Jazmine LeonJournal #1
I have just completed the third full week of my Education Pioneers Fellowship placement with the NYCDOE Office of Student Enrollment (OSE). Overall, I am excited by the work that I am doing and what I am learning about the inner workings of a large, urban school district.
The Office of Student Enrollment has grown quickly over the past few years to handle not only high school admissions, but enrollment for numerous other areas, including: Middle School Choice, Pre-Kindergarten, Elementary School, Gifted and Talented programs, Special Education services and No Child Left Behind placements. The Office is fast-paced and struggles to keep on top of its growing responsibilities with limited resources. Within the Office structure, there are numerous teams at the central location in Tweed that specialize in specific enrollment processes. Additionally, there are 15 borough enrollment offices, which provide in-person enrollment services to families across the five boroughs.
Overall, OSE is one of the most parent-facing entities within the DOE structure, and as a result, it is under pressure from a variety of sources – including families, the Chancellor’s Office, media, advocacy groups and others – to deliver results.
My summer project specifically focuses on developing a comprehensive communications plan for the upcoming school year. This project is no small task given the political context of the DOE and OSE’s own communications challenges and needs concerning both internal and external constituents. After conducting information-gathering interviews with central staff, as well as with staff at eight different borough enrollment sites, I started to feel a bit anxious about the sheer size of the project. However, realizing how important this initiative is to the valuable work that OSE performs, I decided to get my thoughts on paper in order to more clearly define the project’s scope. This resulted in a 10-page Preliminary Recommendations document, which is currently under review by the chief executive office at OSE. After reviewing these recommendations with her later this week, I will be able to move forward and develop concrete action plans to lay the groundwork for the communications initiatives that I feel would be most helpful for OSE.
Journal #2
The time at Student Enrollment has been flying by. I now have only 2 weeks to go until the end of the fellowship. It’s been extremely interesting on a couple of fronts. First, instead of only creating a Strategic Communications Plan to leave at the end of my fellowship, as with a regular consulting project, I have also been able to start with implementation for the initiatives that I proposed in the plan. On one hand, it’s been a little anxiety provoking, since I proposed about 20 initiatives and have been actively working on 11 of them at the same time. On the other hand, it’s been great to be able to take ownership over my projects and lay a strong foundation so that I know my idea will be executed after my departure.
The second aspect of the summer that has made things interesting is the Education Pioneers weekly workshops. It has been amazing to have the opportunity to get to know the other members of my cohort. They are an intelligent, interesting and diverse group of people who are driven by a strong sense of social purpose. I feel more at ease around them than I have at the business school throughout my entire first year. I feel that I am building an incredible network that will really help me as I move forward in my career. I am particularly glad that I have included the fellows working at the DOE this summer in the informational meetings I have set up with different Offices at the DOE. It has been a great experience for all of us to get to know the DOE better and build an even stronger network. Five of us have even been offered an opportunity to serve as evaluators for the New Charter School Application process. I’m really looking forward to taking this step, which I think is an amazing opportunity, both for myself and the other participants.
Journal #3
The past few weeks since the end of my summer internship with the Office of Student Enrollment at the NYC Department of Education have been hectic. Between my wedding on August 22nd and my time in Costa Rica directly following, I haven’t had a chance until now to really reflect on my internship experience, which was amazing! I’m still feeling super-charged and excited from this wonderful experience.
Serving as an evaluator for the New Charter School application process with the Office of Charter Schools at the NYCDOE was an incredible experience. I was able to put into practice concrete skills I learned through Cathy Clark’s Social Entrepreneurship class last semester. Additionally, I took apart a business proposal and evaluated it according to a complex rubric. It didn’t end there, however, as I was also able to obtain direct exposure to the applicant team during an in-depth interview process. I came out of that experience feeling like I’ve finally found my calling!
During a follow up, career-oriented meeting with Education Pioneers, I identified my strong desire to pursue a role in grant-making or funding for social ventures that deal in the education, youth development and community development sectors. I’m trying to figure out whether my place would be on the side of foundations, corporate giving or government, but I have this upcoming year at Columbia Business School to explore.
I’ve felt for years the uneasy sensation of not seeing a clear career path ahead of me. Although ambiguity still exists, it’s definitely a healthy dosage. I’ve never felt this excited about the possibilities of my future career until now, and I owe it all to this amazing summer experience. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the generous students at Columbia Business School who made this fellowship possible. Thank you so much for your support!
