Chantae Campbell: Racing toward educational equity

Chantae Campbell has a passion for solving school-based equity issues. 

That’s why, after spending a few years teaching in Oklahoma, she returned home to Waterbury, Connecticut to help make an impact on schools in her community and begin working at the Connecticut Council for Education Reform.

Soon after, she also co-founded a community group called Radical Advocates for Cross Culture Education (RACCE) to build awareness around the educational equity issues in Waterbury. RACCE uses data to propose solutions to problems facing Connecticut’s urban schools.

In September 2016, she started a LEE Public Policy Fellowship with the Connecticut State Department of Education. Over her nine months with CSDE, she drafted parts of Connecticut’s plan for the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), including the section that outlines how the school districts will engage and inform parents and the community.

She participated in LEE’s National Policy and Advocacy Workshop a month after starting her fellowship, where she said she “gained a greater feeling of confidence in [her] ability to do the important work of crafting public policy.” 

Chantae has continued to develop her leadership skills by participating in LEE programs including Ready to Run, the African American Political Leadership Program, and the Policy Leadership Academy.