As part of its celebration of National Charter Schools Week, The Center for Education Reform took Rep. Dan Miller and several congressional staff members on a Charter School tour to demonstrate the impact charters make in the lives of children.

First stop was the Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School, where principal Irasema Salcido (winner of the "Use Your Life Award" from Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network) described how she had formed the school, overcoming great odds to put in place an educational institution where students will learn "how to give back and build a strong community."

Rep. Dan Miller, a member of the House Education Committee, spoke with Dawit Getachew and Jose Reyes, who designed the Cesar Chavez home page, about their experiences at the school. The homepage may be found at www.cesarchavezhs.org.

Second stop on the tour was at the Community Academy Charter School, where the focus is on academics for children from pre-school through 8th grade. Community Academy, with nearly 600 students, has outgrown its present facility, and Founder Kent Amos told of the obstacles put in his path by the Washington, DC City Council, which took back a school building after Amos' group had put $2 million into renovation.

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The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1993 to provide support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For further information, please call (202) 822-9000.

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