The Eddies—annual, advocate-nominated and voted awards—feature strategic advocacy that is driving impactful policy change.
This Eddies category Features coalitions of leaders and organizations who worked together to achieve a significant impact for students and families. Working in coalition can be incredibly powerful—and incredibly challenging. This category honors the hard work of coalitions that organized artfully to respond to unique opportunities or challenges in their states and communities, contributed to a policy win, and inspired others to take up similar efforts. Leaders and organizations in this category not only advanced or protected critical policy to impact students—they did it in partnership and across lines of difference.
See a complete list of 2024 nominees in all Eddies categories. Staff at PIE Network members and partner organizations, check your inbox for a link to vote in each category or log in and vote here. Questions? Email [email protected].
Best Collaboration Finalists
Educators for Excellence-Chicago, Kids First Chicago
Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems
SUMMARY
This policy helps Chicago Educators and Families to have more fair representation on the future Elected School Board so they can [make more equitable decisions for Chicago Public Schools’ students. Our policy and advocacy impacted 323,000+ CPS Students and 30,000+ CPS educators.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Since 1995, Chicago Public Schools has been governed by a 7-person mayoral appointed Board of Education. After many years of advocacy, in 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law that puts CPS on a pathway to have a fully elected Board.
The future elected leadership for CPS aims to bring board members who possess a deeper understanding of the needs of CPS families. They will make crucial decisions affecting the district’s 650+ schools and 323,000+ students, including how to support students with the greatest needs, how to accelerate academic recovery post-pandemic, and how to address the district’s severe fiscal and enrollment challenges.
The stakeholders who know students and families best are parents and teachers. That’s why E4E-Chicago and Kids First Chicago teamed up to make sure that the actual creation of an Elected School Board lived up to the lofty, equitable, long-overdue hopes of so many CPS families.
The maps for Elected School Board representation were scheduled to be finalized in June 2023. Kids First Chicago initially spearheaded efforts to bring transparency to the districting process, which had been largely overlooked, prompting the legislature to conduct deliberations openly rather than behind closed doors. When Illinois legislators introduced gerrymandered maps that threatened to establish an unrepresentative, predominantly White school board—contrasting sharply with CPS’ majority Black and Latine demographics—Kids First Chicago and E4E-Chi swiftly mobilized. Together, they united teachers and parents, drawing in a broader coalition to advocate for maps that truly reflect Chicago’s diverse student body. Their relentless campaign, marked by town halls, petition efforts, media coverage, and testimonies from the community, culminated in the spring of 2024. The result was legislative approval for a district map that aligns with the demographic realities of Chicago’s students. This legislation also established a Black Student Achievement Advisory Committee, a victory largely driven by E4E-Chicago’s year-long advocacy.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Urban districts like Chicago often see parents and teachers positioned as adversaries within the education system. Yet, the transition to a 21-member elected school board presents an opportunity to align these groups in creating a governance body that truly represents and serves the nation’s fourth-largest school system. The collaborative efforts of E4E Chicago and Kids First Chicago underscore the common goals of teachers and parents in pushing for greater equity and inclusiveness in education, starting with initiatives that ensure meaningful involvement from these essential stakeholders.
Together, E4E-Chi and K1C are championing two critical objectives for the future Elected
School Board in Chicago: Fair Racial Representation and Accessible Participation (including campaign spending limits, compensation for board members, and the inclusion of noncitizens). Our organizations are diligently working together to advocate for these changes through our coalition and various advocacy campaigns.
Each organization proposed new maps for the inaugural Chicago School Board, driven by the belief that innovative approaches were necessary to forge constitutionally sound and racially inclusive representation.
E4E-Chi supported a map designed by Illinois African Americans for Equitable Redistricting (IAAFER), while K1C developed several prototype maps supported by parents.
Despite these differing strategies, neither organization allowed these variations to hinder our united aim. We committed to collaboration, engaging openly with a diverse array of stakeholders and legislators to discuss various options. This commitment ensured the pursuit of equitable and inclusive representation. Ultimately, we rallied behind the proposal that gained the most support, consistently focusing on the shared principles that originally united our efforts.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
A Shared Commitment To Co-Designing. Kids First Chicago (K1C) and E4E-Chicago have consistently centered their core stakeholders in their advocacy, demonstrated through their collaborative efforts regarding Chicago’s transition to an elected school board over the past three years. This ‘co-design’ approach has not only shaped their individual campaigns but also unified their missions as they navigate the opportunities and challenges of this significant change.
Both organizations have been pivotal in raising awareness and ensuring the transition fulfills its promise of democratic representation. In 2021, K1C engaged nearly 300 parents in workshops to pinpoint their priorities for the future school board, with insights refined by K1C’s Parent Advisory Board emphasizing Fair Racial Representation. This focus on a board that mirrors the identities and experiences of the communities it serves has been critical. Together, K1C and E4E have tackled the essential task of redrawing district boundaries, extending the statutory deadline from July 1, 2023, to April 1, 2024, to amplify their advocacy impact.
Redistricting efforts in Chicago, often portrayed by the media as contentious battles between Black and Latine communities, inspired both K1C and E4E to adopt a united front. They mobilized parents and teachers across racial and ethnic lines, advocating for a district creation process that truly reflects the diversity of Chicago Public Schools.
Both organizations have steered significant aspects of the Elected School Board initiative: K1C, guided by its parent-led task force, and E4E-Chicago, through its ESB Teacher Action Team, have shaped legislative priorities and continually adapted their strategies. Their joint advocacy has included meetings with legislative leaders, testimonies at hearings, organization of town halls, and strategic media engagement to ensure that the voices of families and educators are heard.
E4E-Chicago’s push for equitable compensation and representation on the School Board since March 2023 has included discussions with state lawmakers, press conferences, and the gathering of hundreds of petition signatures from teachers, parents, and community members, advocating for meaningful changes in board member representation.
The dedication of K1C and E4E-Chicago to this cause has been steadfast. By collaboratively drafting, vetting, and submitting multiple map proposals and maintaining a proactive engagement strategy, they have uniquely shaped the electoral districting process. E4E-Chicago, in particular, has brought the classroom perspective directly to legislative arenas, ensuring that every effort reflects the shared values and goals of Chicago’s educators and families. Together, their efforts exemplify a powerful partnership focused on transformative educational governance.
RESOURCES
GeorgiaCAN, ExcelinEd, National School Choice Awareness Foundation, American Federation for Children (AFC)
Network Policy Pillar: Innovative Options
SUMMARY
This policy creates Georgia’s first education savings account program which will expand educational options to thousands of students attending low-performing schools. We believe, initially, it could benefit 20,000 students.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Education is the great equalizer. Unfortunately, many families have had limited access to high-quality education options due to socioeconomic status and zoning restrictions. This limited access threatens to further divide communities. However, the passage of the Georgia Promise Scholarship (ESA) is designed to give families who are zoned for the lowest performing schools (25%) in the state the opportunity to attend a learning environment that meets their individual needs.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
This policy is one the Georgia coalition of GeorgiaCAN, AFC-Georgia, Excel in Ed, NSCW, and other partners have worked on unsuccessfully for the past decade. In 2023, the bill came tantalizingly close but ultimately failed to advance by a handful of votes in the House, and it seemed stagnant and unlikely to pass entering 2024. However, the coalition worked tirelessly behind the scenes to overcome this gap, despite the composition of the legislature not changing between sessions.
All partners had to recommit to this strategy entering 2024 despite the odds seemingly being stacked against them. They knew that if they worked strategically with key policymakers they could bring the votes together, but it meant they had to continue prioritizing an issue that others thought was unlikely to be successful.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to an investment of up to $140 million, but the total is yet to be determined.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Education and awareness are core values of advocacy, and it is necessary to invest in programs that raise public awareness and embolden more advocates to push for policy change.
Additionally, with legislative issues, it’s important to secure support from key stakeholders early on and create momentum.
Never go down easy and accept defeat in legislative politics—keep hope that your time may come in the ever-evolving political dynamics.
DFER Massachusetts, ExcelinEd, National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), National Parents Union – Massachusetts (NPU-MA), Teach Plus Massachusetts, The Education Trust
Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations
SUMMARY
The coalition’s policy focuses on helping school districts by providing targeted funding for high-quality, evidence-based curricula, effective teacher training, and ongoing student screening to increase reading proficiency among elementary students. Our policy and advocacy will impact children age 3 through grade 3 across the state of Massachusetts (approximately 290,000 students in state funded preschool programs and public school students in grades K through 3).
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
In 2023, less than half of the Commonwealth’s elementary and middle school students met or exceeded expectations on the English language arts MCAS assessment. Among Massachusetts third grade students, only 44% met or exceeded expectations on the ELA MCAS, compared to 56% in 2019. Moreover, 75% of low-income students, 72% of Black students, 78% of Latino students, and 85% of children with disabilities did not meet grade level standards. Nearly half of Massachusetts public schools use low-quality literacy curricula, and only 17 out of 123 districts plan to change for the upcoming school year.
There is now a public acknowledgement that Massachusetts has a reading crisis. This initiative puts Massachusetts on the path to stronger early literacy through updated curriculum, professional development, ed prep reviews, resources, and availability of programming for districts and schools that need additional support. The end goal is reading comprehension by 3rd grade for all students – as well as the improved life outcomes that flow from early reading.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
The coalition’s approach utilized two key tactics—filing a bill with both the House and the Senate, An Act to Promote High Quality Literacy Instruction in All Massachusetts Schools, as well as pursuing a line item in the Governor’s FY25 budget. While the bill was successfully voted out of the Joint Committee on Education in March, its passage by both bodies looked questionable given significant pushback from the state’s largest teachers union as well as the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.
As a result, the coalition made a pivot to push for significant funding in Governor Maura Healey’s budget, holding meetings with her executive team as well as Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler and his staff. Because of these ongoing advocacy efforts, the governor not only publicly acknowledged the reading crisis in MA, but also put forth Literacy Launch, which is among her top educational priorities. The initiative, planned with an initial 5-year runway, would invest a total of $150 million ($30 million per year) in high-quality and evidence-based curriculum materials, professional development and training, and acceleration of review timelines for teacher education programs.
To address specific needs more efficiently, the coalition divided the group into smaller teams, and leveraged the expertise of members who had conducted relevant research, were current or former practitioners, and had experience lobbying legislators and navigating the budget process. Building strong relationships with stakeholders across the state was crucial; these connections ensured the coalition received invitations to key meetings and could request meetings with high-profile stakeholders.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to a proposed total of $150 million ($30 million per year) investment in in high-quality and evidence-based curriculum materials, professional development and training for educators, and acceleration of review timelines for teacher education programs.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Fellow Network members can learn from the coalition’s advocacy strategies and tactics by understanding the importance of structured and consistent collaboration. The coalition held biweekly meetings with a rolling agenda, sharing notes and tasks with all group members after each session to ensure everyone was aligned and informed.
Media involvement also played a significant role, with a three-part Boston Globe series, teacher op-eds, and the ‘Right to Read’ film amplifying the team’s message.
The coalition relied heavily on data, including test scores and parent surveys, to highlight the literacy crisis in Massachusetts. By leveraging the voices of parents and teachers and employing multiple strategies—such as advocating for both a literacy bill and a budget allocation for literacy—the coalition maintained a dynamic approach, continuously adding partners invested in the work to further strengthen their reach and impact.
RESOURCES
- Literacy bill: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S2653
- Literacy Launch initiative: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/literacy-launch-reading-success-from-age-3-through-grade-3
- Three part Boston Globe series: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/literacy/
- Teacher Op Ed: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/to-stay-ahead-massachusetts-needs-science-of-reading-legislation/
- Teacher Op Ed: https://www.dotnews.com/2024/literacy-and-beyond-need-science-based-instruction
ConnCAN, DFER Connecticut, Educators for Excellence-Connecticut, School + State Finance Project
Network Policy Pillar: Great Educators
SUMMARY
This policy helps to address teacher shortages to ensure every classroom has high-quality and diverse teachers so they can meet students’ needs. Our policy and advocacy impact is systemic — altering certification tiers and endorsements for existing teachers and building an infrastructure for ongoing modernization of the teacher pipeline. We therefore expect it to impact all of Connecticut’s 512,652 students.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
In 2023, Connecticut had over 1,300 teacher vacancies — with 60% of them clustered within Connecticut’s 36 highest-need districts. Moreover, only 11.2% of educators in Connecticut were teachers of color, even though the state’s student population is majority students of color. Our teacher preparation and certification systems were decades-old, antiquated, and not meeting students’ needs. We faced a resistant teachers’ union; a State Department of Education that had become used to old, familiar processes; and a legislature that was being pressured to address other competing priorities.
Our coalition, New Teacher Track, brought diverse partners together to identify the systemic barriers in the teacher preparation and certification systems, many of which disproportionately impact candidates of color. We needed to reduce costs for teacher candidates; ensure they graduated from preparation programs feeling classroom-ready; reduce arbitrary, bureaucratic barriers misaligned with modern-day workforce needs; and dismantle systemic impediments to educator diversity (such as certification exams that have not been linked to classroom effectiveness but have been shown to keep teachers of color out of the profession).
The resultant 2024 legislation was an enormous win for all Connecticut teachers and students, with both immediate and long-term implications.
- In the short-term, we made it easier to address shortages with the existing teaching population by: (a) eliminating a certification tier so new teachers obtain professional status more quickly (which we hope will increase retention rates); and (b) broadening grade-bands for teacher endorsements so it’s easier for building-level administrators to staff their classrooms with the educators they already have.
- In the long-term, we: (a) required the state, when it authorizes new alternative routes to certification, to give priority to pathways for paraeducators — who already work so closely with students — to become certified teachers; and (b) established a new, semi-autonomous state standards board, which will monitor teacher preparation and certification frameworks on an ongoing basis to keep these systems up-to-date and responsive to students’ needs.
At the same time, we engaged the state in an important and — until now — overlooked conversation about structures in preparation and certification processes that create racial barriers to the teaching profession. This is an issue the state will need to confront head-on in years to come, hopefully through the new standards board. Another issue that we will continue to work towards is establishing a meaningful process for ensuring quality control over systems of teacher preparation.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
This collaboration was powerful because we focused on bringing together organizations and leaders who had seen the need for this work but had lacked enough power on their own to affect change.
We aligned on a vision of systemic change and maintained focus. We met frequently — before, during, and after the legislative session — developing a culture of transparency and trust in each other’s strengths.
At each meeting, we kept our eye on the big goals and worked synergistically and methodically, taking it step-by-step. We also deliberately looked for specific avenues to put coalition members in the spotlight, whether through research, press statements, media hits, or legislative testimony.
We also valued and heard from stakeholders outside of the coalition itself so that we could elevate their needs and voices.
Our wonderful crew was comprised of several PIE Network members, but we also want to express our gratitude to our other partners, whose expertise and voices helped to get our shared win across the finish line: The Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity; the NAACP Connecticut State Conference; Special Education Equity for Kids of Connecticut; and Teach for America – Connecticut. The coalition is also indebted to the Center for Public Research & Leadership out of Columbia Law School, with whom we relied upon for their extensive research and excellent counsel. We could not have done it without you all and look forward to continued collaboration in the future!
We were open about what we each wanted to accomplish and what we could or could not get done in our first year of collaboration. This put each others’ motivations out in the open.
But most of all, we were effective because we were ultimately bound by each of our organizations’ individual mission to improve outcomes for teachers and students.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
We become more powerful when we establish a consistent message and speak with one voice. That sometimes takes compromise, but it builds relationships that can make an impact year-over-year and build true, systemic reform.
RESOURCES
Colorado Succeeds, Data Quality Campaign (DQC), DFER Colorado, Ready Colorado
Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems
SUMMARY
This policy helps Colorado’s students, families, educators, and policymakers to access data on the effectiveness of different workforce readiness programs so they can make more informed decisions and ensure students are prepared for future success. Our policy and advocacy impacts 5 million Coloradans.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
State’s investments in education and workforce are moot without the information to determine what worked. In order to have that information, every state needs a robust longitudinal data system governed by leaders who are held accountable for the way that data is accessed and used. This year, Colorado advocates worked with policymakers to pass governance legislation that will enhance workforce readiness through improved data access and use. With a cross-agency data governance structure—with a governing board that includes leaders from accountable state agencies side by side with members of the public—Colorado is ensuring transparency and diverse representation in its decisionmaking about data. Colorado’s law not only requires the creation of a robust longitudinal data system and mandates cross-agency data governance, but it also secures funding to maintain these systems, which is essential for their long-term success. Furthermore, the law supports workforce development strategies that are driven by robust and meaningful data, allowing for improved employment outcomes and equitable access to high-quality career pathways for all Coloradans.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Colorado Succeeds worked with organizations across the state—including Ready Colorado and DFER Colorado—and nationally to advance Colorado’s data ecosystem. They built a three-pronged strategy with a coalition of advocates including groups who are directly impacted by these systems, independent work, and close collaboration with the governor’s office that resulted in a major win of getting data governance passed. Not only did they build the support in state, but they reached out for help from the Data Quality Campaign when they knew DQC could provide support.
This effort was grounded in extensive stakeholder engagement and bipartisan collaboration. The measures in the bill were based on recommendations from the 1215 task force, a legislatively mandated group that met 15 times to discuss how to “support the equitable and sustainable expansion and alignment of programs that integrate secondary, postsecondary, and work-based learning opportunities in every region of the state.” Task force members included elected officials, CTE specialists, agency leaders, and advocates. Once the task force report came out, Colorado Succeeds built robust coalitions that ensured agency staff and advocates were bought into this effort. Ready Colorado worked to ensure there was Republican support for the bill by emphasizing the importance of understanding the return on investment of career readiness programs so that the state allocates its limited resources to programs demonstrating effectiveness. Additionally, the advocates coordinated to ensure the legislation included strong language about data privacy and security, which was important to conservative members. DFER Colorado worked alongside House and Senate leadership as well as the Governor’s office to continuously emphasize the significance of this data and the impact it could have on students. This included a Governor’s office set aside in the budget to ensure the bill would get funding.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to a $5 million investment in Coloradans.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
This work cannot be done alone. No matter how supportive the political climate or clear cut the policy ask, it’s important to bring together partners who can use their strengths to build and execute a winning campaign. To do so, the organizations engaged people who will be directly impacted to share their compelling perspectives about why this work matters. And advocates were able to leverage the task force recommendations successfully. The state had attempted to create an SLDS in the past unsuccessfully, but the 1215 recommendations presented an opportunity at a time when workforce is bipartisan and a hot issue. So, advocates focused messaging on education and workforce to speak to an issue that is top of mind for Coloradans.
RESOURCES
Best Collaboration Honorable Mentions
Education Resource Strategies, The Education Trust
Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems
SUMMARY
This policy helps education leaders and advocates build knowledge and capacity around equity in education so they can transform systems and structures to better serve all students—especially those with the highest learning needs and those furthest from opportunity.
The advocacy presented in our tools and publications has impacted more than 500,000 students across every single U.S. state, particularly in districts with high percentages of students from low-income communities.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Through the Alliance for Resource Equity, school board members, educators, advocacy groups, families, and education leaders from across the nation come together to improve education for all students. ARE’s work helps create better, more equitable student outcomes by helping schools and districts allocate resources to foster enriching student experiences.
Our regular, research-backed publications and toolkits help stakeholders examine not only how much funding a school or district gets, but also how well leaders spend that money to drive equitable outcomes. This critical work lays the foundation for policy changes, budgetary adjustments, and transformative structural improvements that ensure every student—no matter their background or identity—gets the education they deserve.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Since ERS and Ed Trust established ARE in 2020, we’ve evolved the partnership to leverage the individual strengths of each organization toward a common goal. Together, we’ve created and released diagnostic analysis assessments, tools to guide governmental advocacy efforts, case-making resources for advocates, and an interactive data experience that tells the story of resource equity in the U.S.
The collaboration has resulted in a sophisticated online destination through which learners, leaders, and advocates can access research-backed tools and resources to improve resource equity in their districts. These publications have been accessed nearly 75,000 times, with over 15,000 downloads of our tools and resources.
The Education Trust is an advocacy organization with a strong perspective on community engagement and equity, while ERS typically operates from a lens of district implementation, working within the local contexts of the communities we serve. Data is the throughline that connects our two organizations for a unified goal. By collecting and analyzing data, both groups collaborate to make informed, actionable resources for audiences at all levels of education reform processes. Together, we blend our strengths to create a suite of well-rounded, informed, and valuable resources for the education community.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
The ARE collaboration underscores the value of uniting organizations’ individual strengths in support of a shared mission. ERS brings significant analytical expertise and two decades of hands-on experience helping districts and states advance resource equity, while Ed Trust brings deep knowledge of community engagement, advocacy, and policy change.
Our collective experience working with districts has given us deep insight into what today’s leaders need—we know what the day-to-day struggles are and what it takes to make change happen. Together, building on our individual strengths, we’re able to blend advocates’ desires with district leaders’ practical realities, helping both drive transformative change.
Keeping this framing in mind, we’ve developed resources, such as PowerPoint templates and reports, that advocates can take straight into their work. When crafting these resources, we explicitly prioritized digestibility and clarity around the ten dimensions that make a true difference in students’ lives and futures.
RESOURCES
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, NewMexicoKidsCAN, Public Charter Schools of New Mexico, Teach Plus New Mexico
Network Policy Pillar: Innovative Options
SUMMARY
The #BestForMe-New Mexico campaign helps citizens in New Mexico to learn and know about public charter schools, and the students these unique public schools serve, so they can be informed on the public educational opportunities in their community and know the facts about charter schools.
Our policy and advocacy impacted 4,600+ students and their families. This is the number of new students in charter schools over the past five years.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
This win matters because the general public is still confused about what charter schools are and who they serve. By creating and sustaining storytelling campaigns focused on real students, parents, and teachers, we can increase awareness, knowledge and positive sentiment for charter schools. Post-campaign polling shows gains in knowledge of charter schools. Most significantly, New Mexicans answering “never” to the question of “Are charter schools public schools?” went down by six percentage points from pre-campaign polling (21% to 15%). Knowledge about who charter schools serve went up by two percentage points, from 13% in pre-polling to 15% in post-polling. Seventy-seven percent of New Mexicans agree that there should be more public schools options for students.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Building on the success of the 2022 #BestForMe campaign run in New Mexico, the National Alliance, in partnership with Public Charter Schools of New Mexico, developed a new version of the campaign amplifying the voices of educators. In November 2023, we filmed more than 15 school leaders and teachers in Gallup, Taos, and Sante Fe. We placed a key focus on rural and tribal schools to share the benefits of these schools and how they are impacting and connected to their community. These educators shared why charter schools are #BestForMe and their communities. The campaign ran January 15-February 14, 2024 targeting Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and Gallop, and TV spots ran during Good Morning America 30 times during the campaign. The ads also ran on Hulu, Meta, and YouTube. The ads across all platforms earned 2.2 million impressions.
As part of a five-year strategic plan written and in the process of being executed by the coalition, the organizations agreed that a strong, sustained advertising campaign to tell the stories of charter schools was a needed tactic to elevate knowledge and sentiment.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Network members can learn about how a sustained and diverse storytelling campaign can provide air cover for advocacy and legislative activities as well as raise positive knowledge and awareness of charter schools.
RESOURCES
The Education Trust-Midwest
Non-Network partners: Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity
Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems
SUMMARY
This collaboration helped ensure that English Learners have far greater funding and resources so they can reach their full academic potential and recover from the COVID-19 learning losses, which had the greatest impact on students who are most underserved.
Our policy and advocacy on this issue benefited nearly 99,000 English Learners in Michigan.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Michigan has long underinvested in the unique needs of English Learners, contributing to wide opportunity gaps for these students.
Thanks to the efforts of Ed Trust-Midwest along with a growing network of allies from the Latino/a and Arab American communities, we secured a historic change in the way Michigan approaches funding for English Learners in FY 2024, creating a new weighted funding system and securing historic school funding increases for English Learners to support their needs.
Building upon those wins, Ed Trust-Midwest collaborated with new partners to secure a 26% increase in funding for English Learners in FY 2025, for a total of $50.1 million. This marks the second straight budget to make historic increases in funding for these students – resulting in a nearly 90% – or $24 million – increase in English Learner funding since FY 2023.
Securing additional funding for English Learners will set our state on a path to fully address their additional needs so they can reach their full academic potential.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
This year Ed Trust-Midwest expanded our coalition and built a new table of community leaders, for which we serve as a backbone organization, focused singularly on increasing education funding for English Learners. This effort led to a 26% increase in funding for English Learners – a historic increase amid a contracted budget in which overall spending declined by 3.8%. The partnership also helped build Ed Trust-Midwest’s influence and enabled us to be seen as a leader in advocating for English Learners.
Ed Trust-Midwest seeded the work for this campaign over the past several years, augmenting efforts in the past two years with new research and analyses on the needs of English Learners In addition to conducting new research analyses on the needs of English Learners, including through the following publications:
- Brown’s Hope: Fulfilling the Promise in Michigan
- Eliminating the Opportunity Gaps: Creating a Truly Fair and Equitable Funding System
Among other findings, we highlighted the fact that, in FY 2023, Michigan spent a total of only $26.5 million on English Learners. A truly equitable funding formula for English Learners, proposed by the Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity (MPEO) would require the state to invest approximately $500 million dollars, leaving a gap of $474.4 million dollars between what Michigan was spending and what we need to spend to fully meet English Learners’ needs. The historic funding increases of the past two years represent an important first step in closing the funding gap for English Learners.
Ed Trust-Midwest has also been building the knowledge of coalition members in the MPEO coalition on the needs of English Learners for the past two years. We have amplified those efforts in the past year through knowledge-building sessions during our bi-weekly convenings. Additionally, through regularly convenings of a new table of Latino/a and Arab leaders, Ed Trust-Midwest shared key information and research on the needs of English Learners, helping to empower advocates to use their networks and influence to shape policy goals.
Ed Trust-Midwest also partnered with the leaders of these diverse organizations to publish editorials, create talking points and fact sheets, speak to legislators, and prepare several advocacy alerts for each organization’s membership. We helped place several prominent op-eds in major media outlets on the needs of English Learners.
The needs of English Learners were also a key focus of a successful Advocacy Day in Lansing, Michigan —our capitol. Ed Trust-Midwest acted as the backbone for the Advocacy Day, assembling 30+ leaders of our equity-focused coalition who met with over 30 policymakers and staff.
Spreading this information beyond the tables we convened helped focus the policy objectives and amplify diverse voices to stakeholders, policymakers and the public.
The key to this success was made up in the diversity and influence of those we convened. At the table were longtime leaders in the Latino/a community who had strong political connections, as well key leaders in the Arab American community, as well as organizations that provide support for refugees and immigrants, business leaders and civil rights leaders.
Ed Trust-Midwest leveraged our relationships with community and nonprofit leaders, stakeholders and advocates who support the needs of English Learners – and worked with policymakers on both side of the aisle to build knowledge, as well as business and civil rights leaders and others interested in all students’ success – to secure historic funding wins again for English Learners, building on top of last year. We also engaged media to shape the narrative through interviews and opinions pieces in major outlets.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Over the past two budget cycles funding for English Learners increased by 90% marking the first significant increase in funding for these students in at least a decade. In total Our advocacy contributed to a $50 million investment in funding for English Learners.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Network members can learn about Ed Trust-Midwest’s multi-pronged advocacy and knowledge-building strategy to lift up, amplify and leverage diverse voices to shape and influence historic changes in policy. By building a new table of partners, we opened new doors with policymakers and helped to center conversations on the needs of diverse communities through their own voices and lived experience. PIE Network members can also learn about our multi-faceted knowledge-building strategies to close opportunity gaps for English Learners.
RESOURCES
- Opinion: Michigan is failing our English learner students, and that has to change: https://www.bridgemi.com/guest-commentary/opinion-michigan-failing-our-english-learner-students-and-has-change
- FY 2025 School Aid Budget Builds Upon Historic School Funding Progress for Students who are Underserved: https://midwest.edtrust.org/press-release/fy-2025-school-aid-budget-builds-upon-historic-school-funding-progress-for-students-who-are-underserved/
- Advocates Urge State Leaders to Double Funding for English Learners: https://midwest.edtrust.org/press-release/advocates-urge-state-leaders-to-double-funding-for-english-learners/
- Contact Your Legislator to Support Students with the Greatest Needs: https://midwest.edtrust.org/resource/contact-your-legislator-to-support-students-with-the-greatest-needs/
- Testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on PreK-12: https://midwest.edtrust.org/resource/testimony-before-the-senate-appropriations-subcommittee-on-prek-12/
- Educational Recovery and Acceleration through Equitable Funding: How Michigan’s Budget Can Improve Outcomes for all Students: https://midwest.edtrust.org/resource/educational-recovery-and-acceleration-through-equitable-funding-how-michigans-budget-can-improve-outcomes-for-all-students/
- FY 2025 School Aid Budget: https://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa/Departments/BudgetBill/BBk12_web.pdf
- FY 2025 School Aid Budget Analysis: https://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa/Departments/HighlightSheet/HIk12_web.pdf
JerseyCAN, National Parents Union (NPU), New Jersey Children’s Foundation
Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations
SUMMARY
The policy impacts is most evident K-3 students in particular but all students as they are more equipped to learn and excel as they advance in New Jersey schools. Right now 54% of 4th graders are not proficient in reading which speaks to the great urgency of this effort. The legislation upskills all early grades teachers in teaching literacy as well as injects resources into districts for universal screening for literacy. (The legislation has passed both chambers and will be signed by the Governor soon)
350,000 students in the early grades will feel and see the impact most immediately.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
As stated earlier, 54% of students in fourth grade are not reading at grade level which will have devastating impact on their personal futures as well as the future of the New Jersey economy.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
The coalition had 22 members. The fact that we had different working groups allowed us to tailor the expertise of each interest group. – working groups were a) landscape leadership and monitoring, b) parents, engagement and education, and c) educator preparation and support. The working groups enabled targeted outreach and legislators had little choice but to pay heed with such a large and diverse coalition focused on a single issue.
Early on coalition members met to agree on the policies so the goals were clear. We also had intimate conversations about our own work on literacy and how literacy impacted us and our families personally —which bonded us on how critical this mission really was.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
$5.25m for literacy screening that will be continued and possibly increased.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
- Started early
- Engaged organizations even if they weren’t an official part of our existing coalition
- Effectively found common ground as allies before the advocacy began
- Got ahead of potential opponents
- Engaged key legislative leaders to carry the legislation
myFutureNC
Non-Network partners: North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority
Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems
SUMMARY
This policy helps North Carolina students experiencing difficulty completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by providing targeted support to assist with FAFSA completion, providing access to crucial financial aid to help them attain their dream of being able to afford higher education.
Our policy and advocacy impacts more than 40,000 students over a period of just a few months.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Numerous problems with the launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA caused a drastic drop in FAFSA completions as well as widespread delays in awarding financial aid. As of April 2024, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) estimated that only 30.8% of North Carolina high school seniors had completed a FAFSA—a decline of almost 29% year-over-year. Considering that 88% of students who complete a FAFSA typically enroll in a postsecondary institution while fewer than half of those who do not complete a FAFSA pursue higher education right out of high school, such a precipitous decline in FAFSA completion in North Carolina could mean tens of thousands fewer students pursuing higher education and result in long-lasting detrimental impacts on these individuals and their families as well as North Carolina’s colleges and universities and the state’s economic vitality.
Through collaborative effort, the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), supported by myFutureNC and numerous other partners, was able to 1) extend the priority filing date for most postsecondary students in North Carolina by 10 weeks and 2) identify and secure $500,000 in additional funding to be deployed over a roughly three-month period in order to dramatically increase FAFSA completions and corresponding postsecondary enrollment throughout North Carolina. This enabled the hiring of 89 counselors and advisors working in partnership across 52 colleges and universities to conduct more than 1,000 student contact activities per day. As a result, North Carolina’s FAFSA completion rate increased nearly 14% in just seven weeks’ time, trending in the direction of being among the top half of states for FAFSA completion by the end of the summer.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
The key to this collaboration was being able to bring the right people to the table. Having individuals with the authority to make things happen quickly within state government and the support of philanthropists who generously provided additional support was pivotal to leveraging state support for the important work of providing interventions via counselors/advisors with real-time tracking, utilizing student contact information from established inventories, and making an extraordinary amount of daily contacts with students as well as current college students and walk-ins at 52 colleges and universities.
In addition, the prescient efforts of multiple North Carolina stakeholders to create the Next NC Scholarship—the application for which is the FAFSA and which combines state aid for public colleges and universities with federal Pell Grant funds to guarantee North Carolina resident students whose household income is $80,000 or less and whose federal need calculation is $7,500 or less receives a minimum of $5,000/year to attend a University of North Carolina institution and a minimum of $3,000 to attend a North Carolina community college (making community college free or nearly free in many instances)—provided a critical infrastructure that underscored the message of the partners in this collaborative work.
Coordination, supported through regular meetings featuring robust idea sharing where everyone present was expected to contribute and came prepared to do so, was the driving force behind this coalitional work. Through such open and transparent communication, If there was ever something that any one party felt they were not positioned to do effectively, the partners in this work quickly learned that it was likely other partners could support them to ensure that the work which was needed was able to be done successfully. The end result included billboard messaging (provided free of charge) and professionally designed e-blasts, mailers, and toolkits provided to school superintendents and school district communications teams, as well as support for school counselors delivered via a statewide Financial Aid Summit at which more than 300 school counselor were invited to learn from national experts and from one another about best practices for navigating a difficult moment in time.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to an additional $500,000 over a roughly three-month period, representative of a total investment of $1.5 million, to improve support for North Carolinians pursuing higher education..
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Moving at “government speed” does not have to be a barrier. Echoing lessons learned from other societal crises in recent memory, very rapid responsive action is possible when the urgency of the moment is clearly communicated. There is no substitute for having people of vision in leadership positions to instill a sense of urgency, to remove unnecessary barriers, and to motivate everyone to pull in the same direction in order to find a way to “yes.” Where there is a will, there is a way!
RESOURCES
- Policy Change to Infuse $500,000 to Support FAFSA Completion Outreach Efforts (https://webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewDocSiteFile/88147)
- Sample Billboard (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GictWkejGe6lNmI26yMR-RocFeaVkfcX/view)
- Financial Aid Summit Overview (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ANYByhjxRzZUQi06wolhQRf_wV-QHvuz/view)
- North Carolina FAFSA Tracker (https://www.cfnc.org/fafsa-tools/fafsa-tracker/)
Great MN Schools
Non-Network partners: Minnesota Literacy Coalition
Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations
SUMMARY
This coalition helps connect literacy champions across the state to shape a future where every child in Minnesota experiences literacy success grounded in the Science of Reading, and our coalition members were instrumental in the passing of the Read Act.
The READ act impacts over 800,000 students across Minnesota.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
The Minnesota Literacy Coalition was influential in the passing of the Read Act in 2023, a historic $90 million investment in literacy in Minnesota. Even though Minnesota has one of the largest literacy caps in the country, 80% of districts don’t use science of reading aligned curriculum. The Read Act was a critical shift in education, mandating that all teachers be trained in the science of reading, incentivizing the adoption of science of reading aligned curricula, and making sure all students are screened so they get the support in literacy they need.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
The Minnesota Literacy Coalition brings schools, state and national organizations, and families together so that all relevant voices are heard. We have committed organizations like Great MN schools – co-chair and backbone organization – supporting the coalition and broad buy-in from influential entities like the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minneapolis Public School District to make a real impact.
Thanks to our combined efforts, over 2,000 letters, postcards, online calls to action, and phone calls went out in support of the Read Act. And the coalition is not losing steam. A year in, we are still adding new members and working towards strong implementation of The Read Act.
The Minnesota Literacy Coalition prioritizes relationship building in order to have a seat at the table. Members of our ecosystem action team were actively talking to representatives in order to represent our vision. Having a strong presence in the room made it so we had power in numbers when dissenting voices were present.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Alongside others, our advocacy efforts in support of the passing of the Read Act contributed to $90 million in 2023 + $37 million in 2024 investment in statewide literacy.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
The Minnesota Literacy Coalition was very intentionally built collaboratively. A steering committee of 20 organizations already deeply involved in literacy efforts was developed to form the goals and vision of the coalition. By recognizing and acknowledging that so many passionate people and organizations have already dedicated their time to this work for years, and inviting them in to learn and grow together was key.
This also helps members of the coalition feel a sense of ownership and belonging that translated to our advocacy efforts. For example, hosting MN Literacy Day at the capitol was a pivotal moment towards passing the Read Act. In its second year, the event doubled in size and became 150% more diverse, and twice as many legislators attended.
Teach Plus Arkansas, TNTP
Network Policy Pillar: Great Educators
SUMMARY
This policy helps Arkansas-based advocates, including practitioners, higher education stakeholders, nonprofit leaders, and private sector stakeholders, to continue their work in advocating for educator diversity so they can strengthen student outcomes for all Arkansas’ young people and strengthen the state’s economic prosperity by enhancing the quality, quantity, and diversity of Arkansas’s educator workforce.
Our policy and advocacy impacted 475,207 (note: our collaboration is focused on teachers and school leaders. Our collaboration has the potential to impact all public-school students across Arkansas).
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Recruiting and retaining a racially/ethnically diverse teacher and school leader workforce is essential to advancing a myriad of student outcomes, from academic to social and emotional. While the research and evidence behind this is clear, recent executive-level action in Arkansas has made focusing on racial diversity in K-12 systems increasingly more challenging. The One Million Teachers of Color Campaign’s work in Arkansas co-led by TNTP and Teach Plus Arkansas, recognized that convening champions of educator diversity and disseminating best practices, while bolstering the narrative of the importance of this issue, is necessary to support the work of state-based advocates who are advancing this work in districts across the state. For over a year, TNTP and Teach Plus AR brought together the 1MTOC Arkansas State Coalition, comprised of leading state-based organizations and voices from across sectors to coalesce around our shared goal of advancing educator diversity in the state. This culminated into the Pathways to Progress: Strengthening Educator Diversity for Economic Growth and Student Success convening that TNTP, Teach Plus AR, and the 1MTOC AR State Coalition hosted on June 26 in Little Rock.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
TNTP and Teach Plus AR partnered together in powerful and meaningful ways, primarily by remaining dedicated to the power of coalition and proximate voices to inform every major decision of the convening. The expertise of teachers and school leaders was central to the State Coalition meetings and to the convening the coalition hosted in June, and state-based advocates through the 1MTOC Arkansas State Coalition were intentionally engaged on a monthly basis.
The political climate in Arkansas as it pertains to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion is fraught. TNTP and Teach Plus AR brought together state-based advocates who believe in the evidence and research backing the importance of educator diversity, but the ways those state-based stakeholders move their individual work forward vary, from those who feel comfortable criticizing the system to those who believe more change can be made by working within the system. Regardless of these lines of difference, the 1MTOC Arkansas State Table moved forward by clearly defining its shared goal, to disseminate best practices in the state to support educator diversity, convene champions of the issue, and bolster the public narrative based on evidence of why educator diversity benefits all young people in Arkansas and ultimately contributes to the state’s economic growth.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Valuing the expertise of proximate voices from a cross section of sectors and communities by listening attentively to their concerns, potential solutions, and other perspectives to bring into the shared work (particularly student voices, whenever possible); identifying specific, discrete goals to ensure clear coalition alignment; demonstrate competence and expertise through high-quality research, analysis and commitment to a solutions-oriented approach.
RESOURCES
- Pathways to Progress convening agenda: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yuxug8DGDQlBuEAW6lLyntNTB2dZiuS3/view?usp=sharing
- Resources shared during convening: TNTP’s Moving Up report: https://tntp.org/publication/moving-up/
- Teach Plus AR’s educator effectiveness policy memo to the Arkansas Board of Education and LEARNS Educator Effectiveness Rulemaking Group: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17BUC5Cj8b3KvzLzjm8x4DnKHzW9zjalT/view?usp=sharing
- Teach Plus and CBED’s Seeing Myself report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G2_ULaGb9q3t1WMcIQed08Y2_J1VyxHX/view?usp=sharing
ExcelinEd
Non-Network partners: Louisiana Kids Matter, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, and the Pelican Institute
Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations
SUMMARY
During this legislative session, ExcelinEd in Action and partners Louisiana Kids Matter, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and the Pelican Institute successfully defeated multiple bills that would have weakened school accountability by watering down high school graduation requirements.
High school graduation requirements came under threat last year when the previous Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) created a sweeping appeals process to allow students to graduate without taking the state’s exit exam. On his first day in office, newly elected Governor Jeff Landry issued an executive overturning BESE’s appeals process. The bills introduced in the 2024 session would have allowed any student to earn a high school diploma by earning a “silver” on the ACT WorkKeys exam, in lieu of passing the state’s rigorous high school exit exam.
This policy helps ensure high school students are taking rigorous assessments so they are ready for college and career by the time they graduate high school.
Concurrently, our coalition—together with ExcelinEd—has been working with the new BESE to strengthen school accountability through a new, robust accountability model, ensuring that every student in Louisiana can grow, achieve and thrive. The new accountability model, now approved by BESE, creates a robust, simple and transparent process for measuring school performance based on the percentage of students growing academically, reaching proficiency and ready to thrive after high school. The successful defeat of these bills demonstrated that education advocates and business leaders can work together to uphold high expectations in education.
Defeat of these two harmful bills (HB931, HB258) ensures that the high school diploma for more than 85,000 students each year will continue to demonstrate that they have met rigorous assessment requirements that accurately represent their proficiency and readiness for postsecondary success.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
While many factors contribute to raising student achievement, experience shows we see results when we hold schools accountable for student learning. Lowering the bar for students makes it harder for them to succeed beyond high school.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Unlike other campaigns where we had the opportunity to develop a comprehensive strategy upfront, the work to uphold high expectations for students required quick thinking, efficient coordination and effective collaboration as legislative actions unfolded. Our coalition worked quickly and strategically to implement convincing strategies and messaging via letters of opposition and committee testimony.
Our coalition was unique in that it included partners outside of the education advocacy space. By working with organizations across different fields, we were able to mount a defense that incorporated a broad range of perspectives and strategies.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Our campaign was responsive in nature and required quick and strategic thinking to successfully strike down harmful bills as legislative actions unfolded.
RESOURCES
DFER Texas, Educate Texas, Teach Plus Texas, The Education Trust in Texas
Network Policy Pillar: Great Educators
SUMMARY
This policy helps aspiring teachers to receive improved hands-on training and support – regardless of their preparation route – so they can more effectively educate students earlier in their careers and stay in the profession.
Our policy and advocacy impacted approximately 550,000, or 1 in 10, Texas students who are educated by a first-year teacher every school year. Students from low-income backgrounds and students of color are most likely to be taught by novice teachers and can least afford to lose precious learning time to under-prepared educators.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
While teacher vacancies have received significant attention, Texas schools are employing more teachers than ever. However, nearly the entire statewide demand for new teachers has been to offset attrition, especially among beginning teachers. School districts have increasingly turned to unprepared and uncertified teachers to meet this demand, despite data showing that only 37% of them remain in the classroom five years later. As a result, approximately 1 in 10 Texas students were educated by a first-year teacher last year.
In April 2024, following a year-long regulatory process, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) made Texas the first state to recognize residency completers by awarding a certification status that signals their more rigorous preparation to district employers and future educators. Along with the creation of this “Enhanced Standard Certificate” for candidates who complete a high-quality, yearlong teacher residency route, elected SBOE members approved a number of changes recommended by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the appointed State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to better prepare aspiring Texas teachers regardless of their pathway into the profession, including increased observation, feedback and coursework aligned to field-based experiences.
Yearlong residency programs have grown across Texas in recent years as a result of strong partnerships between innovative educator preparation programs (EPPs) and school districts. These programs provide aspiring teachers with hands-on, practical experience under the guidance of experienced mentor teachers, ensuring they are well-prepared to enter the classroom as the teacher of cord. Data shows that 90% percent of completers return for a third year of teaching in Texas and are more likely to complete their residency and work in schools with higher percentages of students from low-income backgrounds and students of color.
This regulatory win is part of a broader effort to increase access to and affordability of high-quality pathways into the teaching profession – like residency routes – to ensure every student has a well-prepared and effective teacher. Codifying the residency route and certification enables consistent statewide implementation and data collection with which to measure and continuously improve impact, while signaling political support for future legislative action and appropriations.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
This collaboration was especially powerful as an example of strategic advocacy that required a pivot from legislative to regulatory action. Following a legislative session that did not result in immediate policy wins to strengthen the state’s teacher workforce, we pivoted our collective advocacy efforts to secure this regulatory win to advance student-centered policy change and maintain much-needed political momentum to further our goals in the next legislative session.
The partners involved in this collaboration contributed their distinct positionality, capacities, and relationships throughout a lengthy regulatory process that involved multiple state entities: the Texas Education Agency, an appointed State Board for Educator Certification, and an elected, partisan 15-member State Board of Education. Partners delegated tasks based on their respective strengths to share data and research, develop tools to educate and mobilize multiple stakeholder groups (aspiring and current teachers, EPP and district leaders), and coordinate engagement between advocates and agency staff and policymakers.
Examples of partner contributions include:
Teach Plus Texas leveraged the input of their statewide network of teachers and representation on the agency’s Educator Preparation Stakeholder Group to provide direct and ongoing educator perspectives. They also activated their network to provide testimony to SBEC and SBOE.
Educate Texas leveraged their deep policy expertise and agency relationships to coordinate updates and opportunities for input between stakeholders and TEA staff. They curated online tools to disseminate data-driven messaging, as well as assign and monitor touchpoints with SBOE members.
EdTrust in Texas leveraged their relationships with conveners and intermediaries to present relevant data and policy context to EPP leaders. They also disseminated a series of video testimonials featuring residency completers and district leaders and mobilized members of their Educator Advisory Council to advocate privately and through public testimony with SBOE members.
DFER Texas leveraged their relationships with SBOE members to secure meetings, deliver time-sensitive information, and lobby. This was especially valuable as SBOE members are unpaid, have no staff, and can therefore be difficult to engage. Because the SBOE held the deciding vote to either veto or take no action on this months-long regulatory process, their swift and strategic engagement was instrumental to making this policy a reality.
Because these policy changes were intentionally designed to impact multiple teacher preparation models, including university-based programs and alternative certification programs operating within various contexts, it was essential to listen for and address their feedback throughout the process. We frequently relayed feedback to agency staff, highlighted mutual benefits to build buy-in across these stakeholder groups, developed and delivered a coherent data-driven narrative (including data from multiple sources supporting the efficacy of residency programs), and amplified the voices of student-centered EPP and district champions from a variety of urban, suburban and rural communities.
Along with consistent data-driven messaging, we also leveraged our organizations’ respective credibility and relationships to coordinate engagement with members of an increasingly partisan State Board of Education. As a result, we won approval by securing votes across party lines first within the relevant committee and subsequently among the full board.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy did not directly result in but signaled timely political support for an estimated $92 million investment in teacher residency partnerships between school districts and educator preparation programs.
Despite passing with bipartisan support in both chambers, legislation that would have established the Texas Teacher Residency Partnership Program and Allotment failed to get across the finish line during the last legislative session. The fiscal note for this bill would have appropriated $2 million annually for technical assistance and approximately $90 million over four years to provide compensation to both residents, cooperating teachers, and partner preparation programs. The allotment was structured to include funding weights for high needs and rural school districts, as well as residents pursuing certification in special education or bilingual education.
The approved regulatory changes, particularly those codifying teacher residency, maintain urgency and momentum for legislative action in the next legislative session.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
First, the value of long-term coalition work is hard to overstate. Each of the Network members involved in this specific collaboration have developed continuity and trust by working together over several years. We know our respective strengths, admit our weaknesses, share information openly, and are more concerned with getting the win than getting credit.
Second, the voices of educators are powerful – far more powerful than those of advocacy staff. While each Network member can and does activate their staff, we first seek to support and elevate the expertise and experiences of those directly impacted by proposed policy changes – in this case, school-based personnel, aspiring and current classroom teachers, EPP practitioners, and district leaders.
Third, effective advocacy targets multiple policymaking entities and levers. When Network members didn’t immediately accomplish our policy goals through the legislative process, we pivoted to focus our advocacy efforts on the regulatory process. This required us to leverage or, in some cases develop, relationships with agency staff and other appointed and elected bodies. Had we not secured this regulatory win, our collective ability to advance key legislative priorities would have lost critical urgency and momentum.
RESOURCES
- Residency testimonial videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC2NpDkPtMJOinKl0tJzqBEOtbJEydWV_&si=sZSoALTRFG_3XVJt
- Press release: https://edtrust.org/press-release/state-board-of-education-approves-new-teacher-preparation-standards/
- Shared talking points (share only within Network): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jMCbfMsLQq9hIN7h4f8yII7OR8F-4xVQtNJeI0rqB74/edit?usp=sharing
- Background data slides (share only within Network): https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WXrEBumkWx9bjBg2dccPcN7Oa9m4AymefV_5zIY4c9s/edit?usp=sharing
- Rule Text Overview and Reading Guide: https://rb.gy/jp3212
DC Charter School Alliance, EmpowerK12, Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE)
Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations
SUMMARY
This policy helps all students, especially those furthest from opportunity, to receive an equitable and high-quality education through improved accountability and data transparency – a conversation driven by parents and school leaders – so they can achieve significant academic gains and close performance gaps, ultimately reaching their full potential.
Our policy and advocacy impacted more than 101,000 students.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Over the past five years, DC’s education system has continued to rebound from the impact of COVID. While some states have put testing and real accountability on the chopping block, DC implemented a community-driven approach for conducting assessments and approved an updated statewide report card for both sectors and a new performance management framework for public charter schools.
Empowerk12, the DC Charter Alliance, and PAVE are working together to make DC the first urban city to close performance gaps this decade by advocating for all students, especially those furthest from opportunity. We seek to do this by making sure that data, school leaders, and parents are driving the conversation about what information should be included in the state report card and anchoring accountability as an important part of understanding how our system is doing. Our organizations worked to bring what we were hearing from each of our constituents to the forefront.
PAVE Parent leaders wrote a letter to DC’s State Board of Education (SBOE) (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/pgvupnnknijh9an2t5p4f/APjeC0XKctiIehAgnqtS6kQ?rlkey=8fm1eino6kspjcdvils2lo50m&st=z06jmbwt&dl=0) to encourage them to prioritize academics as they cast their vote to approve the new state report card. The letter built on the roundtable conversations PAVE hosted over the years to center what parents want and need regarding academic data. EmpowerK12 offered strong testimony about the importance and implications of equity-centered weights to the framework.
Building on this work, the DC Charter School Alliance convened school leaders and stakeholders from a variety of perspectives to foster relationships and share why it was important to work together with the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) on their new accountability framework, ASPIRE, and ensure it would avoid duplicative/burdensome work, give schools the structures and support they need, and maintain high expectations for supporting students – especially students with the greatest needs. Over the course of the year, the DC Charter School Alliance hosted months of meetings with the PCSB, data leads, and other community stakeholders like banks (as school financing is impacted by accountability outcomes) and funders. They organized school leaders to write a powerful joint letter signed by 67 Local Education Agency (LEA) leaders. EmpowerK12 provided detailed data analysis and examples of how the initial proposal would impact schools and their data teams. At the public PCSB meeting ahead of the vote, 25 school leaders, EmpowerK12, and five PAVE Parent Leaders testified with a unified message.
Because of the powerful stories and advocacy from all aspects of the system – parents, school leaders, data and research experts, and more – both SBOE and PSCB responded with changes in policy: SBOE approved an updated report card that prioritizes academics and maintains an emphasis on both academic growth and proficiency. This report card rejects the calls for deprioritizing information about academics and allows us to continue to be honest about where our schools are and how well they are closing the achievement gap.
PCSB adopted key changes to the ASPIRE framework, including adjustments to formula weights and a pilot year to give schools time to prepare with technical assistance from PCSB.
This focus on data, accountability, and continuous improvement has fostered major improvement in student outcomes:
Over the last year since winter 22-23, a cohort of continuously enrolled DC students in grades 4-8 scored academic gains equivalent to two additional months of learning in reading and one additional month in math, more than was expected at the start of the cohort
Early childhood reading proficiency rates in kindergarten through second grade posted the largest year-over-year gains since the pandemic this winter, improving eight percentage points and are on pace to return to pre-pandemic performance levels by this time next year.
With this commitment to accountability and decision-making that is driven by schools and communities together, DC has laid a strong foundation for expanding what works and achieving our ultimate goal: gains for kids. We have a thoughtful plan in place, and the next step is continued collaboration with both the DC community and national partners on how to refine and improve this work.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Empowerk12, DC Charter Alliance, and PAVE leveraged their unique networks to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders – including parents, school leaders, data and research experts, national partners, and more – around a common goal: academic gains for kids.
The DC Charter School Alliance engaged national partners for guidance, in particular the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. They also engaged seemingly outside entities like banks, as schools’ performance on accountability systems impacts their financing; and funders who want to make sure the schools that they have invested in are driving to meet high expectations in a fair and equitable accountability system. Regular meetings with school data leads and research partners were held to collaboratively paint a clear picture of the impacts of the proposed updates to the framework and highlight the areas for improvement.
EmpowerK12’s exceptional data analysis and examples of how the initial proposal would impact schools and their data teams were very influential and amplified the message from school leaders. PAVE parents and DC school leaders were particularly crucial in driving the conversation on essential academic data and reinforcing accountability by ensuring that the policies were grounded in real-life experiences.
These coordinated efforts convinced key policymakers. Moreover, the emphasis on data-driven decision-making and commitment to iterative progress created a culture of accountability and continuous improvement, ensuring that the policy was adapted for maximum impact.
With a diverse coalition that brings together varied perspectives and expertise to the table, it was important to begin conversations early and make space for continued relationship building and engagement to ensure all parties were heard throughout the process. Across our three organizations, we facilitated open forums and collaborative meetings where parents, school leaders, data experts, and policymakers could share their insights and concerns. Data experts and researchers helped ensure that the resulting policies were grounded in practical and measurable practices, and parents and school leaders emphasized what was needed to make sure the information would be useful and reflects their lived experiences.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Assembling a broad, diverse coalition of stakeholders with varied networks, expertise, and perspectives not only provided a well-rounded view but also helped secure broader support for the policy. Additionally, leveraging solid data for impact helped us craft policies that were both evidence-based and adaptable to the changing needs of students and schools.
DFER Massachusetts, Educators for Excellence-Boston, Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, National Parents Union (NPU), Teach Plus Massachusetts
Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems
SUMMARY
This policy helps students to access college and career counseling and planning tools, programs that allow them to earn college credit and credentials aligned with workforce opportunities, and career vocational technical education and work-based learning so they can graduate high school fully prepared for and with a jump start on college and career.
Our policy work and advocacy impacted 6,533 high school students in Massachusetts who were able to enroll over the last two years, or will enroll this fall, in a state designated pathways program due to the expansion our efforts produced. This represents an increase of over 35% in the number of students served since the coalition was formed.
When we launched the Coalition in the fall of 2022 there were 6,295 students enrolled in Early College programs across the state and 5,672 students enrolled in Innovation Career Pathways programs (total=11,967). In the 2023/2024 school year there were 8237 students in Early College and 7167 in Innovation Career Pathways (total=15,404.)
For the coming school year, the state projects 10,000 students will be enrolled in Early College and approximately 8,500 in ICP. (total=18,500).
Our advocacy has also worked to continue efforts to collect data, improve the quality of all pathways programs, and encourage the kind of career theming and sequencing necessary to ensure college and career success as measured by defined metrics and post-graduate outcomes.
Additionally, our advocacy directly led to the state adopting the P-TECH model of Early College, a six year high school model in which students are able to earn their high school diploma and an associates degree in a technical field through participating in a career themed education pathway and work-based learning experiences. Upon graduating, students can access employment opportunities with the school’s designated business partner. Through our efforts, the state is poised to launch its first four P-TECH programs, branded STEM Tech Academies, beginning this September, 2024.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Too many students in Massachusetts, particularly from under-resourced and marginalized communities, are graduating high school unprepared for college and careers. At the same time, good paying jobs that offer career ladders and greater economic stability go unfilled. We can reverse these trends, expand access to economic opportunity, and promote a more equitable Commonwealth by implementing state policies that create stronger connections between what students are learning in high school and the opportunities that await them when they graduate. MBAE organized the Student Pathways to Success Coalition to promote these policies.
Student Pathways to Success is a cross-sector coalition of 16 organizations committed to educational equity and that represent students, parents, educators, employers, and those fighting for social justice.
The Coalition advocates for the state to expand programs and adopt policies that ensure that by 2030, every high school student is on a structured pathway to college and career that is anchored in personalized and ongoing career and college counseling, and that includes opportunities to earn college credit, participate in work-based learning, and attain industry-recognized credentials.
Coalition members see this work as key to goals we all share – closing wage and wealth gaps, promoting economic equity, and meeting the needs of employers.
The Coalition has built significant momentum for college and career pathways in Massachusetts, making it a priority of both the legislature and Governor Healey’s administration. We have secured consistent and significant increases in state funding, including a new dedicated state budget line item, to fuel the expansion of pathways programs including Early College and Innovation Career Pathways, the number of schools that offer them, and the number of students being served in them.
Due to our efforts, Early College now exists in 55 designated programs across 62 high schools and 28 colleges and universities. Innovation Career Pathways programs will be in 77 schools across the state by this fall.
The Coalition’s Pathways Policy Playbook represents a holistic vision of a pathways policy structure in MA and served as the basis for legislation for which the Coalition secured legislative sponsors this past session.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
The cross-sector nature of the Student Pathways to Success Coalition has been a powerful demonstration of just how much support there is for improving the high school experience to create pathways to economic opportunity for all students. The diverse groups that make up this Coalition represent employers, teachers, parents, students, and those advocating for social justice. There are many public policy issues, including some in education, on which these groups disagree, but on this issue, there is unanimous support.
The focus on equity is also powerful. It is widely recognized that students from traditionally marginalized communities are often not provided with the guidance, exposure, experience, and coursework they need to be on a path to postsecondary success. That has an impact on individual students, communities, employers and our state’s economy.
As part of the Coalition’s efforts to shed light on long-standing educational disparities, MBAE, and Coalition partners Latinos for Education and Education Trust in Massachusetts, wrote and released a report that examines and highlights systemic inequities, primarily affecting Black and Latino students, that result in unequal representation in higher education and careers in high-paying, high-growth industries. To better understand the lived experiences of Black and Latino high school students, we conducted a series of interviews with students and leaders of color across Massachusetts. The paper, Lifting Our Communities: Building Education Pathways to Economic Opportunity for All, centers on key themes that emerged from those conversations: asset-based guidance and career counseling; expanded access to rigorous pathway programs and advanced course offerings; relatable, diverse educators and school leaders; meaningful and inclusive work-based learning opportunities; and community resources. The findings of this report shape and guide our legislative focus.
The Student Pathways to Success Coalition has stayed focused primarily on the core pieces of the work on which we all agree. We have worked across lines of difference by allowing Coalition members to opt out of signing onto any legislative or budget asks that are not in alignment with their organization’s unique goals. We provide opportunities in meetings for Coalition members to talk about work that is tangential to but outside of the core work of the Coalition creating opportunities for collaboration outside of the Coalition.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to a $14.1 million increased investment in expanding pathways programs and benefiting students across the state.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
We would point to four key strategies and tactics that have been impactful.
State Administration and Legislative Support
First, making Pathways a priority of the Governor and her administration has been key area of focus that has been fruitful. Through outreach and engagement with Governor Healey, the Lt. Governor and members of the Workforce Skills Cabinet, which is made up of the Secretaries of Education, Labor and Workforce Development, and Economic Development, we have developed critical champions who have demonstrated their support through significant bumps in state funding to grow Early College, Innovation Career Pathways, and STEM Tech Career Academies and consistent mention of Pathways as a core educational priority.
Economic Development Framework
Second, framing this as an economic development issue has been a winning strategy. The Governor and Lt. Governor talk about Pathways as part of the strategy to ensure our state’s economy remains strong and that we grow key sectors like life sciences and climate tech. The Governor highlighted Pathways in her State of the State speech. Framing it this way also helped us bring business into the Coalition.
Employer and Business Group Support
Third, having the state’s leading business groups in the Coalition and at the table has helped drive the economic development message home. Employers provide critical perspective about why this work is not only an education issue, but an issue of great economic importance. In addition to including business groups in the Coalition, we conducted a survey of MA business leaders across the state that found that hiring and finding workers with the right skills continues to be a top challenge and that an overwhelming majority (95%) of those surveyed support Gov. Healey’s efforts to improve our education system to ensure more students are better prepared for college and/or careers. These findings have been used as the basis for much of our communication and advocacy campaign.
Equity Focus
Fourth, the focus on equity and ensuring students from traditionally marginalized communities get the support and opportunities they need to enter and thrive in our workforce is powerful. We have the right voices around the table to amplify that message
RESOURCES
- The Coalition’s website
- The Pathways Policy Playbook: policy-playbook.pdf
- Summaries of the legislation and links to the legislation
- Our paper on equity: Lifting Our Communities: Building Education Pathways to Economic Opportunity for All
- Our survey of MA business leaders: Student Pathways Business Survey Release FINAL
BEST NC
Non-Network partners: TEACH.org
Network Policy Pillar: Great Educators
SUMMARY
This policy helps states to attract new talent into the teaching profession so they can fill critical vacancies in classrooms.
BEST NC’s policy and advocacy impacted thousands of people who are interested in teaching, recruiting 2,300 teacher candidates in 2023 alone, and nearly 6,000 total in just the last few years, with the potential to reach tens of thousands of students statewide.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Teachers are the #1 in-school factor for student success, but recruiting candidates solely through traditional pipelines fails to fill all classrooms and does not results in a diverse teacher workforce. Therefore, creating new ways to recruit talent into the teaching profession is a critical strategy for improving student achievement.
TeachNC is a one-stop-shop teacher recruitment initiative designed to attract teaching candidates, offer advice, provide one-on-one coaching from real teachers, and remove barriers to entering the teaching profession in North Carolina. In just a few short years, TeachNC has supported nearly 6,000 teaching candidates in applying to North Carolina educator preparation programs – and many of them are already employed in classrooms around North Carolina. As a result, TeachNC is filling critical vacancies in our schools.
In 2018, BEST NC set out to launch an ad campaign to attract candidates to the teaching profession. While researching effective campaigns, BEST NC discovered that TEACH.org, a national nonprofit dedicated to recruiting teacher candidates, wanted to collaborate with states to develop something more robust. After a rigorous selection process, TEACH.org chose to partner with BEST NC and North Carolina.
Together, we determined the biggest recruitment need was a menu of support services and resources that removed barriers to the profession. Unlike a one-off ad campaign, this initiative would require broad and deep collaboration between BEST NC, TEACH, NC DPI (our state education agency), public and private educator preparation programs (EPPs), local education agencies (LEAs), and state policymakers.
Initial funding was raised by BEST NC through contributions from the business and philanthropic communities and NC DPI provided matching funds in Years 2 and 3. TEACH.org had the technology and infrastructure to build this type of resource and BEST NC brought the state specific relationships, knowledge, funding, and policy expertise to make it work.
With major stakeholders on board, TEACH.org and BEST NC then secured letters of commitment from every EPP and LEA in the state. We then partnered with those entities to gather information to populate a website where candidates could find:
- Teacher licensure information,
- Profiles of every educator preparation program in the state,
- Scholarships and financial aid options for those EPPs,
- Employment information for every school district,
- A statewide jobs board with real-time teaching vacancies,
- One-on-one coaching sessions with active North Carolina teachers,
- And, much more!
As of the latest count, TeachNC has nearly 40,000 registered users. Last year alone, TeachNC recruited 2,300 future teachers and provided targeted support to them as they applied to an EPP. This is equivalent to 30% of North Carolina’s EPP completers last year.
Further, the applicant pool is uniquely diverse. Whereas typical enrollees in EPPs are 29% non-white, TeachNC candidates are 51% non-white, which means increased student access to teachers that look like them – a proven factor in improving student outcomes in the long run.
The program exceeded the initial goals and based on early support for the plan to transition to state funding, the NC State Legislature adopted TeachNC with recurring state funding in 2022. They also created a permanent position at NC DPI to oversee the initiative.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Instead of spending potentially millions of dollars on an ad campaign that may or may not convince a handful of viewers to want to become teachers, we were far more impactful by finding people who were already interested in the teaching profession, then removing the barriers keeping them from entering the classroom.
- Misinformation is usually the first barrier. Providing accurate and accessible information about how to enter the profession is the first way TeachNC removes barriers. For instance, while we can all agree that teacher pay should be higher, research finds that the public believes teacher pay is much lower than it actually is. Additionally, there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about teacher preparation and licensure requirements. For example, a candidate who has already graduated from college might believe they need to go back for four years to get a degree in education in order to be licensed – which is not true.
- Access to trusted advice and perspectives about what it’s like to be a teacher is often the next barrier. TeachNC creates a safe space for those conversations by empowering individuals to sign up for an online meeting with real North Carolina teachers. Candidates can choose a “coach” who has a similar background or works in a similar region in the state. These coaches are paid for their time and are trained to provide guidance on preparation and licensure issues. Last year, TeachNC users scheduled 897 calls with TeachNC coaches.
- Finding an open position usually presents the final barrier. TeachNC’s impact has increased significantly thanks to the development of a statewide teacher jobs board. Candidates can now see the types and locations of teaching jobs available across the state in real time. This jobs board would not have been possible without the leadership of NC DPI, which sought the additional funding that made it happen. The jobs board has significantly expanded TeachNC’s impact because, like any profession, it is easier to opt in when you can see that there are available jobs in your field or region.
The first and most important strategy for TeachNC was to generate support across stakeholder groups while also establishing a clear plan for sustainable funding and administration.
Teacher recruitment has a number of stakeholders: educator preparation programs, school districts, the state education agency, and policymakers on both sides of the aisle. When we embarked on this initiative, members of the North Carolina Education Cabinet told us that this idea had been around for a while, but that no one was willing to take the lead. So, BEST NC stepped up to serve as an intermediary organization, launching and leading the effort. To memorialize the Cabinet’s support and commitment, we secured signed letters of support from each of these key stakeholders.
Coalition members included: BEST NC, TEACH.org, Teach for America, the NC Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI), the North Carolina Education Cabinet, and every educator preparation program (EPP) and local education agency (LEA) in the state. In addition to letters of support from key leaders, each EPP and LEA has signed a letter of commitment with TeachNC. These agreements provided clarity about the relationship and helped establish trust, which is generally tenuous between these groups.
Additionally, our early partnership with TEACH.org and NC DPI were critical. TEACH.org already had the research, marketing, and technical infrastructure developed, making implementation a quick process. Partnering with NC DPI, both to provide support implementation and matching funds from the state, was critical. Gaining NC DPI’s buy-in early meant that they were willing to design other systems, such as the statewide jobs board, that would integrate with TeachNC. And since we set it up in partnership with the state from the beginning, TeachNC’s eventual transition to NC DPI was seamless.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to a $980,000 recurring state investment – less than $400 per recruited applicant – in the ongoing cultivation and recruitment of teaching talent across North Carolina.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
With a long-term initiative like this and stakeholders who seem to switch out nearly every year, the most important lesson we learned was to secure support in writing from the very beginning. This also meant having a clear plan in terms of short and long-term funding and administration.
It was also essential to find the right technical partner. TEACH.org had a proven track record and the technology infrastructure to gain the trust of partners and meet state IT requirements. It also helped get us up and running quickly, which meant we were able to see results even in the first year.
As the primary intermediary, BEST NC monitored and reported progress data to each of the stakeholders. As the three-year deadline for state funding approached, stakeholders were not surprised by the push to transition the initiative to administration by NC DPI, and policymakers were in full support.
On-going engagement is important. TeachNC is now in its second year of state administration, and BEST NC is a key stakeholder seated at the table, committed to ensuring the initiative stays on track. NC DPI actively seeks our advice and we regularly share opportunities to enhance TeachNC’s capacity.
RESOURCES
ExcelinEd, Nashville Charter Collaborative, Nashville Propel, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), Tennesseans for Student Success, Tennessee Charter School Center, TennesseeCAN, The Memphis Lift
Network Policy Pillar: Innovative Options
SUMMARY
This policy helps public charter school operators for future public charter schools to obtain access to existing publicly funded facilities and have funding for a dedicated charter school facilities grant fund so they can provide Tennessee students served by public charter schools with high-quality school buildings conducive to learning.
More than 44,000 Tennessee public school students who attend charter schools, and countless more students who will be served by charters schools that have yet to be opened but will now have access to the facilities resources necessary to open.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
For several years, Tennessee advocates have prioritized funding and policy solutions to address the charter school facilities challenge. Because Tennessee’s public charter schools do not have access to local funding for facilities, charter schools have had to divert funds from other sources to cover facilities costs. Over the past several years, Tennessee has made progress in addressing this challenge with the inclusion of a direct allocation for charter schools in our state’s K12 funding formula. However, despite that improvement, charters have still experienced a funding gap between the funds available to cover facilities costs and the actual cost of facilities of more than $800 per student.
This issue is critical given that data shows Tennessee’s charter sector proficiency rates for students of color and economically disadvantaged students are at or above that of their district peers. A national study by Stanford University additionally found that in Tennessee, public charter school student growth equals an additional month and a half of learning (34 extra days of growth in reading and 39 extra days in math) compared with their peers at noncharter schools. Given that public charter schools serve a larger proportion of students from historically underserved groups than their district counterparts, it is important that high-quality charter schools can access these resources to provide school environments conducive to learning.
During this year’s 2024 legislative session, significant advancements were made to advance this policy priority. First, Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill to increase access to existing facilities. This bill establishes clear definitions for underutilized and vacant district facilities and procedures for public charter schools to access those facilities. This legislation will help mitigate the effect of the charter facility funding gap by improving access to school buildings that have already been publicly funded but are not being used for instruction. Allowing access to properties already designed as schools that would otherwise sit empty is good stewardship of taxpayer dollars and allows for more focus on what matters most: student learning. Additionally, Tennessee lawmakers approved the FY2024-25 budget that includes $15 million for a one-time charter facilities grant fund. The success of these two solutions, resulting from ongoing advocacy, will begin to address charter facility challenges.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Key stakeholders convened multiple times over several months to elevate the greatest challenges and opportunities for policy development and to align on shared priorities. The process culminated with an aligned agenda to prioritize the charter facilities need for the 2024 legislative session through a three-pronged approach of access, funding, and financing solutions. In addition to the PIE Network member partners, this collaboration also included the Charter School Growth Fund, CityFund, and the Joe C. Davis Foundation.
Stakeholders also collaborated to create public products that would amplify the need to address the charter facilities challenge, including a facilities gap calculator, memos describing the package, and a video that illustrated the facilities challenges public charter schools face under the current system, highlighting a charter school in Nashville that’s currently operating out of an old hospital. Stakeholders also produced a series of news stories that introduced readers to the facilities problem and countered misconceptions presented by opponents.
Essential to any education advocacy strategy, Tennessee partners rooted its efforts to solve the charter facilities issue by reminding stakeholders, leaders, and lawmakers of what students need to learn and what schools need to provide students the environment to learn. To bolster this message, Tennessee partners maintained a focus on data, sharing research on how the access to facilities funding differed between public charter schools and traditional district schools, as well as sharing data on the positive academic impact charter schools are having with Tennessee students.
The Tennessee Charter School Center and the Nashville Charter Collaborative coordinated public charter school visits with legislators so that decision-makers could see in-person the students being served and benefiting from Tennessee’s public charter schools, and in turn, high-quality facilities. Regardless of differing perspectives on policy, we can all agree that students deserve access to the best possible educational opportunities and resources.
Furthermore, as the charter facilities bill progressed through the legislature, the Tennessee partners remained open to concerns and feedback from legislative leadership and were willing to collaborate on amendments so that committee members were more comfortable with how the policy would be implemented.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to a $15 million investment in the charter school facilities grant fund, which will be accessible to Tennessee’s public charter schools.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
For the last two years, Tennessee partners have collaborated to identify barriers unique to high-quality public charter schools and develop policy proposals and solutions that would enable growth and replication of effective models that result in positive student outcomes. A key part of our communication strategy was to focus on the direct advantages that policy changes and additional funding would bring to students that attend Tennessee charters. Public charter school students in Tennessee are predominantly from historically underserved groups, so there is a disproportionate impact on those students in most need of high-quality learning environments. Building a broad coalition of support rooted in student outcomes, research, and data was also an integral tactic. Partners targeted social media posts, videos, and other communications content on the potential impact for students and school leaders looking to open future schools. This collaborative focus helped us resolve oppositional concerns and be solutions-oriented when amendments were recommended from lawmakers, as we were all able to agree that all students deserve equitable access to school facilities.
RESOURCES
- Charter Center One-Pager: https://tnscore-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/aleah_tnscore_org/ERwSX9PNbsNDrKr7hUqkSxgBKo_ukLF5_eXgfVF3r-EUBQ?e=TGcJHd
- SCORE Facilities Memo with Data: https://tnscore.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/PolicyandGovernmentRelations/EY5T68N3971MpcC1x4BlBPkBQlzKAD1XgYyH3qA4vbZC8w?e=aiClJz
- Firefly articles: https://tnfirefly.com/20231206/tennessee-score-releases-recommendations-to-support-public-charter-schools-and-improve-student-pathways-to-employment/https://tnfirefly.com/20240131/school-districts-across-the-state-have-property-theyre-not-using-a-new-bill-aims-to-help-public-charter-schools-use-them/
- https://tnfirefly.com/20240227/house-democrats-oppose-legislation-to-support-economically-disadvantaged-students-in-their-districts/
- https://tnfirefly.com/20240220/tennessee-lawmakers-mislead-public-while-attacking-plan-to-provide-students-of-color-with-better-school-facilities/
Advance Illinois
Non-Network partners: We, the Village Coalition and Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity
Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations
SUMMARY
The Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) was enacted in 2021 to serve the needs of the early childhood educators and to address the shortage of qualified early childhood educators in Illinois. Using federal COVID relief dollars, this initiative provided scholarships to increase access, persistence, and completion of credentials and degrees in early childhood to incumbent workforce members. With the impending expiration of these federal relief dollars, advocates were successful in securing $5 million state general revenue funding to continue the scholarship.
This advocacy impacted over 4,500 scholarship recipients. Our advocacy also helps the state continue to meet the needs of the ECE teacher shortage – particularly as the state strives to create 20,000 new PreK seats by 2027. In the coming years, the state will need at least 2,000 more qualified teachers and assistant teachers – not including the current vacancies. ECACE is the key strategy to help the state achieve its stated goal.
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
Early childhood educators are crucial to promoting continuity of care, enhancing the relationship between educators and caregivers and young children. Unfortunately, turnover for classroom staff across nearly all setting types is extremely high and has only increased in Illinois over the past two years. Recent reports indicate that 71.8% of child care centers had one or more early childhood teachers leave their position in the past two years and for assistant teachers, that figure rises to 73.7%. In addition to extremely high turnover, early childhood workforce members, usually full-time, working adults, face competing priorities and challenges in accessing higher education. These working adults need greater flexibility to pursue their degree, additional supports and advising, and financial support to offset the expense of higher education. ECACE not only provides robust scholarships to two- and four-year institutions of higher education, but the program also provided robust wrap-around supports to ensure students persist and complete their programs.
ECACE supports early childhood educators and in turn allows educators to better serve Illinois families.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
ECACE advocacy was multi-faceted and required the support of many partners including the We, the Village Coalition, for which Advance Illinois is a core member. We, the Village is a group of advocates, non-profit organizations, child care providers, school districts, parents and others who have come together to fight for the well-being of Illinois’ youngest children. This legislative session, We, the Village and other partners helped rally nearly 300 parents, providers, and supporters came to Springfield to participate in Early Childhood Advocacy Day. Together with advocates, we raised our collective voices about the importance of funding – particularly around greater funding for ECACE.
Even after legislative session, we continue our advocacy efforts by meeting with legislators, have created and widely distributed a survey to understand the impact of decreased funding for the current scholarship recipients, and meet with relevant state agency representatives. This work will only prepare us to be more effective in the upcoming legislative session.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Our advocacy contributed to securing $5 million state general revenue funding to continue the ECACE scholarship.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
- Presenting compelling research and data to convey the need to legislators and other key partners in positions of power
- Frequent coalition meetings with diffused responsibilities among partners and clear expectations among the coalition partners
- Include parents, providers, and educators in public testimony and prepare participants appropriately so they feel confident and well-prepared
- Wrote letters to the editor to local newspapers
- Met every week to discuss legislative strategy and coordinate among partners communication strategies to key legislators and budgeteers
- Testified in front of relevant caucuses and education appropriations committees
- Created an #AllInForECACE Social Media Toolkit (see below for social engagement statistics)
- Calls to Action
- 1003 total messages sent to legislators
- 541 people took action
- Twitter/X
- 129% increase in tweet impressions and 86 mentions
- 933 page visits (210% increase)
During key moments of the legislative session, the coalition put out a story campaign of ECACE scholarship recipients to relevant lawmakers
RESOURCES
GO Public Schools
Non-Network partners: Council of Elders, Fierce Advocates, Healthy Contra Costa, and the Black Parents Resource Center
Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations
SUMMARY
This policy helps students in West Contra Costa Unified School District to receive high-quality, systematic literacy instruction so they can become literate and effective communicators, self-reliant, data-driven decision-makers, and empathetic civic leaders.
Our policy and advocacy impacted over 25,000 students in the West Contra Costa Unified School District
WHY THIS WIN MATTERS
This campaign has brought the issue of literacy to the forefront of educational discussions in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD). Through our advocacy, there has been a significant shift in literacy education within the district. By advocating for the removal of “balanced literacy” from the Educator Effectiveness Grant proposal and introducing a comprehensive Literacy Call to Action, we have begun to dismantle ineffective literacy practices and replace them with research-backed methodologies. From advocating to expand the district’s Literacy Task Force to include GO Public Schools and successfully working to cancel a district-sponsored event that promoted ineffective literacy practices, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that all stakeholders understand the importance of adopting effective, evidence-based literacy instruction.
Our advocacy efforts culminated in the development and presentation of the Literacy Call to Action, which outlines key literacy practices that every student should engage in and the essential resources each classroom needs. It emphasizes rigorous core instruction, systematic and explicit teaching of foundational reading skills, content knowledge building, meaning-making through engagement with complex texts, effective expression, and language development. This framework is grounded in extensive research on how children develop reading and literacy skills and is designed to foster strong, confident readers, writers, and critical thinkers. This policy advance is critical as it addresses the foundational skills necessary for reading and writing, ensuring that all students, especially for historically underserved groups like African American students, English learners, and students with disabilities, have the tools they need for academic and personal success.
WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS
Several elements made this collaboration powerful. The campaign was driven by a coalition of families, educators, and community organizations, ensuring that diverse voices and perspectives were integral to the process. Strategic partnerships with key organizations such as the Council of Elders, Fierce Advocates, Healthy Contra Costa, and the Black Parents Resource Center provided additional support and legitimacy. Persistent advocacy efforts led to significant changes, including extending the Literacy Task Force timeline, altering grant proposals, and canceling biased learning sessions. By involving community members in the Literacy Task Force and maintaining open communication with district leadership, we ensured transparency and accountability in decision-making processes.
We worked across lines of difference by engaging a wide array of stakeholders, including families from diverse backgrounds, educators, community organizations, and district leaders. This involved direct conversations with the superintendent, board trustees, and other district officials, as well as public advocacy through board meetings and community outreach. The coalition included representatives from various community organizations such as The Council of Elders, Fierce Advocates, Healthy Contra Costa, and the Black Parents Resource Center, ensuring that the voices of underrepresented groups were heard and included in the decision-making process. This inclusive approach helped build trust and consensus, leading to more effective and equitable policy outcomes.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN
Fellow Network members can learn the importance of building broad coalitions that engage diverse stakeholders to create a unified front, using effective communication to articulate issues clearly and advocate persistently, maintaining strategic flexibility to adapt to emerging opportunities and challenges, employing data-driven advocacy to support arguments and influence decision-makers, and combining public advocacy with direct engagement with policymakers through an inside-outside strategy.