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A dozen first graders’ hands shot up in chorus at each question, and I might have concluded that their teacher had simply rehearsed the whole performance for the sake of window dressing the tour. But the enthusiasm and engagement I found in classroom after classroom was backed up with awards and recognitions that put this South Los Angeles charter school in a league of its own. Born from the vision of two former LAUSD teachers, the school had taken students–almost entirely from Hispanic families and low socioeconomic backgrounds–from the surrounding neighborhood, and transformed their educational opportunities. By the time I had become involved with this inner city gem, its students were outperforming those in wealthy district schools of Beverly Hills. And it showed.

The tour’s purpose was not to impress parents or attract new students. It had been designed for educators and administrators from surrounding areas to share with them insights into the school’s success. It aimed to improve quality across schools and ensure that students–regardless of their families’ resources or backgrounds– had access to the environments in which they could thrive.

As an intern with the Center for Education Reform this summer, I am excited to find the organization’s mission so aligned with these same ideals. I look forward to applying the coursework of my Master in Public Affairs program toward the research, outreach, and analysis of education quality and school choice across the country. Through exposure to the issues and debates of the reform movement this summer, I hope to gain a greater appreciation of the challenges facing both parents and policymakers, and ideally, help work toward their solutions.

– Matt Beienburg, CER Intern

The transition from a public school to a charter school was not very difficult for me because, for starters, I was young and did not really understand the difference between the two. Before attending Cesar Chavez PCS: Parkside Campus I attended Burrville Elementary and before that Merritt Elementary.

The two schools shared one thing in common — none of the classrooms were enclosed with walls or doors. Everything was out in the open and once I entered the doors of Chavez I recognized this change. Chavez Parkside Campus has both middle and high school students, which was an adjustment for me mainly due to the fact that there were so many students in one school. Burrville was a big school and those who don’t know their way around could end up getting lost, but at Chavez this wasn’t the case.

It was fairly easy for me to find my way around the school due to how it is structured. When I was in middle school at Chavez the first floor belonged only to high school, the third floor belonged only to middle school, and the second floor was shared among all grade levels. Throughout the years this created a lot of congestion because occasionally a middle school class would collide with some high school students transitioning to their classes. Minor incidents like this still occur to this day.

When entering Chavez I had no idea what to expect. My parents decided to send me there because it was my neighborhood school and it was convenient for them, and I didn’t have a problem with their decision because all my friends were going there as well. Before starting at Chavez, students have to take an online test, which measures their skills in math and reading. My nerves were sky-high while taking the test

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I am almost two and a half hours into my internship here at CER. I didn’t really think that I would ever return to the DC-metropolitan area after my high school graduation, but here I am. The metro ride was long, but the weather was lovely. I am so excited to be back, and even more so, working within the network of key education policy reformers! It has been a journey looking for an appropriate internship with a public policy focus that suited my interests, but I am looking forward to a productive summer here at CER.

I did not think that my career trajectory would point anywhere near education policy until recently. I am a product of alternative education and academic enrichment programs, and with this background I have been exposed to different pedagogical philosophies; my vision for the widespread recognition of fundamental human rights has led me to an interest in human rights education and education policy.

I am majoring in Anthropology and Human Rights Studies. I intend to focus my future efforts on teacher and curriculum evaluation, but I definitely want to gain exposure to the topic of school choice. I am excited to see how my experience with CER will supplement my coursework, and how the information that I will gather in the these coming eight weeks will help to shape my view of educational institutions.

I look forward to involve the concepts and perspectives on U.S. education policy that I have learned here not only in my future coursework, but specifically in what will (hopefully) be my senior thesis: a comparative analysis of education policy and initiatives in rural versus urban areas in Madagascar (where I will be studying during Spring 2015).

My day has been encouraging insofar that I was pleased to hear what current projects the

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An orientation session at a college can provide you—a new undergraduate—with a lot of information concerning class registration, building locations, and activities to get involved in within your school and the community outside. At Boston University, this case is true. Yet my major takeaway from the student leaders and college deans did not concern logistics, but more so, a memorable quote that provided me with the perspective I have taken on since I began my freshman year.

Howard Thurman, Boston University’s former dean of Marsh Chapel and preacher on the idea of Common Ground, once said: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

As an English Education major, I appreciate literature and short stories, and when words form to create a sentence that resonates with my thoughts, I feel all the more inspired. I sat for a second—or what felt like forever—trying to think about what made me come alive. I don’t think I could fully say back then, but as a rising junior, I will say this: The idea of being an educator makes me come alive.

I love my future students already. I can see Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences at play in the actions and attentiveness of my third graders in Lexington, MA and of my middle-schoolers in Bangkok, Thailand. I can foresee challenges to the profession—how will I make a complicated plot in a novel seem easy to approach? How much time should I put into a vocabulary lesson? How will I design a text that tests each individual student equally? These are issues I must work on as an educator and with due time, I am confident that I will learn how.

Teachers have so much to

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Just over two months ago I was selecting various organizations to interview with for my fellowship at Cesar Chavez PCS- Parkside Campus. The list of organizations ranged from the medical field to politics and I had to choose wisely, because this would be my job for the last three weeks of school. Initially, I was drawn towards anything pertaining to the medical field, but several organizations regarding education caught my interest, specifically the Center for Education Reform (CER).

CER grabbed my attention because I was fascinated to learn about an organization whose main goal is to create and implement policies that will enhance the education system for years to come. After selecting my top five organizations, I was notified about which three out of the five organizations I would be interviewing with at the interview fair, which took place on March 28th, 2014.

Walking into the fair I was anxious but excited at the same time. CER was the only interview that was scheduled for me and once I sat down with Tyler Losey, who works for CER as the outreach coordinator, our conversation started to flow. He gave me background information about CER and his job with the organization while I informed him about myself, what interests me about education, and programs that I currently participate in that encourage education.

The interview concluded and I felt confident that the CER fellowship was mine! Two months later, all juniors were placed with a fellowship based off of their personal rankings of the organizations and the organizations rankings of the students. CER was ranked number one on my list and after expressing how interested I was in the organization to my fellowship teacher she placed me with CER. I couldn’t wait to start!

My first day at CER was on June 6^th,

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Speak Up Report: Mobile Devices Increasingly Being Seen as Tools for Learning

Eager minds both novice and seasoned in nature took their seats and conversations gradually simmered down in preparation for vital updates. It appeared that most of the individuals attending the event were concerned not only with receiving information and comprehending it for themselves, but surprisingly, they also made it a priority to communicate their experiences to others—particularly, coworkers, superiors, and others they felt would benefit from the information.

Surely enough, participants were able to do so, but how? Findings regarding the use of technology in classrooms and the capacity for districts to accommodate them, as discussed at the latest Speak Up report, were dispersed beyond the walls of the well-lit room via Word documents, emails, and text messages. In other words, the distribution of knowledge was made possible by technology. Does the process I just described seem so obvious that mentioning it seems to be doing of an intern? Yes.

We don’t label the use of smart phones and computers at our jobs as “blended” working or the use of texting in our personal lives as “blended” relationships. Visual media is very much a part of our lives. This is the goal of education leaders today: to create a classroom in which technology is interwoven into every aspect of learning; and it’s on its way to being realized. The tide is turning.

While most of us have experienced the vexatious moment when the teacher takes away our phone because it was out during class, future generations may only have to imagine the feeling. In 2010, 63% of teachers said they were unlikely to allow students to use their own mobile devices. In 2013, that number dropped to almost half at 32%. Teachers and parents alike are beginning to embrace the use of

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When I arrived in DC at the end of April, the city and what role I might play in it were a mystery to me. For the past six weeks, CER provided me a backstage pass to the national narrative of education reform as it plays out in the DC theater. Through my work at CER, I have shared space with major players in the education scene and witnessed both the staging and implementation of effective change.

In my first blog post, I expressed a desire for tangible knowledge and experience, as opposed to theoretical. In every sense, my experience at CER has offered me just such an education. From attending Senate budget hearings inundated with political minutia to interacting with students for whom CER exists and advocates, I have accrued a mass of first-hand experiences and developed a multi-faceted understanding of education policy.

My time at the office has also fostered a deep respect for the work CER does. Equipped with twenty years of experience and expertise in the field, CER gives voice to families directly touched by local, state, and national policies. A few minutes with CER can provide a thorough understanding to policymakers whose decisions bear significant long-term impact. By relying on accuracy, transparency, and loyalty to its mission (rather than back-door dealings and cheaply purchased relationships), CER has developed unparalleled credibility among education reform groups and secured my admiration and support.

With shows like House of Cards informing public perception of DC politics, it is easy to become cynical about the future; but I dare you to attend a school groundbreaking and watch high-ranking officials bend low over a microphone to congratulate children (in their own language) on getting a shot at a brighter future, and not be moved. My experience at CER has taught me that education

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As my semester at CER comes to a close, I can confidently say that I will always be passionate about education reform. As I said in my first blog post, I didn’t really have much background in the complexities of education policy in the U.S., and though I definitely don’t know the solutions yet, I am now aware of what questions to ask and some of what needs to be fixed in our school systems. I have CER to thank for that.

The things I learned at CER were not only in the office (though I do feel like a database pro now), but also at the numerous events I had the opportunity to attend throughout the semester. When I went to a school choice rally at a charter school during my first week, I assumed that most of my experiences would be directly with people working in schools, but instead I got a taste of many of the different ways that education policy is implemented around D.C. From think tank panels featuring experts who have spent years studying education reform, to Capitol Hill hearings on fiscal budgets, to simply hearing a parent tell their story about why their child deserves school choice, I now have a multifaceted perspective on how many factors play into the education reform movement.

I can now have an educated discussion with someone about why school choice is important and give him or her examples of what a successful, innovative charter school can do. I can explain to someone that is anti-voucher that, for some parents in our country, vouchers are the only option they have to bring their children into an environment that best suits their needs.

Hearing perspectives from both sides of the aisle, I’ve seen that there are many passionate people from around the

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Paul Public Charter School (PCS) held a panel discussion among African American education experts, parents, teachers, and community members to inform the public of the educational climate as well as to answer questions.

The panel was composed of African American individuals from diverse backgrounds with a common goal of improving student education. The variety of areas of expertise allowed for multiple perspectives and lenses through which topics were evaluated.

The importance of data and data driven decision-making were key talking points throughout the event. Many questions posed by the moderator Karl Reid, were answered by referring to data and/or stressing its importance. While enjoying my food that Paul PCS had graciously provided, I got a chance to speak with Dr. Bridges, Executive Director of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute. He informed me that data show that parents consider school safety a leading variable when rating school quality.

Submerged beneath the discussion of cut and dry statistics, laid the heartfelt appeals of parents and students. Presenters stressed the importance of setting high expectations and pushing their students to meet them. As I have seen from my tour at BASIS, this appears to be a common guiding principle across charter schools. According to a student at Paul Charter School, pushing students with high expectations may at times cause them to become defensive.  With hesitation in his voice, he asked how the panel might push students but refrain from making students defensive.  The panel stayed quiet for a few seconds, taken back from the honest alternate perspective, and proceeded to explain that setting high expectations was for the student’s own good.

I can only imagine young students and parents alike sitting in the audience with overwhelming potential, stifled by the labels of society, letting their imagination soar and their drives unleash as they gaze upon

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Visiting BASIS DC was my first experience touring a charter school.  Having been a former public school student and an in-class tutor, I inherently evaluated BASIS by comparing its school model to that of a traditional public schools.  Enthusiastic teachers, actively engaged students and personable staff resonated in an environment one can only describe as revolutionary. BASIS DC has essentially acknowledged the fundamental component to learning — empowerment.

In the past, I witnessed students fall victim to teachers who set low expectations of their students. This lack of expectation created an atmosphere in which students did not have a chance to build their self-confidence.  Dialogue between teacher and student sounded like “well, see if you can pass this test” or “try not to fail this time.” As a result, students failed to see themselves as achievers, thus actualizing the self-fulfilling prophecy.

On the other hand, BASIS DC makes a critical point to emphasize high expectations and accountability on the part of the student.  This is a crucial achievement. BASIS DC takes into consideration a phenomenon that no other school has (that I know of). As Executive Director of BASIS School Inc., Dan Nienhauser said, “If you set a high bar, kids will reach the higher bar. If you set a low bar, kids will reach the low bar. We set a very high bar.”  In addition, students are held accountable for producing good work. Student-signed posters hang throughout the halls stating, “Show respect, Take Responsibility, Make Improvements,” which serve as a constant reminder of this principle.

It is very fulfilling for me to see that BASIS DC continually pushes students to be the best that they can be. I hope that it my act as a shining model to charter schools across the nation.

Tigran Avakyan, CER Intern