Public Policy Program
The Chavez Public Policy Program lies at the heart of the school and is its most distinctive feature. The school’s mission is to “develop young people who will make the country a better place by influencing the public policies that affect their communities,” and it is through the policy program that the school provides students with opportunities to engage in policy analysis and social action and to cultivate their potential as involved and influential citizens. Public policy directors, program coordinators and teachers work to incorporate public policy standards into the curriculum, organize the public policy academic programs and events, and teach the 10th and 12th grade public policy classes. Throughout the year, faculty and staff work closely to integrate public policy themes, assignments and assessments into the curriculum and to help students learn how public policy is formed and how citizens can shape the policies that affect their communities.
Participating in the Chavez Public Policy Program
To work with Chavez students as a host organization for Fellowship, a policy expert for Capstone, Community Action Project, or Senior Thesis Presentations, or to otherwise contribute to our students’ experiences and education in public policy, please contact Dr. Deep Sran, Public Policy Director – Capitol Hill, at (202) 547-3424 ext. 21 or deep.sran@chavezschools.org
High School Curriculum
The public policy curriculum is designed as a series of increasingly rigorous and sophisticated assignments, activities and assessments beginning in ninth grade with public policy work in the Foundations in History course and culminating with thesis presentations at the end of the senior year. By integrating public policy skills, information, and assessments in all academic departments, students in all grades participate in programs designed to build their research, analytical thinking, writing, and public-speaking skills. These programs expose students to the field of public policy and to Washington-based policy organizations, build knowledge of specific public policy issues, and help students develop the advocacy skills needed to effect change in their communities.
Ninth Grade
Foundations in History Course
The ninth grade Foundations in History course introduces students to key policy terms and concepts and devotes time to discussing what public policy is, the process of making public policy, and how citizens can work for social change. The key policy terms and concepts introduced in this course are also discussed in other ninth grade courses to make students more comfortable with key terms and concepts and to help deepen their understanding of the terms and concepts they will encounter throughout their four years at the school.
Public Policy Capstone Project
During the last three weeks of the academic year, students and faculty work on a full-time interdisciplinary project focused on researching and writing about a public policy issue. This year-end project is designed to bring together the key public policy terms, concepts and processes students have learned in various courses during the academic year so that students can apply the skills and knowledge they have gained about public policy as they work on issues affecting their community. This year-end project offers students an opportunity to apply what they have learned and is a means to measure their mastery.
Tenth Grade
Public Policy Course—Empowerment & Citizenship
This course serves to build important foundations for future policy activities by helping students understand political processes in the United States and by encouraging students’ sense of political efficacy and empowerment, as well as their commitment to positive social change in their community. The tenth grade course builds on the public policy unit in the ninth grade history course and the ninth grade capstone project. The public policy course is designed to explore in greater detail the institutions, issues, interest groups and legal processes introduced in ninth grade. Students examine federal and local government institutions and the lawmaking process, along with the relative influence of elected officials, government agencies, interest groups, and private citizens. Students are also exposed to key policy issues, social movements and power relations in policy-making. The public policy course is designed to prepare students for the Community Action Project, in terms of developing their knowledge of policy issues and policy organizations, their analytical and writing skills, and their ability to use technology to present their work.
Community Action Project
The tenth grade public policy curriculum culminates with a full-time, three-week Community Action Project at the end of the academic year. The Community Action Project is an opportunity for students to work as a team with faculty members to analyze and make recommendations on a local policy issue. The project involves meeting with policy experts on different sides of an issue, considering the evidence presented, assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various policy positions on the issue, and then preparing a final presentation to report their conclusions. The students evaluate competing positions on the issue after hearing from advocates from interest groups who pursue divergent policy objectives. To complete the project, students prepare a formal presentation in which they present their analysis of the issue and the suitability of the policy responses proposed by various interest groups. This project engages students directly in the advocacy work of local organizations, allowing them to experience hands-on the challenges and rewards of working to promote societal change.
Eleventh Grade
Public Policy Fellowship
To gain further understanding of a specific policy issue and to apply their public policy skills, juniors complete a full-time, three-week academic fellowship in a public policy organization at the end of their junior year. After being placed with a policy organization, students work on a specific public policy project, honing their research skills and increasing their policy knowledge. In addition to gaining further exposure to the field of public policy, students also gain important professional skills including resume writing, interviewing, adapting to the expectations of the workplace, accepting supervision, priority-setting and time management. In order to complete their fellowship requirement, students must write an essay and make a presentation to outside public policy professionals describing their work at their host organization.
Twelfth Grade
Senior Public Policy Thesis and Presentation
The senior year in the Chavez public policy program is dedicated to writing a public policy research paper and further developing important public policy leadership skills. Students enroll in a year-long thesis research and writing class. They work closely with their thesis teacher and many students also work with outside mentors or advisors who are experts on their thesis topic. At the conclusion of the school year, students present their research to a panel of public policy professionals. In 2005, topics for the research papers, which are typically about 15-20 pages, include: Teen Pregnancy, Children in Armed Combat, Stem Cell Research, Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, and Public Education Reform.