SFA students advocate for public education during American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s Washington Week

NACOGDOCHES, Texas –– Five Stephen F. Austin State University students attended the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s Washington Week from May 31 to June 3 to discuss educator preparation topics with congressional staff members and tour the nation’s capital.

Students included Harper Hyde, junior education studies major from Huntsville; Emily Awtrey, junior deaf and hard of hearing major from Zavalla; Caitlin Calhoun, senior English major from Carthage; Madeline Turner, a recent education studies graduate from League City; and Karina Bandaru, a recent English graduate from Pennington, New Jersey. Dr. Heather Olson Beal, professor in SFA’s Department of Education Studies, is co-sponsor for Washington Week alongside Erica Dillard, lecturer in the Department of Education Studies.

Washington Week is a high-impact educational experience that connects classroom learning with public policy, advocacy and professional engagement. Students selected to attend learn how educational decisions are made and are empowered to become informed leaders within the profession.

“As future educators from East Texas, our students brought perspectives often underrepresented in national policy conversations,” Olson Beal said. “They were able to share firsthand experiences and discuss the realities facing rural communities, public schools, educator preparation programs and the students they will one day serve.”

Representing SFA at the national conference for the third time, students participated in professional development training and spoke with staffers for members of legislature, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul, Monica De La Cruz, Keith Self and Lloyd Doggett.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of the trip was watching students find their voices as advocates,” Olson Beal said. “Some were understandably nervous before our first congressional visit, but by the end of the day on Capitol Hill, they were eager to share their experiences and perspectives with legislative staff. They quickly realized that policymakers benefit from hearing directly from future educators about how legislation and funding decisions affect real classrooms, schools and communities.”

Bandaru, who also participated in the education advocacy event Raise Your Hand Texas in 2025, said the most exciting part of the trip was networking with people passionate about equitable education.

“Through this trip, I learned how to have diplomatic conversations with politicians that don’t always have the same values as me,” Bandaru said. “I became a better communicator and improved my public speaking skills. It was a valuable experience for me, especially as a teacher that plans to further my advocacy for public education by attending law school.”

In addition to the Washington Week programming, students explored many historic and cultural memorials and museums, ate in the House of Representatives cafeteria where congressional staffers and legislators regularly eat, and visited the Stephen F. Austin statue in the National Statuary Hall.

According to Olson Beal, SFA was one of the few universities to bring undergraduate students to Washington Week.

“Throughout the conference and congressional visits, our students consistently impressed AACTE staff, congressional staff members and attendees from institutions across the nation with their professionalism, poise, knowledge and communication skills,” she said. “We received numerous compliments about how prepared and engaged our students were. They represented SFA exceptionally well, and I could not have been prouder of them.”  

For more information on SFA’s Department of Education Studies, visit sfasu.edu/edstudies.