Educational studies major Lucy Morris ’26 interned last summer with a KIPP school in Washington, D.C. KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) schools are a nationwide network of tuition-free, college-preparatory public charter schools for students in underserved communities across the United States.
KIPP schools focus on academic excellence and preparing students for college, careers, and leadership roles. Morris is an educational studies major with a minor in history who is a Denison docent, educational studies fellow, club soccer team player, and Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority member. She shared insights she gleaned from the internship.
Tell us about your internship.
I worked for Washington, D.C. KIPP, which is a charter school system in cities around the country. I was a member of a 10-person academic humanities team that works with all the K-12 schools in English language arts and social studies.
I focused on curriculum lesson planning, creating calendars and curriculum binders, and preparing for the professional development workshop, where every teacher meets and is coached through all the units and lessons for the entire year.
What did a typical day or week look like in your role?
My job consisted mainly of independent work where I had a checklist with all my tasks. I was typically making binders, mapping out lesson plans, or creating online assessments, such as exit quizzes and tests, ensuring they were formatted correctly before distributing them to students.
When I worked in the office, I would first check in with my boss to let her know what I was working on and who I was with on the team. Often in the afternoon, I would also ask for things to do. Our whole team often sat together in a meeting room. It was a nice way to get to know them and ask questions if I needed anything.
What aspects of the internship did you find the most rewarding?
I went into this internship with a lot of classroom experience and an aspiration to work in school leadership and administration. Because I worked closely with school administrators, the experience allowed me to learn about their roles and responsibilities within school leadership.
I was in a new city. Working for a new organization, I was able to build many new relationships and expand my network by being intentional about meeting as many people as possible and forming new connections. It was very rewarding.
Finally, this internship provided great practice for working in a professional setting, as it is very different from working in a classroom.
In what ways has your internship experience shaped or influenced your career interests and goals?
My summer internship definitely expanded my horizons of places where I want to work and teach.
Seeing the influence of the administrators on my role in the school increased my aspiration to do this work. It also increased my confidence and interest in pursuing administrative and leadership positions in education.
Finally, it reinforced my belief in the importance of getting classroom experience before doing school administrative work in order to fully understand teachers and relate to their experiences.
What advice would you offer to future students pursuing internships?
Do something you’re interested in! Think about what is most important to you. For example, consider the location of the internship and the people involved, and ensure that the internship meets those requirements.
It’s easy to get caught up in trying to find the “perfect internship” that you lose sight of the importance of doing something you are interested in. Also, use the resources you have!
Anything else you would like to share?
There are many ways to be involved in education beyond teaching in a classroom. You can have many different interests and still be involved in education, because everything comes back to education. You can acquire many valuable skills by teaching others.
