My work in the Congress is going well--I started last Tuesday and I plan to tour a school this Thursday. My task for Chile Senator Ignacio Walker* is to write and present a report critiquing a new legislative proposal to reform preschool education and, in light of the current international preschool landscape, develop a policy prescription for Chile going forward.
Overall, I have to examine the current institutional set-up, determine the weaknesses and strengths of the current proposal, highlight bright spots in preschool education in other countries with similar public-private education systems, and then conclude with a policy prescription or alternative of my own. Along with my own outside research, I'll be attending meetings at the old and new Congress buildings, interviewing experts in the field (with the help of Senator Walker's office and Steve Reifenberg), and visiting schools myself. I'm excited--it should be really interesting and actually really useful practice for looking at public policy in general.
*Senator Ignacio Walker is a senator of the Republic of Chile and the president of the Christian Democratic Party.