been afforded in my short time at CER have been extremely rewarding and have made me more passionate about education reform than ever before.

Maha Hasen, CER Intern

One of the greatest things about Washington, D.C. is the wealth of educational choice that it provides its students. Though some may argue that traditional public schools should be able to cater to every type of student, when taking one look at the Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School, it’s difficult to argue that innovation is something negative.

Mundo Verde is the only school in the District that focuses on sustainability education, and it doesn’t stop there.  On top of that unique focus, it also combines bilingual education with project-based (expeditionary) learning. With their eco-friendly vision, it’s only fitting that the groundbreaking ceremony for their new campus took place on Earth Day (April 22nd).

The new building is in a great location, and seems to be a perfect fit for the vision that Mundo Verde’s leaders have for its future. After talking to some of the school’s founding board members, a group of parents who teamed up in 2010 to fill the gap that they saw in the D.C. charter system, I could tell that there was a strong, passionate support system that was heavily invested in the school’s success.

The school currently enrolls students from pre-K to second grade, but will expand up to fifth grade in the coming years. After fifth grade, Mundo Verde students will receive admissions preference at DC International School. The kindergarten and pre-K students participate in a full Spanish-language immersion program, while the first and second graders have a dual-immersion program, with classes taught in both English and Spanish.

The expeditionary learning model means that students focus on specific projects and become experts on a topic. A past topic was water, and students learned the ins and outs of water conservation and even had the opportunity to educate others on the subject. Their current topic is construction, which explained the mini hard hats that each student was wearing at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The ceremony (conducted in both English and Spanish) featured three prominent speakers, Abigail Smith, the Deputy Mayor for Education, Jesus Aguirre, the State Superintendent of DC, and Monica Palacio, the director of the DC Office of Human Rights. Each speaker had their own perspectives on education, but they all seemed to agree on the value of charter schools like Mundo Verde, the importance of environmental sustainability for our city, and the wealth of opportunities that language can provide.

To finish the event, they had a student come up and speak about his own experience at Mundo Verde. He made his speech in perfect English, but explained that he started at the school with no English speaking ability. He credited his teachers with helping him learn the language, and said that Mundo Verde has allowed him to learn English while still using his native language of Spanish and maintaining the value of his Latino culture.

The executive director of the school, Kristen Scotchmer, concluded the event by outlining their goals for the future of the school. They plan to continue their commitment to reducing their environmental impact by installing a water cistern, creating a commercial kitchen with locally grown foods, increasing the sustainability literacy in students and the community, and developing learning gardens. The learning gardens will allow the students to understand the process that goes into growing their own food, cooking it, eating it and then composting.

After interacting with board members, teachers and students at Mundo Verde, it is impossible not to be impressed by the achievements of this charter school. Not only do they provide a quality learning environment for all of their students, but they manage to do so in two different languages.

The event organizers had us write notes for a time capsule that will be opened in ten years by the second grade classes when they graduate from high school. They asked what we saw for the future of Mundo Verde.

Although I wasn’t sure of my answer at the beginning of the event, after witnessing all that it has to offer, I can confidently say that the future of the school is very bright. Mundo Verde is a great example of the incredible opportunities that charter schools can offer.

Bethany Tietjen, CER Intern