David Johns, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, and Ursula Wright, associate assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Innovation and Improvement, will participate in the Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools Annual Public Policy Symposium on Friday, June 5, at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Panelists at the conference will engage presenting high school scholars on current policy issues. Johns will discuss ways in which the Initiative supports platforms for young people to share their voices on issues facing and impacting them as students and also as rising young leaders. He also will discuss ways the Initiative works to connect federal policies to practices and experiences for all students. Wright will highlight the Obama Administration’s place-based initiatives and stress the important role that geography plays in accessing opportunity and increasing social mobility.
Each year, seniors at Cesar Chavez public charter schools present and defend their thesis findings on some of our nation’s most pressing public policy issues. This process is the culminating event of their high school senior year, and three students are chosen to present their thesis at the annual Public Policy Symposium. Local and national policy makers, civic leaders, and business leaders will attend and witness firsthand how scholars apply critical thinking skills to complex public policy issues.