Students for Education Reform expands, adding 13 new chapters across country

Students for Education Reform, an national organization launched by Catharine Bellinger ’12 and Alexis Morin ’12 in September 2009 that strives to engage student leaders with issues surrounding education reform, recently announced its expansion onto 13 new college campuses this year.

Bellinger currently serves as executive director of SFER National, and Morin serves as director of operations.

The expansion marks the latest step in SFER’s progression as a nonprofit organization, following national recognition as a 501(c)(3) and its preliminary expansion into six other schools last fall.

Despite the relative youth of the organization, growth has been rapid, organizers said. Its Twitter account alone has over 600 followers and is often the medium through which Bellinger receives tips for new chapters, she said.

“One of the most important things that we can be doing is getting really passionate and highly-qualified people interested in making a difference and preparing them with the background knowledge to be effective,” Katelyn Gostic ’13, president of the group’s Princeton chapter, said of the organization. “That is SFER’s biggest role.”

Several members said the group’s success can be attributed to its unique model of engaging young leaders and current students in reforming the nation’s educational institutions.

“Everyone has been a student and can draw on their own experience,” Bellinger said. “It’s easy to get people engaged.”

Gostic expressed similar sentiments about the group’s young membership.

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“We have a really good perspective on the system, having just come out of K-12,” Gostic said. “We are poised to build careers or to become involved on a professional basis in the field. We are unique stakeholders on both sides ... This country has such a history of student activism. It would be incredible if education reform could be the next pillar of the movement.”

The group’s rapid growth may also be attributable to the urgency of the problems surrounding education reform, added Emily Myerson ’12, SFER Princeton’s director of human capital.

“The disparities between what I was receiving and what other Americans were receiving are horrifying, un-American, undemocratic and unjust,” she said.

While SFER’s original plan for expansion included chapters at 10 new schools, Bellinger said, the demand for the services the group provides was greater than expected.

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“We realized that there was so much energy from college students for education reform that we couldn’t say no,” Bellinger explained. “[The question became] not, ‘Can we expand?’ but, ‘How can we expand in a smart way that will lead us to meeting our goals? What will every chapter have in common and what will chapters be able to do differently?’ ”

The 13 new chapters will be opened at Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Florida State University, New York University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Stanford, State University of New York at Geneseo, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Georgia, University of Texas at Austin and Whitworth University.

While SFER is still young, new chapters must go through a rigorous application process, including a yearly renewable agreement stipulating that a chapter reach certain organizational benchmarks to receive support from the central organization.

The national organization provides chapters with weekly advisory phone calls, email support, a national list of contacts, organizational charts, work plans and more.

“We provide a chapter leader with everything from start to finish,” Bellinger explained.

Chapters that opened last fall have already seen success, shaping leaders on various campuses and igniting the education reform flame across the East Coast.

“There is nothing that brings the sense of urgency about closing the achievement gap that SFER does,” said Anthony Hernandez, SFER Harvard’s founder and president. This year alone, SFER Harvard has organized nine school visits, a film screening and a panel on the achievement gap.

The group also intends to expand its national organization as well. While Bellinger, Morin and Director of Communications Claire Cole ’12 currently serve as the sole full-time staffers for SFER National, they hope to change the staffing structure soon.

“When we graduate, our board wants to hire full-time staff,” Bellinger explained. “It’s just not sustainable to be a nonprofit that’s run by volunteers.”

In the meantime, the group will continue to focus on the immediate changes it can make to the nation’s education system, organizers said.

“SFER is building a pipeline of great young talent into the education world — the Princeton chapter has almost 20 students interning with great education reform organizations this summer,” Morin explained in an email. “We’re educating students who will go on to be voters and involved citizens who are dedicated to closing the achievement gap.”