Employment Opportunities
Supervisor/Mentor: Henry Stewart, Director of Policy and Outreach
1050 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 1025
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 772-3162
CHSE Mission and Goals
The Campaign for High School Equity (CHSE) is a coalition of leading civil rights organizations representing communities of color that is focused on high school education reform. Members include the National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, Alliance for Excellent Education, National Indian Education Association, and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.
CHSE members are united in the conviction that it is every student's right to receive a quality high school education that will expand opportunities for success in life and allow them to become productive and prosperous adults. CHSE fights to increase educational fairness and access for all students, and to ensure that American high schools are equipped to pave the way for success among minority and low-income youth.
Leadership Skill-Building
This is an unpaid internship that will foster leadership skills in important areas for future success in a professional setting. When interns leave, we hope they will be able to:
- Critical Thinking: understand and synthesize education policy quickly and correctly,
- Education Policy: have literacy in education issues for communities of color; represent CHSE at our events/meetings,
- Community Engagement: understand our communities' needs, priorities, and relationships as well as the politics involved in moving education policy to benefit these communities,
- Resource Awareness: understand the capacity for change and the history of these communities at the grassroots level; be versed in federal education policy such as NCLB and stimulus funds that can benefit students of color,
- Planning and Facilitation: plan and follow-up with staff for CHSE events from coordinating speakers to drafting policy statements for congressional briefings, issue forums, meetings,
- Interpersonal Relationship-Building: work closely with professional staff, civil rights organizations, and capitol hill staff; build and foster important personal and professional relationships,
- Executive Decision-Making: work with top-level executives from national organizations; understand the vision and undertaking of these leaders,
- Research: perform education research and have attended seminars, presentations, conferences by leading educational research institutions and national organizations.
Intern Qualifications
We are seeking individuals who are:
- professional and able to work with our diverse civil rights organizations,
- aware of the education disparities in our nation,
- effective communicators with different populations,
- strong writers who can write well and succinctly,
- self-starters who are willing to meet and engage with new people,
- critical thinkers who can adjust quickly in a new environment,
- able to work independently and in a team-setting,
- able to complete self-directed projects,
- familiar with research practices to find credible and reliable sources,
- available for at least 24 hours/week.
We welcome all majors and interests, a strong work ethic and open personality are strong deciding factors for an ideal candidate.
Intern Responsibilities
Interns will be largely responsible for:
- attending full partner meetings as well as our committee meetings on a monthly basis and providing updates on intern projects,
- aiding in the preparation and follow-up for these meetings such as coordination of our partners and development of materials,
- working with different high-level staff such as our Deputy and Executive Director on specific projects,
- participating and planning for local events such as briefings on the hill, issue forums, state events that often include top-level executives from partner organizations,
- conducting background research and drafting memos leading up to events,
- synthesizing current education research and compiling state education snapshots,
- attending education-related seminars, presentations, conferences related to our priorities,
- drafting and editing related memos/reports/documents/correspondence to further our work.
In addition to these responsibilities, there will also be administrative functions such as:
- answering phones,
- filing,
- taking meeting minutes,
- correspondence triage,
- assembling folders for our events.
Required Documents
Please provide one of each of the following:
- Cover Letter
- Resume
- Writing Sample (2 pages maximum)
Applicants can email their cover letter, resume, and a writing sample directly to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it