TC Today - Teachers College Columbia University

Prior to the
Washington trip, the students
were prepared and
coached. They became
familiar with the major
education policies they
will be hearing about; got
grounded in the history
and process of educational
policymaking; and
Policy scholars Kagan leading the class at TC.
Development and
Policy, “but the Institute
put it together for me.
It’s like the difference
between reading about
photosynthesis and
doing it in a lab.”
The week’s speakers
included several
TC alumni, who discussed
ploughed through a reading list that included the work of
the education historian Carl Kaestle and the education policy
analysts Diane Ravitch (Ph.D., ’75) and Eric Hanushek,
and Barack Obama’s “Plan for Lifetime Success Through
Education.” Following the Washington trip, students prepare
a policy paper and mock legislative testimony on the
same self-selected topic.
“Understanding the realities of federal policy construction
and implementation is essential not only for educational
leaders, but also for all who hope to improve the
nature of American education,” Kagan wrote in an e-mail.
“That understanding is perhaps best derived by combining
policy theory and first-hand experience with individuals
who make and influence federal educational policy—FPI’s
overall goal.”
Typically, the course participants include a contingent of
hardcore policy types. Several students this year had already
tested the political waters: one worked for President Obama’s
2008 campaign, and others for state or local legislators. But
the course typically draws from different disciplines across the
College, this year including early childhood and elementary
education, science education and international education
development, in addition to the Leadership, Policy and
Politics program. Thus the cohort in January included a science
curriculum specialist for The College Board and a testtaking
strategist and private tutor for The Princeton Review,
as well as a significant cadre from the arts (including a contortionist
and art historian); a radio broadcaster; an apprentice
conductor and collaborative pianist; an aspiring art museum
administrator; and a theater director.
That diversity is a major selling point.
“As a Ph.D. student, I am so often in classes with the
same people,” Lazzaro said. “This class wasn’t like that, and
that really rich perspective was the best part.”
Others valued the up-close view of Washington at
work. “The course readings were amazing,” said Dorothy
Caldone, a master’s student in International Education
the practicalities of career building. Alumni David
Johns (Ed.D, ’83), Senior Education Policy Advisor to
the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
(HELP) Congressional Committee; MaryEllen McGuire
(Ph.D., ’02), Senior Advisor to New America’s Education
Program; and Philip Herr (Ph.D., ’88), Director of
Physical Infrastructure Issues at the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) talked about their work lives
and answered questions.
All three advised getting a broad education and learning
to write effectively.
McGuire, who recently left a policy position on the
White House staff to go to New America, called it “very
gratifying” to have a direct effect on the quality of America’s
education and schools.
Johns advised the students to be unfailingly pleasant to the
person who answers the phone. The federal government, he
said, is a “people business,” and “D.C. is incredibly small.” In the
fast-moving, fluid world of Washington politics, “the next day,
that person might be conducting your job interview.”
For Crystal Francis, that lesson was driven home immediately.
At the annual reception for D.C. alumni held in
conjunction with the Federal Policy Institute and hosted by
President Susan Fuhrman, Francis was told about an education
policy fellowship opening on Capitol Hill by alumna
Betsy McIntyre, a former congressional aide.
“Federal Policy Institute graduates understand how to
juggle policy, political and fiscal issues—which sometimes
conflict—to make sound Federal policy,” McIntyre said later.
“You can’t get that kind of real world experience in a classroom—you’ve
got to come down here to see how it really
works, or doesn’t!”
Francis didn’t apply, opting to finish her studies, but
was impressed with the value of the TC connection. “After
the week, I was starting to feel like I’m really ready,” she said.
“You shouldn’t be allowed to leave here with a policy concentration,
without taking this course.”
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