US Programme alum Phoebe Cribb reports on our Best in Class Summit.

My name is Phoebe and in 2015 I was selected to participate in the Sutton Trust US Programme. As a result, I gained acceptance to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and I am now completing my second year majoring in political science and education. However, I originally grew up in the North West of England in a working-class town. Because of the immense impact the Sutton Trust has had on my educational opportunities, I have made a concerted effort to stay connected to the organisation through mentoring fellow Sutton Trust Scholars, interning at Fulbright, and speaking at various events.

As I would like to gain a master’s in Education Policy, the “Best in Class Summit” was a great opportunity to converse with the top leaders in transatlantic education and research. Being one of five Sutton Trust alums in attendance, the lens through which we viewed the conference was slightly different to that of the majority. Having experienced when social mobility can be successful, it was sobering to listen to many of the realities most low-income students still face in the US and UK. A salient comment made by David Levin (Co-Founder of KIPP Charter Schools) was that “all kids are being mis-educated… as schools continue to perpetuate the existing order.” How can schools be the answer to social mobility, when the schools themselves reproduce the social structure? Even though I don’t have the answer, through volunteering at multiple schools in Philadelphia, I am optimistic that schools are moving in the right direction.

The diversity of interests, backgrounds, opinions and perspectives in the room reflected the education systems in question, and enriched our discussions of future education reform. Given the prevalence of the idea that teachers are in the most powerful position to change students’ lives and increase social mobility, in spite of the external barriers students may face, it would be interesting to focus on teachers and students at a future event. It would undoubtedly benefit education reform more widely.

This conference was a fascinating insight into the world of education reform, and the ideas shared have further deepened my understanding of the UK and US education systems. I would like to see the philosophy of the conference now being matched with action – ideally by bringing in more of the teachers upon whom education reform rests.