posted on
Newly Created Student Civic Leaders Fellowship to Broaden Public Engagement and Further Develop the Next Generation of Education Activists Who Sit on the Front Lines of Education Policy
[New Jersey – November 20, 2025] JerseyCAN, the only statewide advocacy organization in New Jersey committed to ensuring access to high-quality public schools for every child, regardless of zip code, cultural background, and socioeconomic status, announced today that it will launch the JerseyCAN Student Civic Leaders Fellowship, expanding its successful suite of fellowships to now include a new program designed and curated explicitly for public school students. JerseyCAN’s third fellowship program will initially be beta-tested with students from the Morris County Vocational School District (MCVSD), coupling JerseyCAN’s fellowship model, which connects rigorous research and real-world advocacy tactics, with MCVSD’s commitment to career and technical education, problem-solving, and innovation. The program will formally launch on November 24th at MCVSD, with plans to make it available statewide in the future.
JerseyCAN first launched its fellowship program in 2019 with the Teacher Leader Policy Fellowship, followed in 2022 by the Parent Champions for Strong Schools Fellowship. Over the years, the multiple cohorts of teachers and parents have helped create an army of informed, passionate, and trained education advocates and influencers, who have actively shaped education policy at both the state and local levels, including drafting legislative policy in Trenton, serving on NJDOE advisory committees, publishing op-eds in prominent outlets, and leading targeted initiatives to advance meaningful advancements in their school communities. Fellowship participants have led efforts to address teacher certification barriers, empower STEM teachers to foster greater collaboration statewide, developed multigenerational literacy mentorship programs, created actions and initiatives to support parents navigating the state’s complex education systems for their children, and launched programs to support first-generation college students.
The newly created JerseyCAN Student Civic Leaders Fellowship is designed to empower public school students by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to become effective advocates for issues that directly impact them and their peers, and that they are passionate about within their communities and the state of New Jersey. The creation of the new student-focused program was initially suggested by Samantha Shane, a 2022–23 JerseyCAN Teacher Leader Policy Fellow, who first approached JerseyCAN with the idea of creating a third program for students after her own experiences strengthened her ability to influence policy and support students as a teacher. The student fellowship will follow a similar model to JerseyCAN’s two other active fellowships, fostering statewide and local dialogue and change in education policy, elevating students’ voices in policy decision-making, and cultivating a strong, connected network across New Jersey. Participants will discuss the latest policy trends and issues in New Jersey education and gain a deeper understanding of the state’s education policy landscape. In addition, JerseyCAN will continue to leverage its strong relationships with elected officials in Trenton and across the state, offering multiple opportunities to network and connect with influential educational stakeholders.
“JerseyCAN’s fellowship programs have been instrumental in engaging strong, committed parent and teacher advocates to serve education policy debates throughout the Garden State. What has been on display year after year is the significant contribution these two key demographics have made to advance New Jersey’s progress and development in educating children and improving our public schools. With the launch of the JerseyCAN Student Civic Leaders Fellowship, we now have the tremendous opportunity and responsibility to encourage and train those literally on the front lines of our state’s education policy decisions to understand the underpinnings of our education system, participate more actively in civic life and to advocate for education policy decisions that directly affect their daily life and their future,” stated JerseyCAN Executive Director Paula White. “JerseyCAN has taken great efforts to handcraft our fellowship programs, and we are thrilled to announce this organic evolution of one of JerseyCAN’s most impactful initiatives. Our success, and now our expansion, stems from our deep belief that a thriving New Jersey depends on our community’s core constituents – parents, teachers, and students – lending their voices to policies that they must ultimately enact, support, and live with. We are very excited to make this investment and grateful for the unique partnership created with MCVSD.”
“We are thrilled to partner with JerseyCAN to create this game-changing opportunity for students to exercise their power of voice,” stated MCVSD Superintendent, Dr. Anita Champagne. “JerseyCAN has long been the state’s leading advocate for parents, students, and public schools, and their fellowships have had a profound impact on public policy and advocacy training. MCVSD’s strong commitment to providing our students with diverse and innovative opportunities that both prepare and inspire is at the core of our mission and makes our district the ideal place to launch this new program. We are confident that the experiences gained over the next year will be meaningful not only for our students, but also for informing and scaling this fellowship in the years ahead.”
The new student-based fellowships will continue to be directed by Dr. Chelsea Collins and Dr. Scott Oswald, who have been instrumental in the growth, success, and scale of both its Teacher and Parent fellowships. Dr. Collins was named the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) New Jersey State Teacher of the Year in 2015-2016. In addition to once serving as a Language Arts teacher at Woodstown Middle School, she currently serves as an education consultant to the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association’s NJ Leadership Academy, NJ Tutoring Corps, Penn Graduate School of Education, Learning Forward, and JerseyCAN. Dr. Oswald is a consultant for NJ Tutoring Corps and an Adjunct Faculty member at Rowan University and Stockton University. Dr. Oswald also works with a2z Equity, coaching school staff and leaders across multiple New Jersey school districts on equity issues, and with the Rowan School Regionalization Institute to study the potential regionalization of school districts throughout New Jersey.