PRINCETON: Two students in contest to meet with Obama

By Ellis Liang, Special to the Packet
   Education policies are usually decided by Congress, not by students. Two Princeton University students are trying to change that.
   Alexis Morin and Catharine Bellinger, both 21, co-founded Students for Education Reform in 2009 with the goal of closing the achievement gap within schools. Since creating SFER in their sophomore year, Morin and Bellinger have expanded it to 83 college campuses in 29 states.
   Now Morin and Bellinger are finalists in the Campus Champions for Change Challenge sponsored by the White House. They are hoping to win enough votes to place in the top five and earn the opportunity to speak with President Obama about their organization’s work.
   ”It is a unique moment for American education. There are schools that are working, and we see them as proof point for what can happen when communities, students, and parents are working together,” said Bellinger. “But we need to take single islands of excellence and create a whole system of excellence.”
   Morin and Bellinger were inspired to improve the education system as a result of their own experiences.
   Morin was encouraged after spending a summer working in the Washington, D.C., school system with Jason Kamras, a Princeton graduate and former national Teacher of the Year.
   For Bellinger, it was her high school experience working at a D.C. charter school geared toward low-income students that perked her interest in education reform.
   ”I saw what was possible while working there, and I wanted all college students to see that it is possible to provide high-quality education to all students regardless of where they grow up,” said Bellinger.
   But neither Morin nor Bellinger could have predicted just how quickly SFER has grown. In little more than a year, SFER gained 3,000 new members. In fact, Morin and Bellinger have decided to defer their education for a year to manage their nonprofit full time.
   SFER is currently participating in state and district legislative sessions in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York to demand better education standards. In addition, SFER is creating the next generation of education reformers by preparing chapter members to enter into a career of public service and education.
   These achievements have garnered the attention of Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp and TIME magazine, which named Morin and Bellinger as one of its “12 Education Activists for 2012.”
   To vote for SFER in the Campus Champions of Change Challenge, visit https://campuschallenge.uservoice.com.