In the summer of 2010, the Center for African American Studies launched its inaugural summer internship program to further research in race and public policy, allowing four Princeton students to apply their knowledge of African American studies to work with The Young People's Project in Jackson, Mississippi, and the Making Waves Education Program in Richmond, California to confront issues of disparity in urban education. Next summer we will add another partner, the International Institute for Peace at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ to develop programs and strategic partnerships to work on cutting-edge issues, including increasing citizen security through strategic community building; the role of women, as well as the roles of spiritual and religious leaders, in peace-building; the impact of climate change; and the reduction of poverty. The new internship program is managed by the Pace Center for Civic Engagement.

Read the full article about the program, discuss education reform with us on CAAS Twitter, and join our Walking Partners program to hear more about these students and our other initiatives.

“I want to understand the ins and outs of running a charter school, have a better grip on the actual numbers and statistics, and speak to individuals about the challenges that they face in their roles within CMO's, so that I have a unique vantage point from which to speak when I begin to merge my interest in public education with legal policy.”
— Shamayne Cumberbatch, Class of 2011

“I have two siblings attending the public schools here in Jackson, Mississippi, a state that has one of the lowest rated public school systems in the US. Enabling all children to have a quality education is personally important to me and my family.”
— Spencer Bowley, Class of 2011

“The effort to make quality education a constitutional right is something that has long intrigued me. This internship gives me the opportunity to see that effort in action, and allows me to better understand what methods will and will not work in the ultimate fight for education reform. In pursuit of this goal I hope to gain knowledge about how to make changes on a state basis, and perhaps better understand what will be needed for a national movement.”
— Andrea Clay, Class of 2011

“I'll be generating a report about per-pupil spending in Bay Area charter schools. I anticipate interacting with all sorts of educators and leaders in this field. I want to learn from their career paths because I aspire to be a leader/educator someday.”
— Jasmine Evans, Class of 2011