Hello! My name is Ta Lynn Mitchell and I am the newest intern at the Center for Education Reform (CER). As a junior at American University, I have lived here in DC for the past 3 years and I have visited Bethesda Row on many occasions, not aware that CER, a pioneering organization in the education reform movement and an organization that I would later have the opportunity to intern for, was right down the street.
My hopes for my time here at CER are to get a foundational understanding of what Education Policy is and how policies that are enacted on a federal level, impact school systems on the ground around the country.
One of my main assignments for the first week consisted of reading 30 education related articles and imputing them into the database. From this task alone, I have been able to learn a great amount about the current rhetoric around education policy and I have a background understanding about legislation that is in place around the country.
After graduating from American University, I look forward to going abroad in the Peace Corps and working with an educational youth advocacy group in a Latin American Country. Upon returning I will pursue my graduate degree in Education Policy Reform. My vision is to work in an urban school district, as a teacher and then a principal, so I can spend time on the ground and understand what the obstacles are that staff encounters daily and children are experiencing. I would like to move into a policy legislative advocacy position as well.