2024 Eddies - PIE Network

Development and Passage of the Mississippi Student Funding Formula

Mississippi First, Teach Plus Mississippi

***Network Policy Pillar:* *Responsive Systems***

SUMMARY

This policy helps public school districts and public charter schools receive funding based on students’ individual needs, so they can adequately serve their student populations, including those who are from low-income communities, English language learners, in special education programs, and part of career-technical education programs so they can succeed in school, college, career, and life.Our policy and advocacy impacts all public school students in Mississippi (430,000+ students) across 137 school districts and 1,013 schools.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

The historic Mississippi Student Funding Formula (MSFF), which was passed by the Mississippi Legislature in May and became law in July, changes the way the state pays for public schools by getting rid of a formula that contributed to systematic underfunding of public schools, especially those with large populations of underserved students. Mississippi’s previous funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), had been in effect since 1997 and was outdated and inequitable. Under this formula, there was no correlation between student need and the allocation of state funds. Additionally, the MAEP was only fully funded by the state legislature twice in its history. Year after year, school districts across the state suffered the consequences of being underfunded. The new formula, which helps poorer districts with weak local tax bases, is simpler and more flexible for administrators, while also providing significant increases in funding for underserved students who are low-income, in special education, and part of career-technical education programs.

The MSFF is the state’s first fully student-based funding formula. Moreover, for the first time, there is state funding for English learners. With the weighted formula for underserved student populations, student funding will now be distributed more equitably across districts. The state legislature has expressed its intent to continue to fully fund the formula in years to come.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi worked across multiple, intersecting coalitions and legislators in developing a student-centered funding formula to replace the MAEP. Mississippi First and Teach Plus, along with Teach Plus Mississippi teacher leaders from across the state, recognize the significance of collective power in overhauling the state’s school funding formula. Each organization brought unique perspectives, knowledge, skills, and relationships that culminated in a bipartisan effort to fully fund all public schools in Mississippi. Teach Plus Mississippi teacher leaders co-authored a policy memo that called for weighted student funding and another Teach Plus teacher leader wrote an op-ed urging for the passage of the funding formula legislation on behalf of his high school students and every student in the state. Mississippi First drafted a bill prior to the 2024 legislative session, then identified and worked with key legislators, including the Speaker of the House, to introduce and ultimately pass legislation that established the MSFF.

The process of advocating for this legislation was not without its challenges. Throughout most of the legislative session, the Senate remained staunchly opposed to any legislation replacing the MAEP. As legislators do not work in a vacuum, public support for the new formula was crucial in persuading legislators to support this legislation. Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi worked tirelessly to shape public opinion around this new policy and the urgency of passing a potentially historic piece of legislation. Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi also met individually with key stakeholders to explain the details of the proposed funding formula and its advantages over the MAEP. As a result of these meetings, key elements of the formula were endorsed by Mississippi’s two largest professional organizations for teachers, Mississippi Professional Educators (MPE) and Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE). This advocacy was critical in showing lawmakers that the new formula had the support of one of its most important groups of stakeholders: public school teachers.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our joint advocacy contributed an additional $218 million, increasing the investment in public schools across the state to roughly $2.96 billion.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Strategic timing is critical. There are many twists and turns in the legislative process that could seemingly dash the hopes of a policy win. Yet, Rachel Canter and Sanford Johnson, executive directors of Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi, respectively, remained hopeful and steadfast in their advocacy and commitment to ensuring that children attending public schools in Mississippi receive an equitable education. The path of the revised school funding formula was neither narrow nor straight. In Mississippi, legislators and other stakeholders had criticized the MAEP for years. These complaints came to a head in 2023 when the Senate attempted and failed to pass a revised version of the MAEP. The attempted passage of this bill, however, indicated an appetite for change. Moreover, the state legislature had a new Speaker of the House of Representatives for the upcoming 2024 session, and he was eager to make his mark during the first year in leadership. Mississippi First acted on these circumstances and provided the new speaker with well-researched funding formula legislation shortly after he took office, positioning the organization as a valuable partner in the process. With the guidance of Johnson, Teach Plus Mississippi teacher leaders tenaciously focused their advocacy efforts on sharing what equitable funding increases would mean for students in their communities, especially students from low-income households, English learners, and those in special education. By keeping students at the center of the message, Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi leveraged the windows of opportunity into a historic victory for public education. News of the revised school funding formula reverberated outside of Mississippi, as it was published in media outlets across the country.

Compromise is necessary. The House and Senate had different ideas about funding reform during the session, with the House wanting to pass the new student-centered formula and the Senate wanting to amend the old formula. Both chambers were entrenched in their positions for most of the legislative process. When the House made it clear that they would not vote to revise the current formula, and as more information emerged about the advantages of a student-centered formula, the Senate came to the table to develop a compromise. The final bill contained the most important provisions of the original student-centered formula legislation introduced in the House, with minor revisions demanded by the Senate. Had the House not been willing to compromise on some provisions of the original bill, Mississippi would not have passed a new funding formula this year.

Build a strong case demonstrating how the new policy will be an improvement upon the old or alternative one. Equity was a priority for Mississippi First, Teach Plus Mississippi, and our stakeholders. Using concrete data, we were able to demonstrate how the newly proposed formula would be objectively more equitable than the old one. Building this argument on facts and data effectively convinced many stakeholders to support the student-based formula.

RESOURCES

30 Years in the Making: Students-First Funding in Colorado

Colorado League of Charter Schools, Colorado Succeeds, DFER Colorado, Ready Colorado, Stand for Children Colorado Teach Plus Colorado, Transform Education Now (TEN)

Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems

SUMMARY

This policy helps all Colorado students to receive more equitable funding, particularly for those who have been historically underserved or have unique needs, so they can reach their fullest potential. Our policy and advocacy impacts all 880,000 of Colorado’s public school students.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

For the last 30 years, the Colorado public school finance formula was oriented around district characteristics, which resulted in wealthier districts receiving significantly more funding than neighboring districts with a lower cost of living. The needs of systems came before the needs of students. As an example, a student identified as at-risk attending school in wealthy Aspen received $7,000 more in funding than a similarly identified student attending a less-resourced district, Pueblo City.

After numerous failed attempts to revise the formula, Colorado House Bill 24-1448 (HB24-1448) puts students first in the formula, both literally and figuratively: district needs are no longer the driving factor. Instead, student factors are funded first in the formula and the state increased the funding weights for students who are at-risk and students who are learning English. The new formula also adds students receiving special education services to the weighted student factors and emphasizes the needs of rural districts, which have consistently been fighting for “one-time” funding in the legislature.

Critically, the bill also included provisions that 1) strengthen school-level financial transparency to allow advocates to understand whether funds are actually reaching the students the bill is intended to serve and 2) significantly increase charter school capital construction funding.

When the formula is fully implemented after five years, Colorado will have added an additional $500 million to ensure all students, especially at-risk, ELL, special education, and rural students, can reach their full potential.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

An existing education reform coalition came together to advocate for the creation of a task force in the 2023 legislative session, which ultimately made recommendations toward a students-first formula that addressed the specific components our coalition knew were creating inequities in our system. The representatives on the task force were strategically identified by coalition partners to ensure that we were building towards a broader consensus of changes that needed to be made.

The recommendations the task force brought forward gave the political cover and created the momentum needed to introduce HB24-1448. We were able to build on our existing coalition, which represents left, right, and nonpartisan organizations, to add a coalition of rural superintendents, some of whom were opposed to policies our reform coalition had previously advocated for. The rural superintendents’ coalition came to see how important it was for their voices to be lifted up in a legislature that tends to listen to the louder (i.e., more wealthy and politically engaged) voices of the Denver metro area. With a broader coalition, each organization had its own specific role to play, particularly in ensuring that we maintained the bipartisan sponsorship we cultivated.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to a $500 million investment in all of Colorado’s students, specifically students who have been historically underserved, as well as $65.5 million for facilities for Colorado’s charter school students.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Play the long game: The extent to which our coalition has been fighting for this change for decades cannot be overstated. The consistent attention on the issue was essential to continue to raise awareness of the problem. After reflecting on prior losses, we saw an opportunity to create a task force that would be reflective of different stakeholders and would remove the barrier of political self-interest by not including legislators. This combination allowed the task force to create recommendations that could be the foundation for future legislation. There were many opportunities where the plan could have gone awry: the wrong people appointed to the task force, bad task force facilitation, or task force representatives refusing to engage, but along the way, we made decisions that ensured we stayed on track and we got to the recommendations we needed to create legislation.

Remove politics: The legislature tried numerous times to revise the funding system through legislative interim committees but failed because of the political challenges. In 2023, the legislature established a task force of experts and stakeholders, but no politicians. Many legislators have named how critical it was that the task force had no politicians and was oriented around the needs of students. But it’s also critical to note that our coalition did significant work to ensure that the right people were appointed to the task force to get to the outcomes we desired.

Power in relationships and sponsorship: We started with a coalition that had built authentic relationships over time with legislators, district leaders, and other advocacy groups—this was the foundation for so much of our success. Like many states, we have found ourselves with a legislature that is incredibly diverse politically. Our coalition has intentionally cultivated relationships with policymakers that reflect the full range of the legislature’s political diversity and have become champions for school finance reform. Our key legislative champions, who we approached to be bill sponsors, held leadership positions and were influential within their ideologically diverse caucuses.

Because of the depth and breadth of our coalition, we had multiple touchpoints with many legislators along the way. These strong legislative relationships allowed us to expand and diversify our coalition during bill negotiations and bring enough stakeholders, special interests, and, ultimately, legislators on board to get the bill across the finish line.

Lastly, the Governor has a great deal of influence in the legislature, and the relationships that members of our coalition have with him and his office were also helpful in securing needed votes of support.

Negotiate without losing the farm: At the end of the day, our coalition was aligned on the core policy change we needed to achieve. We were able to negotiate with opponents because we knew what was non-negotiable for us. That gave direction, and some autonomy, as we negotiated within caucuses or with opponents. Using data that gave us the equity arguments we needed, we were able to make real-time adjustments to legislation as we negotiated in the final days of the session.

Education reform is possible in a blue state: Colorado’s political landscape has changed significantly in the last few years: what was once a solidly purple state is now truly blue. Because of the long-term strategy and thoughtful collaboration that reflected our state’s various political dynamics, we achieved significant education reform that will impact students in Colorado for generations.

RESOURCES

Comprehensive Reforms in Louisiana

DC Goes Big on Education Funding for Kids in ALL Schools

DC Charter School Alliance, DC Policy Center, DFER District of Columbia, EmpowerK12, Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE)

Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems

SUMMARY

This policy helps traditional public schools and public charter schools in DC’s educational system of choice to advance equity across sectors and ensure they have the resources they need to truly serve all kids. Our policy and advocacy impacts more than 101,000 students.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

DC’s fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget like many cities and states across the country was subject to significant revenue cuts as federal covid recovery dollars expired. Our coalition’s efforts this past year resulted in the following equity-forward wins to help our schools continue accelerating student outcomes:

12.4% increase in the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF), which ensures funding reaches our students and educators no matter which public school they attend.
25% increase to the weight for economically disadvantaged students in the funding formula, translating to $55 million in equitable funding to serve our most at-risk students.
Over 3% guaranteed increase to the annual facilities allotment for public charter schools, bringing the FY2025 total annual charter facilities funding to $3,734 per student, an unheard of sum in any other state or jurisdiction.
$2.2 million for high-quality literacy instructional materials across both sectors and a total of $3.5 million through FY28 for kindergarten training and a coaching pilot at up to 20 schools.
Nearly $5 million for high-impact tutoring across both sectors.
$850,000 total for restorative justice technical grants to support restorative justice programs at 36 schools.
$27 million to provide grants to Learn24 Out-of-School Time (OST) program providers.
$21.8 million to expand career and technical education (CTE) programming.
$700,000 to maintain the District’s Dual Enrollment program.
A $638,000 funding increase to the Office of Education through Employment Pathways.
$28.3 million for school-based behavioral health services.

While enrollment has declined at more than two-thirds of our nation’s public schools since the pandemic, confidence in our city’s educational system of choice remains strong. Enrollment in both sectors this past year grew to more than 98,000 students, with the city adding 2,120 new students last year – 3,851 more students than were enrolled pre-covid. DC has long been an example of a school system that allows families to find the best-fit school for each of their children and a critical component of that system’s success has been ensuring that there is equality between both sectors in terms of school funding and that funding is centered on the student, not the sector.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

In DC, nearly half of all public school students attend public charter schools, and even in the traditional public school system, the majority of students exercise school choice by attending a DC Public School (DCPS) other than their neighborhood school. In this education ecosystem, it is crucial to work across lines of difference and in coalition to drive positive change for kids.

The Nation’s Capital continues to stand at the forefront of education innovation and advocates have pushed for historic equitable funding – across both charter and traditional public schools, between Wards and communities, and for kids from every background. Over countless advocacy actions and testimonies, deep relationship-building with community and systems leaders, and powerful research to support policy change, the DC Students Succeed Coalition has made possible student-centered investments that led to improved outcomes for kids across the District. The Coalition is made up of 33 partner organizations including PIE Network members: PAVE (Parents Amplifying Voices in Education), EmpowerK12, DC Charter School Alliance, Education Reform Now DC, and D.C. Policy Center and engaged with each and every local policymaker in both the executive and legislative branch to keep education a top priority.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to a $290,000,000 investment in 101,000 students across traditional public schools and public charter schools (almost an additional $3,000 per student).

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Our city-state remains a leader in funding equity between sectors showing that good policy that makes sure funding follows kids and encourages innovation to catalyze an entire city’s education system, a status that would not be possible without the tireless work in advocacy, policy, and organizing of the DC Students Succeed coalition and our constituents. While outside entities may have doubted all of these wins were feasible in a tough budget year – especially given the absence of federal COVID relief funding, we have shown what’s possible when you generate collective action and everyone does their part. These outcomes serve as models for the power of centering the voices and experiences of school leaders, educators, researchers, parents, and students in collective efforts to advance a great education for every child.

RESOURCES

Development and Passage of the Mississippi Student Funding Formula

Mississippi First, Teach Plus Mississippi

***Network Policy Pillar:* *Responsive Systems***

SUMMARY

This policy helps public school districts and public charter schools receive funding based on students’ individual needs, so they can adequately serve their student populations, including those who are from low-income communities, English language learners, in special education programs, and part of career-technical education programs so they can succeed in school, college, career, and life.Our policy and advocacy impacts all public school students in Mississippi (430,000+ students) across 137 school districts and 1,013 schools.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

The historic Mississippi Student Funding Formula (MSFF), which was passed by the Mississippi Legislature in May and became law in July, changes the way the state pays for public schools by getting rid of a formula that contributed to systematic underfunding of public schools, especially those with large populations of underserved students. Mississippi’s previous funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), had been in effect since 1997 and was outdated and inequitable. Under this formula, there was no correlation between student need and the allocation of state funds. Additionally, the MAEP was only fully funded by the state legislature twice in its history. Year after year, school districts across the state suffered the consequences of being underfunded. The new formula, which helps poorer districts with weak local tax bases, is simpler and more flexible for administrators, while also providing significant increases in funding for underserved students who are low-income, in special education, and part of career-technical education programs.

The MSFF is the state’s first fully student-based funding formula. Moreover, for the first time, there is state funding for English learners. With the weighted formula for underserved student populations, student funding will now be distributed more equitably across districts. The state legislature has expressed its intent to continue to fully fund the formula in years to come.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi worked across multiple, intersecting coalitions and legislators in developing a student-centered funding formula to replace the MAEP. Mississippi First and Teach Plus, along with Teach Plus Mississippi teacher leaders from across the state, recognize the significance of collective power in overhauling the state’s school funding formula. Each organization brought unique perspectives, knowledge, skills, and relationships that culminated in a bipartisan effort to fully fund all public schools in Mississippi. Teach Plus Mississippi teacher leaders co-authored a policy memo that called for weighted student funding and another Teach Plus teacher leader wrote an op-ed urging for the passage of the funding formula legislation on behalf of his high school students and every student in the state. Mississippi First drafted a bill prior to the 2024 legislative session, then identified and worked with key legislators, including the Speaker of the House, to introduce and ultimately pass legislation that established the MSFF.

The process of advocating for this legislation was not without its challenges. Throughout most of the legislative session, the Senate remained staunchly opposed to any legislation replacing the MAEP. As legislators do not work in a vacuum, public support for the new formula was crucial in persuading legislators to support this legislation. Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi worked tirelessly to shape public opinion around this new policy and the urgency of passing a potentially historic piece of legislation. Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi also met individually with key stakeholders to explain the details of the proposed funding formula and its advantages over the MAEP. As a result of these meetings, key elements of the formula were endorsed by Mississippi’s two largest professional organizations for teachers, Mississippi Professional Educators (MPE) and Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE). This advocacy was critical in showing lawmakers that the new formula had the support of one of its most important groups of stakeholders: public school teachers.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our joint advocacy contributed an additional $218 million, increasing the investment in public schools across the state to roughly $2.96 billion.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Strategic timing is critical. There are many twists and turns in the legislative process that could seemingly dash the hopes of a policy win. Yet, Rachel Canter and Sanford Johnson, executive directors of Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi, respectively, remained hopeful and steadfast in their advocacy and commitment to ensuring that children attending public schools in Mississippi receive an equitable education. The path of the revised school funding formula was neither narrow nor straight. In Mississippi, legislators and other stakeholders had criticized the MAEP for years. These complaints came to a head in 2023 when the Senate attempted and failed to pass a revised version of the MAEP. The attempted passage of this bill, however, indicated an appetite for change. Moreover, the state legislature had a new Speaker of the House of Representatives for the upcoming 2024 session, and he was eager to make his mark during the first year in leadership. Mississippi First acted on these circumstances and provided the new speaker with well-researched funding formula legislation shortly after he took office, positioning the organization as a valuable partner in the process. With the guidance of Johnson, Teach Plus Mississippi teacher leaders tenaciously focused their advocacy efforts on sharing what equitable funding increases would mean for students in their communities, especially students from low-income households, English learners, and those in special education. By keeping students at the center of the message, Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi leveraged the windows of opportunity into a historic victory for public education. News of the revised school funding formula reverberated outside of Mississippi, as it was published in media outlets across the country.

Compromise is necessary. The House and Senate had different ideas about funding reform during the session, with the House wanting to pass the new student-centered formula and the Senate wanting to amend the old formula. Both chambers were entrenched in their positions for most of the legislative process. When the House made it clear that they would not vote to revise the current formula, and as more information emerged about the advantages of a student-centered formula, the Senate came to the table to develop a compromise. The final bill contained the most important provisions of the original student-centered formula legislation introduced in the House, with minor revisions demanded by the Senate. Had the House not been willing to compromise on some provisions of the original bill, Mississippi would not have passed a new funding formula this year.

Build a strong case demonstrating how the new policy will be an improvement upon the old or alternative one. Equity was a priority for Mississippi First, Teach Plus Mississippi, and our stakeholders. Using concrete data, we were able to demonstrate how the newly proposed formula would be objectively more equitable than the old one. Building this argument on facts and data effectively convinced many stakeholders to support the student-based formula.

RESOURCES

National Parents’ READ to RISE Campaign and Congressional Resolution

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), Educators for Excellence, Educators for Excellence-Los Angeles, National Parents Union (NPU), The Education Trust

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations

SUMMARY

This campaign and resolution encourages the recognition of a national literacy crisis and sets the basis for federal intervention in the lagging student progress across the country. The goal is to prioritize literacy and implement evidence-based reading practices so they can improve reading proficiency, close achievement gaps, and prepare students for academic and lifelong success. The Congressional Campaign reached all 435 members of the House of Representatives, all 100 Senators, the Biden Adminstration and the US Secretary of Education. The declaration reaches over 56 million K-12 students across the United States.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

The National Parents’ READ to RISE Congressional Resolution, introduced by Senator Reed and Senator Cassidy, represents the beginning of a united federal approach to addressing the national reading crisis. By formally recognizing the science of reading and establishing September as National Literacy Month, this resolution brings unprecedented attention to the critical issue of literacy- and the responsibility of the Federal Government to intervene in our national literacy crisis. The resolution creates a sustained national conversation and a sense of urgency around reading proficiency. The resolution’s impact is amplified by its timing, serving as a precursor to the reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), thereby influencing future federal stances on improving student achievement and funding decisions.This resolution not only raises awareness but also calls for accountability and measurable results, setting the stage for significant reforms and funding in literacy education. The impact on students includes increased access to quality reading instruction, improved literacy rates, and a foundation for lifelong learning and success.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

We worked in coalition with a bipartisan group of legislators, educators, literacy advocates, and parents. This collaborative effort included input from diverse communities and organizations, ensuring that the policy addresses the needs of all students, particularly those from underserved backgrounds. Our partnerships spanned political, social, and economic lines, uniting stakeholders around the common goal of improving literacy outcomes. Some PIE Network Members gave feedback and supported the resolution including Educators 4 Excellence, DFER, Ed Trust and KIPP Foundation.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to continued investments in the Comprehensive Literacy Grant Program and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Grants, benefiting schools, educators, and students nationwide in the 2024 Appropriations Package.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Fellow Network members can learn the importance of building broad coalitions, leveraging bipartisan support, and engaging directly with affected communities. Key strategies included data-driven advocacy, compelling storytelling to highlight the urgency of the literacy crisis, and persistent lobbying to ensure legislative action. Clear communication and setting measurable goals were crucial in gaining and maintaining momentum.

RESOURCES

NYC Solves: Leveraging Research-backed, High-quality Curricular Materials to Learn Math

Educators for Excellence-New York

***Network Policy Pillar:* *High Expectations***

SUMMARY

This policy ensures every middle school student in New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) will be using research-backed, high-quality curricular materials to learn math. It helps local NYCPS districts to train teachers on the most up-to-date, research backed practices and materials in math instruction so they can improve student outcomes. By homogenizing curriculum in each district, superintendents can better administer professional learning, so that teachers can receive more content-based training, with the ability to learn from their peers in nearby schools about how they deliver content to similar student populations. Basically, it takes the advantages of a strong school community and — done properly — expands that beneficial network to dozens of educators. This win builds off of E4E-New York’s successful advocacy for NYC Reads, which provided high quality instructional materials and aligned, district-wide professional learning for K-5 reading across the city last school year.

Our policy and advocacy will impact approximately 71,000 students in 2024-2025, and another 142,000 students in the following two years, with expected expansion to the full 937,000 students in NYCPS.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

With their deep involvement in the creation and rollout of NYC Reads and NYC Solves, E4E-New York has fundamentally transformed the way that curriculum is selected in the largest school district in the country. By successfully advocating that NYCPS streamline the curriculum selection process and require the use of evidence-based materials, the team at E4E-NY played an integral role in ushering in a new era in NYCPS in which every student will be taught with evidence-based, high-quality curricular materials. Those materials are now being distributed in a way that enables content-based professional learning to be better administered from the district level.

This historic investment in middle school mathematics curriculum and professional learning — $34 million over the next five years — addresses the city’s previously broken and inconsistent approach to curriculum selection. Under this approach, students were negatively impacted by inconsistent instruction that varied in quality from school to school, and educators received uneven support and training to implement the curriculum they were using. The result was inequity: 34.3% of students who are Black and 35.7% who are Latino demonstrated proficiency on their math exams, compared to 70.2% of white students and 77.6% of Asian American students.

The three research-backed curriculum options put forth by NYCPS for each superintendent to select for their district focus on building the problem-solving and mathematical curiosity of students, moving away from rote memorization and shortcuts that defined now-defunct curriculums. Research shows that by the second grade, students develop a self perception as either “good” or “bad” math students; by focusing on the process of investigation, newer curriculums like Illustrative Math (one of the three options put forth by NYCPS) take the emphasis off of finding the right answer, and onto the important skills of problem solving that builds students’ capacity to take on the questions of our future around artificial intelligence, environmental engineering, data analysis, and yet unknown challenges and opportunities. The curricula that NYCPS are adopting are designed to strengthen students’ curiosity and investigative abilities, building problem solvers rather than answer-finders, which is what older math curriculums focused on.

Aligning curriculum across districts will help schools share their successful strategies, identify the pain points that teachers with similar student populations have worked around, and generally create bigger, stronger, more supportive networks of experts. Ultimately, this policy change will raise math scores for students in NYCPS, close the equity gaps mentioned above, and open the door for many more high school students to enroll in advanced courses, pursue STEM in college, and excel in STEM-related careers thanks to strong elementary and middle school math foundations.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

E4E-NY used the playbook that worked well for them when it came to advocating for early literacy curriculum changes in 2023 and executed once again. E4E-NY organizers and teacher members went school-to-school, collecting feedback and opinions from teachers in all 5 boroughs, gathering over 1,000 petition signatures, and repeatedly convening an impassioned teacher action team of math teachers—diverse across lines of race, age, gender, grade level, and other factors—to create policy recommendations.

E4E-NY used the bridges built during the NYC Reads campaign to secure meetings with Deputy Chancellors, learn where to push, and set up a panel event with Chancellor Banks in May. At that event, E4E-NY’s teacher action team showed his administration the groundswell they had built to call for these changes, and asked him and his advisers tough questions about what they had learned from rolling out NYC Reads, and how they planned to improve upon that model if they adopted the math curriculum recommendations.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to a $34 million initial investment over the course of the next five years in the professional development of teachers and high-quality instructional materials for New York City Public School students.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

In the NYC Solves campaign, E4E-NY lived out E4E’s guiding principle: leveraging teacher power, to elevate the teaching profession and improve student outcomes. E4E-NY built off of the goodwill, strong relationships, and healthy adversarialism that they developed with NYCPS to achieve their NYC Reads win in 2023 to exponentially expand their impact and ultimately transform the curricula selection scene in the largest district in the nation. The winning recipe was to combine those valuable relationships with E4E-NY’s bread and butter: teacher-led policy teams sourced from all over NYC and armed with the opinions of hundreds more NYC math teachers.

The main takeaway from this campaign is that grassroots campaigns do not have to be exclusively adversarial. Once power is demonstrated through mass action like petitions, E4E-NY was able to bring that strengthened hand to the bargaining table, offering their advocacy targets the opportunity to publicly benefit from all of that hard work by allying with and adopting the demands of teachers.

RESOURCES

Massachusetts Literacy Coalition

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

Fighting for Fair & Representative Governance in Chicago’s Inaugural Elected School Board

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

Georgia Passes Education Savings Account Legislation

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.

Massachusetts Literacy Coalition

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

New Teacher Track: A Coalition to Modernize Teacher Certification in CT

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

Info Sheet at launch – identifying the problems we seek to solve
2024 Legislative Goals
Collateral About the Newly Established Educator Preparation and Certification Board
CT Mirror article: CT passes K-12 education bills aimed at improving teaching environment

Setting a Path Toward Workforce Readiness and Empowerment for Students, Families, and Community: Colorado’s State Data System and Cross-Agency Data Governance

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

Defending Data Transparency and Accountability in Minnesota

EdAllies, Educators for Excellence-Minnesota, Great MN Schools

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations

SUMMARY

This policy helps families and educators know how schools are doing, and how an individual student is performing against state standards, in a timely manner. This allows them to make informed decisions around school choice, push for needed school improvements, and request necessary academic intervention services for the current school year.

In 2013, a coalition of key education stakeholders, that included, schools, educators and authorizers, pushed for there to be a release date of the Minnesota state accountability test (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment / MCA) data early in the coming school year so that the results could be actionable for schools and families.

This year, new language was introduced that would delay public reporting of MCA test results from September 1st. to December 1st. We defended against this language to keep the data timely and relevant for all stakeholders.

Our policy and advocacy impacted 800,000 students.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

While imperfect, the MCAs are the only data available to provide the empirical evidence that too many students in Minnesota are not getting the education they deserve, that we have tremendous educational inequities and that some schools are doing better than others to address inequities. This data must be released in a timely manner for families and schools to take action using this data. Delaying the MCA reporting would have taken the power of information away from families and communities, reducing MCAs’ value and relevance, and ultimately threatening the value of accountability testing in MN.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

The community worked together to present a quick and strong response so that the legislature and Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) better understood the many ways we use the MCA, and its importance to our collective work to address educational inequities.

We organized a coalition of schools, authorizers, and community organizations in a four-pronged strategy:

24 organizations signed a letter to the Commissioner requesting that he strike the language delaying the MCA data release date
14 organizations sent individual letters to conference committee members
31 individuals reached out to conference committee members via action alert
Great MN Schools, Ed Evolving, and Educators for Excellence met with Commissioner Jett and other members of the agency’s executive cabinet to explain the negative consequences of delaying the release of the data

PIE Network provides us with consistent information, learning, and connections that boosts our credibility and helps us be strong advocates for students in our state. This past year, members of our leadership team attended the PIE Network conference and frequently accessed the Policy Portal for insights and resources to advance our work.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Our organization has been working hard to build strong relationships and a strong understanding of key education issues, such as the importance of data transparency, across the community so that when issues like these arise we can rally community support.

Specifically, we have been working with schools and community organizations to create the Minneapolis School Finder, which is reliant on the timely release of MCA data, for the last 8 years. The Minneapolis School Finder is a resource that many of these organizations use to support their families, so it was easy to translate what otherwise would feel like a minor technical change into an important issue that impacts their daily work.

RESOURCES

Link to our call to action (No longer active – please do not fill out)
Bill language

Defending Data Transparency and Accountability in Minnesota

EdAllies, Educators for Excellence-Minnesota, Great MN Schools

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations

SUMMARY

This policy helps families and educators know how schools are doing, and how an individual student is performing against state standards, in a timely manner. This allows them to make informed decisions around school choice, push for needed school improvements, and request necessary academic intervention services for the current school year.

In 2013, a coalition of key education stakeholders, that included, schools, educators and authorizers, pushed for there to be a release date of the Minnesota state accountability test (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment / MCA) data early in the coming school year so that the results could be actionable for schools and families.

This year, new language was introduced that would delay public reporting of MCA test results from September 1st. to December 1st. We defended against this language to keep the data timely and relevant for all stakeholders.

Our policy and advocacy impacted 800,000 students.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

While imperfect, the MCAs are the only data available to provide the empirical evidence that too many students in Minnesota are not getting the education they deserve, that we have tremendous educational inequities and that some schools are doing better than others to address inequities. This data must be released in a timely manner for families and schools to take action using this data. Delaying the MCA reporting would have taken the power of information away from families and communities, reducing MCAs’ value and relevance, and ultimately threatening the value of accountability testing in MN.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

The community worked together to present a quick and strong response so that the legislature and Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) better understood the many ways we use the MCA, and its importance to our collective work to address educational inequities.

We organized a coalition of schools, authorizers, and community organizations in a four-pronged strategy:

24 organizations signed a letter to the Commissioner requesting that he strike the language delaying the MCA data release date
14 organizations sent individual letters to conference committee members
31 individuals reached out to conference committee members via action alert
Great MN Schools, Ed Evolving, and Educators for Excellence met with Commissioner Jett and other members of the agency’s executive cabinet to explain the negative consequences of delaying the release of the data

PIE Network provides us with consistent information, learning, and connections that boosts our credibility and helps us be strong advocates for students in our state. This past year, members of our leadership team attended the PIE Network conference and frequently accessed the Policy Portal for insights and resources to advance our work.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Our organization has been working hard to build strong relationships and a strong understanding of key education issues, such as the importance of data transparency, across the community so that when issues like these arise we can rally community support.

Specifically, we have been working with schools and community organizations to create the Minneapolis School Finder, which is reliant on the timely release of MCA data, for the last 8 years. The Minneapolis School Finder is a resource that many of these organizations use to support their families, so it was easy to translate what otherwise would feel like a minor technical change into an important issue that impacts their daily work.

RESOURCES

Link to our call to action (No longer active – please do not fill out)
Bill language

Defending Foundational Policies: Saving Assessment and Teacher Evaluation during Tennessee’s 2024 Legislative Session

State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), Tennesseans for Student Success, Tennessee Charter School Center, TennesseeCAN

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations

SUMMARY

This policy helps all Tennessee students and educator to monitor student progress and teacher instructional practice so they can continuously adapt instruction and provide ongoing intervention and support to the students and teachers that need improvement.

In 2007, Tennessee received an “F” rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for “Truth in Advertising About Student Proficiency,” due to Tennessee state assessments misleading schools and families about their students’ academic performance. Compared to their peers nationally, this “honesty gap” revealed Tennessee was holding students to low expectations — a detriment to both the state and its students. Tennessee boldly responded with the development of new rigorous academic standards, aligned assessments, and a new teacher evaluation system. This shift marked a commitment to transparently reporting student and teacher performance and giving education leaders the information they needed to both prepare students for success and provide teachers with opportunities to reflect and improve their instructional practice.

Tennessee requires students in grades 3-8 to be assessed annually in math, English language arts, science, and social studies, and students in grades 9-12 to be assessed in Algebra I-II and Geometry (or Integrated Math I-III), English I-II, Biology, US History, and Geography. Tennessee’s state assessments are important measures for local and state leaders to understand whether students are being served well to build the knowledge and skills in each subject and grade that will be needed for success in life. The Tennessee House Education Committees considered an amendment to a broader legislative proposal that would have eliminated all but one ELA and one Math assessment in high school and drastically reduced grades 3-8 science and social studies assessments.

Tennessee requires all teachers to receive annual feedback through a formal multi-measure evaluation, which includes a composite weighting of student achievement, student growth, and classroom observation data. This multiple-measure evaluation model aggregates to provide educators with a “level of overall effectiveness” score, which informs professional development and ensures all teachers have relevant feedback on their professional practice. Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system has been a critical lever for improving student outcomes. The Tennessee House Education Committees considered an amendment to a broader legislative proposal that would have removed the annual evaluation for 95% of Tennessee teachers, reducing the frequency to once every 4 years for more than 40% of teachers.

Our policy and advocacy impacts nearly 1 million students.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

During the 2024 legislative session, there was a unique need for advocacy to defend foundational policy pillars in Tennessee that have been shown to positively impact student achievement, backed by evidence and ongoing data monitoring. Following the implementation of aligned assessments to hold students to high expectations, student performance improved, the state’s honesty gap closed, and Tennessee was no longer at the bottom of the pack in national comparisons. In 2016, Tennessee’s academic performance on NAEP was recognized as the fastest improving in the nation. Tennessee’s academic recovery and resilience after the COVID-19 pandemic stood out in national research. State assessment results in 2024 show that Tennessee now exceeds prepandemic ELA proficiency levels for students in grades 3-8, and math proficiency for students in grades 3-8 is just shy of a pre-pandemic peak.

As for Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system, a study by Vanderbilt University found that student performance increased at a much faster rate after evaluation reform and after 10 years of Tennessee’s new teacher evaluation system, student achievement growth and teacher growth can be attributed to the state’s evaluation reform. A national study in 2024 also found that Tennessee was one of only two state exemplars where teacher evaluation reform implementation resulted in positive effects on student achievement in math and ELA. Further, the National Council for Teacher Quality highlighted Tennessee as an exemplar for a high-quality teacher evaluation system and the only state that sustained observable outcomes five years after evaluation. Lastly, when surveyed, Tennessee teachers respond positively to questions about their perception about whether the evaluation system improves student achievement and their instructional practice. Most recently, nearly 80% of Tennessee teachers agreed or strongly agreed that the evaluation process has led to improvements in their teaching.

The nominated organizations jointly advocated in defense of assessment and teacher evaluation policies. Together, we elevated the importance of assessment and teacher evaluation with legislative members and as a group, convened weekly to adjust legislative strategy accordingly. The National Council for Teacher Quality research was helpful in advocating for teacher evaluation policy, as Tennessee’s evaluation system has been highlighted in NCTQ’s research for its positive influence on student outcomes and teacher performance. The PIE Network’s guiding principles on assessment and accountability served as strong guides for talking points about the importance of defending these policies.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

Over the last two decades, Tennessee has established a foundation of high expectations and accountability. There is a state-wide, bipartisan coalition to support what works for improving student outcomes, including statewide standards, assessment, accountability, and teacher evaluation. This commitment to expect more, and the policy pillars that followed, have led Tennessee to score at the national average for all grades, subjects, and student groups on NAEP. Thanks to coordination across a coalition of education advocates, we were able to successfully communicate why the proposal to reduce annual assessments and evaluation would be a detriment to Tennessee students. Partners collaborated to actively defend these policies with targeted memos and by publishing news content.

The legislative proposal to remove assessments and roll back teacher evaluation policies was introduced as part of an amendment to an education savings account bill. Tennessee partners who were concerned about the removal of foundational policy pillars strategically focused our advocacy and political resources opposing those specific provisions related to assessment and teacher evaluation policies in public schools. Our coalition’s plans to engage to defend foundational policies were communicated with state leadership and any partners who were supportive of the broader bill. This was effective because we were able to clearly articulate our reasoning and our engagement strategy for those priority policies.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Tennessee partners effectively leveraged student outcome data, teacher performance data, and historical trends in state performance to show the impact that assessment and teacher evaluation policies have had on education reform statewide. It was effective to connect with legislative leadership, education committee members, and partners to provide information about the positive impacts these policies have had toward the shared goal to increase academic outcomes and teacher effectiveness.

RESOURCES

Defending Investments in Long-term Data Tracking and Evaluation of DC Student Outcomes

Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE)

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations, Innovative Options, Responsive Systems

SUMMARY

This policy helps families, educators, and policymakers understand which schools and school models effectively support students after graduation by measuring life outcomes. This information allows them to expand what works and improve areas where there are gaps.

DC’s Education through Employment (ETE) Database will track career and life outcomes for students after they graduate. This database aims to help provide stakeholders with the information they need to evaluate how effective programs are at leading students to ‘family-sustaining careers and economic mobility”. The database was launched in 2024 by the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) through the Office of Education through Employment Pathways. The program began with $688,000 in funding via the Mayor’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget to create the database and share the information with the public in the following year. However, during the early stages of the budget process, that funding was cut by the DC Council. The progressive-leaning Council was seeking areas to trim amid District-wide budget cuts in response to federal COVID relief funding going away so they could fund shorter-term initiatives and current programs rather than something new that was a longer-term investment.

Our policy and advocacy impacts 101,000 students.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

Parents want their children to have access to the types of school models that fit their child’s needs, interests, and passions. That’s why they chose specialized school programs (i.e. dual language, Montessori, art integration, STEM, etc.) as one of their top policy priorities in 2023. They worked together with school and community partners to learn all about the different programs and what it would take to ensure every model – regardless of type, grade level, or Ward in the District, was high-quality. They wrote their own Statement of Beliefs and a set of policy solutions on what they wanted to be true, and a core aspect of their ask was more data showing how well schools were serving students – both now and in the future.

In particular, parents are looking to see which schools and school types have led to college enrollment and completion, securing jobs in high-demand and well-paying fields, and what life outcomes look like for students once they graduate. Sharing this data transparently can help parents decide what schools will best serve their children. Importantly, it also allows school leaders to make informed decisions about their practices, investments, and strategic plans. While some local school districts have started to track students’ outcomes after they graduate, that work is currently siloed, doesn’t capture the depth and breadth of school/program offerings in the District, and isn’t shared publicly for families to access. The ETE database would rectify that and provide data across all schools for all stakeholder groups to use.

PAVE Parent Leaders and our partners consistently advocated for the protection of this funding through testimonies, meetings with elected officials and policymakers, and on social media. We were able to dispel the Council Chairman’s assumption that parents wouldn’t use the data and show that there was strong demand from parents and other stakeholders abound. There were proof points that the data from the initiative was worth the return on investment, sharing examples from other local LEAs and jurisdictions for how it could transform decision-making around education. In the end, DC’s final FY25 budget restored $638,000 for the database, which included $150,000 for a study on CTE programs specifically to identify gaps in services and inform future data evaluation needs and planning, offering a runway to make the case for additional funding in the future.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

Especially in a tight fiscal year, there are always many competing budget priorities. Investment in long-term data systems benefits multiple audiences:

Our local research organizations that share transparent and robust data sets,
Families as they make decisions about where to send their children to school,
School leaders to make data-informed decisions about what is working and what isn’t, and
The workforce community as they seek to expand initiatives for college and career pathways for the next generation.

PAVE worked intentionally with each stakeholder group to advocate for the protection of the funding for the ETE database and make the case for why this investment would pay off for years to come.

PAVE relied on research, examples from other states, and counsel from other PIE network leaders throughout the campaign to build out our policy materials, sharpen our advocacy messaging, and get advice on how to demonstrate return on investment for long-term research during a tight fiscal climate.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to a $638,000 investment in 101,000 students – and even more, if you include their families, school leaders, and the workforce community.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Uniting a diverse coalition of stakeholders who would be immediately impacted by the results of this advocacy gave PAVE a well-rounded perspective on this issue and also helped bolster buy-in from initially opposing policymakers and their staff. PAVE played a critical convening role in this advocacy effort, as both the DME staff and other invested advocacy organizations reached out to PAVE to bring in parents and other key stakeholders because PAVE had those relationships and done the work to build up their policy and advocacy expertise. Making the case for smart, efficient investments like longitudinal research that support the broadly-held goal of ensuring every child has a pathway to college and career can be challenging, but is possible when you bring in the voices from all aspects of the system.

RESOURCES

Protecting School Accountability in Florida and Beyond

ExcelinEd, Foundation for Florida’s Future

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations

SUMMARY

The 2024 Florida legislative session saw several longstanding school accountability measures come under threat from Senate leaders. This required the Foundation for Florida’s Future (FFF) to develop and deploy a robust campaign to ensure that the state would continue holding itself, schools and its students to high expectations, a value shared with PIE Network and its members. This harmful legislation (SB 7004, HB 7025) threatened numerous fundamental education policies, including third grade promotion policy, a core component of Florida’s comprehensive approach to early literacy, and rigorous high school end-of-course assessments.

We were defending Florida’s third-grade promotion policy, which has been in place since 2002. We were also defending the Algebra and English Language Arts end-of-course assessments, which have existed since 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Repeal of the third-grade promotion policy, which has been in place since 2002 and was at the heart of a decade-long turnaround in student achievement in Florida, would have lowered standards for more than 670,000 current pre-kindergarten through second grade students, as well as tens of thousands of students entering the public education system. Replacing the Algebra and English Language Arts end-of-course assessments, which have existed since 2011 and 2012, respectively, would have weakened high school diploma standards for more than 2 million students. The bills also included anti-charter school provisions that would have repealed the cap on Title I sharing, impacting 191,000 students as well as facilities funding equity for the state’s more than 700 charter schools.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

Had these bills passed, the harmful impacts would have extended far beyond the Sunshine State. Florida has long been the standard-bearer in education policy. The public proposals alone provided legislators in several other states with talking points to challenge school accountability measures. FFF’s work to protect these vital provisions signaled the importance of high standards and expectations for states across the country.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

Our organization led the advocacy efforts to defeat the Senate’s anti-accountability and anti-charter school proposals. In addition to our behind-the-scenes policy influencing with legislative staff, FFF executed a muscular campaign that included media interviews with Executive Director Patricia Levesque and Legislative Director Nathan Hoffman, as well as a high-profile op-ed from former Florida Governor and FFF Chairman Governor Jeb Bush.

Beyond these media pieces, FFF testified in opposition to the proposals in each committee stop, joined stakeholder feedback calls with the House committee chairs and led external stakeholder calls to provide information updates and garner diverse support. We also lobbied key leadership members, the Department of Education and the Executive Office of the Governor to prevent any backsliding in a school accountability system that has long proven to be the backbone of rising student achievement in Florida.

Our organization has learned a great deal from other successful PIE Network member defensive campaigns.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Fellow Network members can learn from our robust and comprehensive defense, which included lobbying, media interviews, op-eds, testimony and coordination between various education stakeholders and leaders.

RESOURCES

Protecting the NM Public Education Commission, the State’s Charter Authorizer: Yesterday’s Failed Answers Are Not Today’s Solutions

NewMexicoKidsCAN, Public Charter Schools of New Mexico, Teach Plus New Mexico

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations, Responsive Systems

SUMMARY

This policy helps New Mexico students and families to access charter schools and a stable education system so they can achieve their wildest dreams!

We were defending the New Mexico Public Education Act by working to stop Senate Joint Resolution 9. In 2003, New Mexico voters approved Amendment 1, also known as the Public Education Act. This constitutional amendment established the Public Education Commission, an elected body that serves as the statewide charter school authorizer, and introduced a governor-appointed Secretary of Education. During the 2024 New Mexico Legislative Session, Senate Joint Resolution 9 was introduced. This resolution sought to implement a statewide school board while eliminating the role of the Secretary of Education and the Public Education Commission, threatening to dramatically change New Mexico’s education governance structure and endangering state-authorized public charter schools.

Our policy and advocacy impacted the 309,000 students in New Mexico’s public education system and the 30,000 students enrolled in public charter schools.

WHY THIS WIN MATTERS

Defeating Senate Joint Resolution 9 was absolutely critical to 1) ensuring New Mexico’s state charter school authorizer remained supportive of charter schools and continued to be isolated from the dramatic political theater that threatens most statewide elections and 2) ensured strong leadership at the state agency with a secretary of education, appointed by the Governor, rather than diffusing the power across a 15 member board in which voters would only have influence in 1 of the 10 elected members, and 0 of the five Governor appointees.

Had SJR9 passed and gone on to the voters, we would have risked losing the strong charter supportive environment we have worked for years to establish among 9 of the 10 current Public Education Commissioners. SJR9 would have dissolved the Public Education Commission leaving major questions about the future of charter school authorizing in New Mexico and potentially allowing for the divisive politics of today to drive the state’s authorizing decisions moving forward. This could have single-handedly ruined the charter school movement in New Mexico.

Additionally, as indicated by our title ‘ Yesterday’s Failed Answers Are Not Today’s Solutions’ – the reversion to a state elected school board from the current Secretary of Education is a step backwards. Just 20 years ago New Mexico voters to replace the elected school board with a Governor appointed Secretary of Education. Voters voted to move away from our previous state board of education because they were frustrated by a lack of progress resulting from constant political fights and theater on the board. School boards are more volatile and divisive than ever, and returning to a failed model, would slow any possible progress for New Mexico’s public schools.

WORKING ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE & COALITIONS

The politics of this one were challenging in that even our Democratic members of the legislature are so frustrated with the revolving door of leadership at the New Mexico Public Education Department that they were unwilling to “save” Governor Lujan Grisham (D) from a potentially embarrassing moment if the department was taken away from her control.

In some ways we avoided the politics, but reminding everyone that despite our shared frustrations with the current administration and current system, a change in governance wouldn’t solve the problem.

We also, together with our coalition, played politics. We reminded the Republicans that this would be detrimental to charter schools and showed them voter data to remind them, they’d likely have little to no representation on a statewide board of education. We worked with Democrats to remind them, that though they were frustrated with this Governor, the next is likely to be a Democrat and that they’d want that Governor to have the ability to impart quick change. We also mobilized supporters for former Governor Bill Richardson (D) to ask Democratic legislators to not undermine the legacy of Governor Richardson.

One of the other tactics we used to compare and contrast the performance of education systems with the type of governance structures in states. The PIE team was pivotal in helping us map governance structures by state, and putting us in contact with advocates in states with elected state boards. That insight from members about what worked about their system and where their systems struggled was extremely helpful in conversations with legislators.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

This is an example of when testimony really made a difference. The bill was moving with rapid pace through the Roundhouse with no signs of stopping. We finally got our moment, when in front of the House Education committee we turned out a ton of strong testimony from a diverse group of heavy hitters. After our initial conversations with members, the testimony created enough doubt to cause legislators to pause. That pause gave the Speaker of the House the cover he needed to never schedule the legislation for a floor vote.

RESOURCES

Stopping SJR9: Yesterday’s Failed Answers Are Not Today’s Solutions

Alabama’s Literacy Transformation

A+ Education Partnership, ExcelinEd

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations, Great Educators

SUMMARY

In 2019, Alabama ranked 49th in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores for low-income fourth graders. The state’s education champions recognized the immediate need for early literacy reform and, with the policy support of partners like ExcelinEd, adopted comprehensive early literacy policy to support K-3 students and ensure they can read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. This represented a commitment to high expectations and high-quality educators throughout the state. Specific components of the Alabama Literacy Act included:

Teacher training and preparation programs that embrace scientifically proven methods of reading instruction;
Early identification of students with reading difficulties;
Comprehensive reading interventions for struggling K-3 readers; and
Targeted retention of struggling readers as a last resort.

In the years following policy adoption, more than 650,000 K-3 students have benefited from these sweeping reforms—and benefited in a meaningful way.

WHY THE ORIGINAL WIN MATTERS

Originally passed in 2019

In 2022—just three years after implementing comprehensive early literacy policy—Alabama ranked 27th on the Nation’s Report Card, jumping 22 positions in the state rankings in the same 4th grade reading category. Progress continues to be made, with student proficiency on the third-grade English Language Arts summative assessment rising from 54% in 2023 to 63% in 2024.

HOW THE POLICY HAS EVOLVED DURING IMPLEMENTATION

This substantial progress could not have been achieved without strong policy implementation. ExcelinEd remained engaged with the Alabama Department of Education (DOE) to ensure the comprehensive policy would be implemented with fidelity. Key areas of our involvement include:

Serving on and advising DOE’s Literacy Taskforce, which guides implementation through activities such as developing an approved reading curriculum list.
Supporting a communications campaign for parental awareness of Alabama Literacy Act requirements.
Serving as the keynote speaker at Alabama’s Literacy Reimagined state conference.
Engaging Alabama’s literacy leaders in ExcelinEd’s Early Literacy Network. This dynamic network brings together 85 literacy practitioners from 35 states to exchange knowledge, solve challenges, share lessons learned and identify best practices for effective literacy policy and program implementation.
Alabama’s strong implementation work was possible in part from continued legislative advocacy by ExcelinEd in Action alongside in-state education partners. In the five years since the act’s passage, we have worked together to address attempts to weaken the policy and protect its core components, such as the third-grade promotion gate. In addition, we have taken strides to further strengthen policy, advocating for additional literacy supports and better alignment with educator preparation program standards and other state education systems.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Systems alignment, communication and flexibility have all been key components in the successful implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act that has already positively impacted so many students.

Systems Alignment: the importance of systems alignment and its significance for student outcomes has been a major takeaway from this work. Alabama has seen great success in training teachers, with more than 10,000 educators to date completing an in-depth comprehensive professional learning option. Our work has demonstrated that, from policy to practice, continuity in implementation matters. Teacher training is important but ensuring educator preparation programs are rooted in the science of reading is key to sustained and impactful results in the classroom.
Communications: a strong communication plan that includes all stakeholders, including and especially parent engagement and involvement, is essential for effective and impactful early literacy policy.
Flexibility: flexibility in implementation is crucial; a plan for rollout and support should be developed in advance but should also be a “living” plan that can be modified in response to implementation context and conditions. Our team was able to work with the legislature to clarify language throughout the rollout process.

This work was also made possible through A+ Education’s partnership with ExcelinEd and the Alabama Department of Education.

Advancing Data Access for Californians through the Cradle-to-Career Data System

Teach Plus California, The Education Trust-West

Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems

SUMMARY

This policy helps Californians access information so they can make education and workforce decisions.

Our policy and advocacy impacted 8+ million K-12 and postsecondary students.

WHY THE ORIGINAL WIN MATTERS

Originally Passed In 2021

California is the first state to center families, communities and practitioners in their P–20W data system. This system will deliver the aggregate research data that many states do, but California went many steps further to innovate and design this system with individuals in mind. When it is fully launched, California’s system will center the types of tools and analytics that families, communities, and practitioners want and need to better serve students along their journey.

HOW THE POLICY HAS EVOLVED DURING IMPLEMENTATION

California advocates and the Data for the People Coalition—including Ed Trust-West (one of two organizations leading the coalition) and Teach Plus CA—have been integral in ensuring that the state delivers on its promise of data access as it launches the Cradle-to-Career Data System. Members have worked closely with state leaders and have been outspoken about the need for robust data access for decisionmaking, participating in public stakeholder engagement opportunities as well as spearheading advocacy efforts. They have engaged in follow-up efforts to ensure that the system continues to be funded, staffed, and focused on stakeholder engagement; provide feedback and recommendations to the Governing Board charged with decisionmaking; and they serve as an intermediary to spread awareness and engagement opportunities with other folks.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to a $10 million investment in Californians.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

The Data for the People Coalition has worked to ensure that California builds a data system that is centered on achieving equity and the needs of students, parents, and families. They did so by not only showing up to raise their voices at public stakeholder engagement opportunities, but also by creating opportunities to share their perspectives. Leaders like Ed Trust-West’s Chris Nellum have worked closely with state leaders to ensure that California is delivering on its promise of data access. In fact, his efforts landed him a spot as a Governor-appointed member of the Governing Board. ETW and the Data for the People Coalition have leveraged every opportunity to engage productively, including cheering on the state when they’re getting it right.

PIE Network members came together to do this work in the state and nationally.

Alabama’s Literacy Transformation

A+ Education Partnership, ExcelinEd

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations, Great Educators

SUMMARY

In 2019, Alabama ranked 49th in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores for low-income fourth graders. The state’s education champions recognized the immediate need for early literacy reform and, with the policy support of partners like ExcelinEd, adopted comprehensive early literacy policy to support K-3 students and ensure they can read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. This represented a commitment to high expectations and high-quality educators throughout the state. Specific components of the Alabama Literacy Act included:

Teacher training and preparation programs that embrace scientifically proven methods of reading instruction;
Early identification of students with reading difficulties;
Comprehensive reading interventions for struggling K-3 readers; and
Targeted retention of struggling readers as a last resort.

In the years following policy adoption, more than 650,000 K-3 students have benefited from these sweeping reforms—and benefited in a meaningful way.

WHY THE ORIGINAL WIN MATTERS

Originally passed in 2019

In 2022—just three years after implementing comprehensive early literacy policy—Alabama ranked 27th on the Nation’s Report Card, jumping 22 positions in the state rankings in the same 4th grade reading category. Progress continues to be made, with student proficiency on the third-grade English Language Arts summative assessment rising from 54% in 2023 to 63% in 2024.

HOW THE POLICY HAS EVOLVED DURING IMPLEMENTATION

This substantial progress could not have been achieved without strong policy implementation. ExcelinEd remained engaged with the Alabama Department of Education (DOE) to ensure the comprehensive policy would be implemented with fidelity. Key areas of our involvement include:

Serving on and advising DOE’s Literacy Taskforce, which guides implementation through activities such as developing an approved reading curriculum list.
Supporting a communications campaign for parental awareness of Alabama Literacy Act requirements.
Serving as the keynote speaker at Alabama’s Literacy Reimagined state conference.
Engaging Alabama’s literacy leaders in ExcelinEd’s Early Literacy Network. This dynamic network brings together 85 literacy practitioners from 35 states to exchange knowledge, solve challenges, share lessons learned and identify best practices for effective literacy policy and program implementation.
Alabama’s strong implementation work was possible in part from continued legislative advocacy by ExcelinEd in Action alongside in-state education partners. In the five years since the act’s passage, we have worked together to address attempts to weaken the policy and protect its core components, such as the third-grade promotion gate. In addition, we have taken strides to further strengthen policy, advocating for additional literacy supports and better alignment with educator preparation program standards and other state education systems.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Systems alignment, communication and flexibility have all been key components in the successful implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act that has already positively impacted so many students.

Systems Alignment: the importance of systems alignment and its significance for student outcomes has been a major takeaway from this work. Alabama has seen great success in training teachers, with more than 10,000 educators to date completing an in-depth comprehensive professional learning option. Our work has demonstrated that, from policy to practice, continuity in implementation matters. Teacher training is important but ensuring educator preparation programs are rooted in the science of reading is key to sustained and impactful results in the classroom.
Communications: a strong communication plan that includes all stakeholders, including and especially parent engagement and involvement, is essential for effective and impactful early literacy policy.
Flexibility: flexibility in implementation is crucial; a plan for rollout and support should be developed in advance but should also be a “living” plan that can be modified in response to implementation context and conditions. Our team was able to work with the legislature to clarify language throughout the rollout process.

This work was also made possible through A+ Education’s partnership with ExcelinEd and the Alabama Department of Education.

Designing and Implementing LAUSD’s first Anti-Racist Instruction Microcredential: Highlighting, Building, and Centering Black Excellence

Educators for Excellence-Los Angeles

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations Great Educators Innovative Options

SUMMARY

This policy helps Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) educators to build skills through an accredited program of study to teach from a truly antiracist perspective, so they can approach topics like racism at an age-appropriate level; build safe and accepting learning environments; and address difficult questions concerning racism in a way that is compassionate, open to constructive dialogue, and conducive to change.

We estimate that our policy and advocacy has thus far impacted approximately 3,000 students, as 50 LAUSD teachers completed the microcredential in its first year. However, it has the potential to impact up to 530,000 students as teachers continue to pursue the credential in coming years.

WHY THE ORIGINAL WIN MATTERS

Originally Passed In 2021

With this win, we were proud to see LAUSD take concrete action toward addressing systemic racism in education by providing a professional development pathway to keep equity-focused teachers in the classroom and financial incentives to drive greater participation and benefit for anti-racist teachers. Furthermore, this victory laid the groundwork for other critical educator initiatives to improve the profession over time, such as differentiated compensation for specialized skills and expertise. We know that the number one predictor of student success is the quality of their teacher, so ensuring that we are valorizing and prioritizing equity-focused, anti-racist teaching practices is vitally important for the students of LAUSD.

HOW THE POLICY HAS EVOLVED DURING IMPLEMENTATION

In 2021, a group of 20 diverse E4E-LA educators formed a Teacher Action Team focused on addressing the culture of learning in our schools, specifically as it impacts Black students’ felt experience. After weeks of research and conversations with peers, the group identified a breakthrough opportunity to partner with LAUSD Human Resources to build the district’s first Anti-Racist Instruction Microcredential in 2021: Highlighting, Building, and Centering Black Excellence,an accredited program of study for educators focused on culturally relevant pedagogy. Having a grassroots team of committed educators who built the campaign from the conceptual phase to the finish line gave our campaign credibility, authenticity, and bought-in advocates.

At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, the E4E-LA team was informed that the time-bound commitment they had worked so hard to achieve had not been honored by the district, so their teacher leaders quickly sprang into action to collect petition signatures calling for the district to follow through with the micro-credential implementation as intended. E4E-LA also worked directly with the group of educators who were in close collaboration with the district on this initiative and provided them with guidance and training on how to put more pressure on district officials to ensure faithful implementation of the program. Those teachers used this practical opportunity to develop their skills in grassroots advocacy, striking the tricky balance between holding folks accountable and maintaining a strong working relationship.

After nearly three years of steadfast advocacy from E4E-LA teachers pushing for the buy-in, creation, and launch of this program, the micro-credential was made available to all educators in the district for the first time in the 2023-24 school year, allowing teachers to increase their knowledge and understanding of how to create more culturally relevant and affirming classrooms.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Network members can learn from investing in a grassroots, constituent-led approach. Our Teacher Action Team crafted this campaign from beginning to end, they added credibility to our claims along the way, and were the best public advocates for the need for this change. We also would emphasize that building relationships with LAUSD Human Resources helped us hold them accountable when they didn’t follow through on their commitment to roll out the micro credential in 2022.

E4E-LA did not explicitly leverage the PIE Network in working toward this win. However, the Network’s policy resources, connection-building opportunities, and role as a consistent and reliable thought partner continually contribute to E4E-LA’s—and all of E4E’s—expertise and impact.

Parents Change Policy and Practice to Expand Equitable Access to Enrichment and Out-of-School Time Programs in Washington, D.C.

Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE)

Network Policy Pillar: Innovative Options Responsive Systems

SUMMARY

This policy helps parents, especially those furthest from privilege, get more equitable to access summer, after school, and other enrichment programs that allow students to build relationships, explore their passions, and extend their learning – a critical strategy to breaking the one-size-fits-all mold of education and supporting students’ academic recovery and wellbeing.

Our policy and advocacy impacts more than 101,000 students.

WHY THE ORIGINAL WIN MATTERS

Originally Passed In 2018

“In 2018, PAVE Parent Leaders selected Out-of-School-Time (OST) programs as one of their top two priorities and their advocacy has led to historic investments. Parents’ asks around OST have been clear and consistent: more seats, better supports for students with disabilities, and a more accessible and equitable system to sign-up for programs. This matters because kids need a safe, productive space outside of school hours to build relationships, develop social skills, explore their passions, and extend their learning. Given DC’s record-high rates of chronic absenteeism and large gaps in academic achievement, improving access to OST is a key lever for change. Research shows that youth who regularly attended after school programs were 26% more likely to finish the year at or on track for grade-level reading compared to non-attending peers. Further, reports show that an overwhelming majority of students who were behind saw improvements in their classroom participation (73%), motivation to learn (66%), and attentiveness in class (66%) when participating in OST.

Despite investments made around OST in the District, challenges persisted. Too many parents were unaware of where to get information about OST programs or were unable to access the types of programs they thought would best support their child’s needs. Those with means could afford consultants to identify programs or even hire help to navigate sign-up processes on multiple devices to be first in line and secure a coveted program spot. In contrast, families with fewer resources were left at a disadvantage, resulting in a deeply uneven playing field. In the words of a PAVE Parent Leader, the process for signing up for a local educational program for kids felt as stressful as buying a Beyonce or Taylor Swift ticket.

In response, PAVE Parent Leaders showed their policy and advocacy might and led the way to improved implementation:

In 2022-23, PAVE partnered with DC Policy Center to conduct a needs assessment that surveyed families about what types of programs they were most interested in, where there were program gaps, and any major barriers to access. This helped inform local policymakers on how to equitably expand access and prioritize the expansion of high-demand programs.
In Fiscal Year 2024, DC added 5,000 Department of Recreation (DPR) seats and invested an additional $6.8 million to fund dedicated slots for children with disabilities.
In Fiscal Year 2025 – despite budget cuts to many other District programs due to a tight fiscal climate – DC increased OST grants for community-based providers to $27 million.
In response to the feedback from PAVE Parent Leaders about the inequities of the first-come-first-serve sign-up model, DPR launched a lottery process for the first time in 2023. In 2024, DC will now take that even further by adding $1.875 million to go towards setting up a “My Afterschool DC” hub. This will serve as a one-stop-shop, centralized location for parents to get information and sign up for OST programs of all types (school-based, DPR, and from community providers, etc.) modeled off of DC’s award-winning public school lottery.

These implementation improvements will make it much easier for parents across the District to access the right program for their children, and ultimately ensure more kids can realize the many benefits of OST.

HOW THE POLICY HAS EVOLVED DURING IMPLEMENTATION

PAVE worked in collaboration with Parent Leaders, research and data experts, and OST community providers to elevate what was working that needed to be expanded, where there were gaps or barriers, and what solutions were needed to address the challenges and improve access to programs for kids. We took a holistic approach to improving education, looking at policy (budgets informed by a community-driven needs assessment) and practice (continuous improvement around information sharing and equitable sign-up systems) and helped agency leaders and staff implement sustainable and innovative action steps.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to over $30 million of additional OST investments in 101,000 stakeholders.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

This work serves as a model for working collaboratively and strategically with parents, providers, and agency staff. Funding is a critical component to any issue in education, but just as important is keeping the focus on how the funding is being use and developing bold, innovative practices to make sure kids and families feel the impact.

PAVE relied on reports and counsel from other PIE network leaders throughout the campaign to build out our policy materials, sharpen our advocacy messaging, and get advice on how to demonstrate return on investment for OST during a tight fiscal climate.

Quality Pre-K in Missouri: Funding and Frameworks for Public Schools and Childcare Providers

AlignED

Network Policy Pillar: Responsive Systems

SUMMARY

This policy provides state funding and frameworks to equip public districts and charter schools, otherwise known as Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and childcare providers with the resources and guidance to access state dollars appropriated for Pre-Kindergarten programs. This investment aims to provide high-quality early childhood programs for children from low-income families.

Our policy and advocacy have impacted 32,602 students over eight years by providing public districts and charter schools with per-pupil funding for Pre-K and the authority for LEAs to enter into contracting agreements with community-based childcare providers.

Additionally, through the Missouri Quality Pre-K Grant Program, established in FY24, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) awarded funding to 116 LEAs to serve 4,528 4-year-olds and 115 childcare providers..

In the 2023-2024 academic year, 175 LEAs utilized funding for 6,793 Pre-K students, which resulted in $43 million distributed for school-based Pre-Kindergarten.

WHY THE ORIGINAL WIN MATTERS

Originally Passed In 2014

Aligned worked to pass the original Pre-K funding law in 2014 and, over the next eight years, amended the law to serve more students, create complementary funding sources, and revise existing regulations to ultimately serve more students. In 2024, we advocated for a change in the existing law, which doubled the original investment.

Investing in early learning is critical to ensuring that children are ready to succeed in school and life. Equitable, high-quality early learning opportunities improve students’ long-term school achievement, leading to higher test scores and graduation and college attendance rates, increased employment rates, and higher earnings in adulthood.

Aligned worked to pass the original Pre-K funding law in 2014, which made state aid dollars available to students in unaccredited and provisionally accredited schools. In 2018, Aligned advocated for full funding of the state’s foundation formula, which triggered a provision in the 2014 law and subsequently made state aid dollars available to all LEAs.

In 2018, Aligned fought off certain groups’ attempts to keep funding just below the threshold that would trigger statewide expansion of the Pre-K funding law and killed language that would incrementally phase in Pre-K funding for all LEAs. Aligned’s actions helped the Missouri General Assembly fully fund the state aid calculation, subsequently triggering the Pre-K funding.

In 2019, Aligned educated lawmakers on the trigger provision to help them understand that the full funding threshold needed to be met only once for the Pre-K funds to remain in the formula for perpetuity. We also worked with DESE to ensure they communicated this correctly during budget presentations.

Also, in 2019, we worked with the chair of the Senate Education Committee to add a provision to an omnibus bill that would authorize LEAs to lawfully enter into contracting agreements with private providers using the Pre-K funding available in the formula.

This action sparked the creation of Pre-K cooperatives in Kansas City and St. Louis, which now maximize equity-centered state Pre-K investments and serve hundreds of 3- and 4-year-olds in our most disadvantaged communities.

While data are not readily available yet to show the rates of Kindergarten readiness among program participants statewide, one of the members of the Kansas City Pre-K Collaborative, Operation Breakthrough, shared data that shows that 89% of its 2022 cohort entered kindergarten ready-to-learn, compared with the national average of less than 50% for children in poverty.

HOW THE POLICY HAS EVOLVED DURING IMPLEMENTATION

By engaging with policymakers and stakeholders, Aligned was able to address issues that could help improve the implementation of the state Pre-K funds. These issues included the uneven utilization of the Pre-K program among LEAs and the unintended consequences of reducing the infant-toddler supply among private childcare providers due to the loss of enrollment of 3 and 4-year-olds who help offset the higher costs associated with staffing infant-toddler classrooms.

Aligned collaborated with Kids Win Missouri and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) to conduct a comprehensive survey of school administrators to understand better school districts’ barriers and challenges in utilizing the Pre-K funding and identify strategies that Missouri can adopt to expand Pre-K while simultaneously strengthening the entire birth-to-age-5 system.

Following this survey, we identified two key findings:

Some of our LEAs are “hold harmless,” which means that any additional students added to the average daily attendance calculation would not result in any extra funds; therefore, attempting to draw down the new Pre-K funding would not increase their payments from the state.

Some private childcare centers also provide high-quality Pre-K programming. LEAs that offer free Pre-K have a competitive advantage over centers that charge parents for the same service. When private childcare centers experience enrollment losses of 3 and 4-year-olds, it negatively impacts their infant and toddler supply.

To address these issues, Aligned advocated for a separate pool of funds to provide Pre-K grants to LEAs and private childcare providers at a per-pupil amount equal to what LEAs could receive through Missouri’s foundation formula.

In FY24, the Missouri General Assembly created the Missouri Quality Pre-K grant program (MOQPK) and appropriated $56 million for LEA grants and $26 million for childcare provider grants.

As we monitored the utilization during the first round of MOQPK grant funding, we learned that the existing teacher qualification requirements remained the most significant barrier to accessing or applying for the funds. The program required teachers to have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or early childhood special education and hold a teacher’s certificate.

Consulting with other advocacy partners, we worked with DESE to develop additional qualifications for lead teachers. These qualifications still include a bachelor’s degree with a specialization in early childhood as a top standard but do not require a teaching certificate. In addition, the changes allow teachers to have an associate’s degree while they work to earn their bachelor’s degree.

The new qualifications align with standards approved by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). DESE promulged an emergency rule in time to apply to the second round of funding in December 2023 and made that rule permanent in early 2024.

Also, in FY24, the Missouri General Assembly increased the infant-toddler reimbursement rate for childcare in the state subsidy program from 58% to 100%.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Since the original passage of HB 1689 in 2014, our advocacy has contributed to a combined total of $601 million appropriated for pre-K funding for Missouri over the past eight years.

Our work this past session alone resulted in a record $204 million appropriated for pre-K funding for FY25.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Network members can consider the following advocacy strategies and tactics for policy defense:

Collaborating with experts and organizations, such as the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), ensures that policy recommendations are grounded in robust data and expert analysis.

Engaging with policymakers and relevant stakeholders is crucial for securing support and addressing implementation issues, fostering buy-in from those who can influence policy outcomes.

Conducting comprehensive research to identify barriers and challenges faced by school districts and other entities is not just a key tactic; it’s a crucial step. We used our findings to develop evidence-based strategies that led to system improvements.

Monitoring the utilization and impact of funds is essential for identifying issues and barriers to effective implementation. By doing so, we discovered ways to adjust requirements based on feedback from those affected by the policy, such as childcare providers, allowing for more accessible and practical solutions.

Partnering with other advocacy organizations strengthens your position. It leverages collective expertise while aligning policy changes with recognized national standards, such as those by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), ensuring credibility and acceptance.

Through our membership in the PIE Network, we have gained more understanding of how to place students at the center of our work. The support, resources, and connections provided by PIE Network have been instrumental in catalyzing our efforts in several ways:

Enhanced Understanding and Focus: PIE Network has helped us refine our focus on student-centered approaches. For example, just passing policies that increase student funding doesn’t always mean the money is directed to every student. We constantly pushed to ensure the system worked for all LEAs and childcare providers.

Successful Policy Implementation: With the strategies and frameworks shared within the network, we have successfully passed laws that have driven millions of new dollars into classrooms, directly benefiting individual students. This collaboration has enabled us to identify best practices and innovative solutions that address the varied needs of our student population.

Commitment to Equity: PIE Network members have played a crucial role in holding us accountable to our equity goals. When funds became available statewide through the Pre-K trigger, we assumed all schools would immediately ramp up programs. However, we learned that utilization rates were highest in the wealthier suburban districts. Suppose we had not been monitoring implementation closely. In that case, we may have failed to push policies to eliminate existing barriers so all LEAs could establish or expand Pre-K programs.

Inspiration and Tenacity: Being part of a network of dedicated education advocates provides ongoing inspiration to push the limits of the education bureaucracy and to not settle for paper wins that fail to change the narrative for students.

Overall, the support, resources, and connections provided by PIE Network have been vital in advancing our mission. They have equipped us with the knowledge, inspiration, and collaborative spirit to effect meaningful change in education policy and funding.

The New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (NCPFP)

BEST NC

Network Policy Pillar: High Expectations, Great Educators

SUMMARY

The New NC Principals Fellows Program helps North Carolina school districts and educator preparation programs to recruit, prepare, and support the most highly qualified principal workforce in the country so they can flood the North Carolina principal pipeline with rigorously prepared principal candidates who are ready to improve student outcomes and teacher quality, with a particular focus on leadership in high-need schools.

Our policy and advocacy impact approximately 300,000 students who are currently in schools led by one of the 605 graduates of the New NC Principal Fellow Program.

WHY THE ORIGINAL WIN MATTERS

Originally Passed In 2015

Great principals are the second most important in-school factor for student success – behind teachers, of course. But poor principal leadership is the number one reason why teachers leave the profession – beating out low pay and other factors. Given their importance, principal preparation should be robust, experiential, and challenging to ensure the very best talent is well-prepared to lead.

But for a long time, principal preparation programs have been tailored to meet the needs of a very specific consumer: the overworked teacher. And in this traditional model, those teachers choose programs based primarily on two things:

Do I have the free time to complete the courses? (Typically, at night and on weekends).
Can I afford the program?

Unfortunately, program quality is often overlooked when considering which program to choose.

As a result, principal prep programs have been incentivized to offer the least expensive and/or most time efficient coursework – and often that looks like online degrees and “add-on” licenses that offer minimal supports and little-to-no in-school experience. Program directors will concede that prioritizing cost and time reduces their ability to deliver a quality program.

Additionally, traditional principal preparation programs accept nearly 100% of applicants, all of whom are self-selected. This means that our principal pipeline is not highly recruited or vetted and is not well-prepared to step into school leadership.

In 2015, in response to advocacy from BEST NC and inspired by a successful Race to the Top pilot, North Carolina took the first step towards redesigning its principal preparation model with the creation of the Transforming Principal Preparation Program (TP3). TP3 was a state-funded competitive grants program that provided funding to the state’s top principal preparation programs to enable them to recruit, prepare, and support top-tier principal candidates. TP3’s competitive grants structure incentivized programs to adopt best practices and research-based components of successful principal preparation.

By competing for and winning grants, the most high-quality MSA-granting programs in the state were able to flip their approach from the status-quo to a new model centered around the state’s priority to increase student achievement. No longer forced to chase tuition dollars, North Carolina’s TP3 programs were able to make serving North Carolina’s highest need K-12 students, schools, and districts their primary focus.

Key features include:

Strong program-district collaboration to ensure local needs are met, including rigorous candidate recruitment;
A highly competitive candidate vetting process, driven by the grantees incentive to prepare only the highest quality candidates;
Best practices such as a cohort model for training and a full year of paid residency; and
No cost to the candidate and a low cost to the state of about $10 per student in the state budget.

The result was a more highly qualified, rigorously prepared principal workforce that was helping to raise student achievement across the state.

Since TP3’s first graduating class in 2018, 605 aspiring principals have graduated from what is now known as the New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (see below on how TP3 evolved to become the New Principal Fellows). And this program is now providing 40% of the principals needed statewide each year.

To date, 93% of the program’s graduates have been hired as school administrators across the state – that’s compared with only 51% of graduates of traditional principal preparation programs. 79% of Principal Fellows graduates are employed in high-need schools and evaluation is underway to measure the impact on student outcomes.

The NC PFP is creating a veritable army of exceptional school leaders who will be the key to leading new innovations for decades to come.

HOW THE POLICY HAS EVOLVED DURING IMPLEMENTATION

The New NC Principal Fellows Program has evolved and improved each year since its passage. When it first started, the New NCPFP – known as TP3 at the time – was inspired by a nation-leading Race to the Top leadership pilot that was about to go to the ‘pilot graveyard.’ Years of development and successful implementation had identified clear best practices for recruiting, vetting, preparing, and supporting principals and BEST NC was inspired to find a way to take that to scale, statewide.

Originally passed in 2015, the program has gone through three major phases: 1) proof of concept, 2) expansion through merger, and 3) expansion, innovation, and defense. Each of these was inspired by research and real-time information about implementation challenges and threats.

2015: Proof of Concept The original TP3 legislation was inspired by pilot programs launched, funded through Race to the Top. NC State’s pilot program, the Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA), was recognized with an Exemplary Educational Leadership Program Award from the University Council for Education Administration, the highest honor you can get for this type of program. BEST NC studied NELA and identified several critical components for success, including:

a high bar for recruiting and vetting candidates;
authentic partnerships with districts, particularly high-need districts;
a cohort model for preparation; and
a full-year, paid residency.

To scale statewide without reducing quality, the TP3 legislation leveraged key lessons learned from the Race to the Top pilots, most importantly the need to utilize a competitive grants approach that required programs to compete for a select number of grants.

Why? Because to receive grant funding and to be renewed every six years, programs have to demonstrate that they are producing exceptional school leaders, that they are committed to implementing best practices in principal preparation, and that they have a culture of continuous improvement.

2019: Expansion Through Merger In order to expand the program and reduce redundancies, BEST NC worked to merge the TP3 program with a respected but languishing scholarship program called the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program. The consolidation of the two programs was called the New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (New NCPFP), and it did 3 critical things:

doubled funding for TP3’s competitive grants, processes, and priorities;
adopted the time-tested Commission-based governance model from the original Principal Fellows Program; and
it retained the storied and respected Principal Fellows brand.

Most importantly, the New NCPFP legislation limits grants to only 8 degree-granting institutions. By doing this, we ensure programs are incentivized to constantly demonstrate that they are implementing the most current, research-backed practices in principal preparation, and that only the best preparation programs are funded.

The merger legislation also established new appointments to the NC Principal Fellows Commission, which is the New NCPFP governing body, including a permanent seat for the CEO of BEST NC.

2022 & Beyond: Expansion, Innovation, and Defense In 2022, based on findings that the programs were graduating more candidates in even years than odd years, creating staffing inefficiencies in the programs, BEST NC advocated for a $1.5M funding increase to balance out the program years. This allowed programs to maintain both coursework staff and mentoring staff without gap years. With that additional funding, the state investment rose to $9.4 million, plus the cost of candidate stipends for their residency year.

With a seat in the Commission, BEST NC’s CEO has had a meaningful impact on how the program is administered. She has been the foremost voice for maintaining an eight-institution limit, expanding the role of the program to develop curriculum on emerging initiatives like the Science of Reading and Advanced Teaching Roles, redrafting the RFP for grant applications, and developing a Commission strategy to expand from 40% of the principal pipeline to 70% of the principal pipeline over the next 10 years (245 graduates per year).

Now that the New NCPFP is successful and positioned to continue its expansion, programs that are not receiving the grants have begun lobbying to lower the standards and expand the number of grants to other institutions. To date, BEST NC has successfully defended this limit, citing evidence that eight institutions can provide enough principal candidates to produce 70% of the principals needed annually in North Carolina. A key tool in this defense has been our Principal Fellows Brief, which documents the objectives of the program and evidence behind its design.

As of 2024, the number of graduates each year is now at 145 graduates per year, or 40% of North Carolina’s principal pipeline need.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

Our advocacy contributed to a $9.3 million recurring state investment in principal recruitment and preparation.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES & TACTICS USED TO BUILD & EXECUTE A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Plan and Adopt a long-term Strategy. The effects of systemic policy/program change take years to manifest, and your strategies should reflect your commitment to implement fully and with fidelity. BEST NC has been involved in this process since the beginning and have shepherded it through many challenges, including the important decision to run TP3 in parallel to the Original Principal Fellows program for a period to prove TP3’s effectiveness. That choice maximized the program’s funding and impact post-merger.

Document Everything. Publish your program or policy intentions clearly and early, and revisit them often. This allows you to retain control of your vision and significantly reduces the chances of the policy/program being hijacked. We have seen opponents try to rewrite the intention of legislation after it has passed, so we meticulously document our steps throughout the process, from how we got here to where we are going.

Knowing we would eventually see pushback, we clearly documented our intention to merge TP3 and the Original North Carolina Principal Fellows program in our 2018 TP3 Policy Brief. When the merger legislation was presented the following year, some stakeholders claimed to have been blindsided. Fortunately, we had physical evidence that those plans had been shared with all stakeholders from day one.

To document the intention and progress of the New NCPFP and chart a roadmap for both the Commission and future legislation, BEST NC released an updated policy brief this year, The New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program: Navigating North Carolina’s Bold School Leadership Strategy.

These two documents are tools for both retaining the quality of the New NCPFP and charting its next steps. For example, expanding the New NCPFP to provide 70% of the principal pipeline was a recommendation in our 2024 brief, and the New NCPFP Commission approved the expansion just three months later. Our 2024 brief also remains the foundation for defending the program’s 8-grantee limit.

Create a Seat at the Table. Implementation of new policies and programs requires more than just annual or biannual policy shifts. When possible, establish a formal or informal seat at the table to help guide and influence program governance. In this case, the BEST NC CEO is named in state statute as a member of the Principal Fellows Commission. For other programs, our role is more informal and based on relationships with those who run the day-to-day operations.

Develop and Refine Program Messaging. Curate and share as many perspectives as possible from the audience your policy/program targets – on video, if possible. Data and analysis are essential to get this work done, but anecdotal evidence can change people’s minds, too.

It’s difficult to overstate how important it is to share the perspectives of the people who are directly affected by the program/policy you’re advocating for. We can say as much as we want about how a program/policy improves the lives and experiences of educators and students, but when they can say it for themselves, and more importantly, are willing to put their face and name on your work, there is an impact that can’t be rivaled. For example, this short video was integral in helping legislators understand the effectiveness of and need for this program.

PIE Network members have always been a trusted resource for implementation strategies. The New North Carolina Principal Fellows strategy was part of a broader Educator Innovation plan that included strategic staffing and teacher recruitment strategies. As we developed, launched, and supported these Educator Innovation strategies, we have leaned heavily on other business-education groups in the PIE Network. Some of the best advice we received early on was that the win is not the legislation, but in the successful long-term implementation of the policy.

Spotlight Schools: High-Poverty Schools That Are Raising The Bar

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)

***Network Policy Pillar:* *High Expectations***

Link: Spotlight Schools: High-Poverty Schools That Are Raising The Bar

SUMMARY

This research helps school leaders, policymakers, and advocates to identify and execute school improvement strategies so they can improve proficiency and spur student academic growth.

This research helps school leaders to identify and implement evidence-based strategies so that they can improve student outcomes, particularly in areas with concentrated poverty.

This research helps policymakers and advocates to identify effective educational practices so that they can advocate for policies that support student success, particularly in areas with concentrated poverty.

WHY THIS RESEARCH MATTERS

It’s an unfortunate reality that students from low-income backgrounds often face significant barriers to accessing quality education, and these challenges have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. However, while there is ample research on the failures of the education system to adequately support students from low-income backgrounds, there’s too little attention paid to what schools can do instead. The spotlight schools series provides clear, actionable strategies that schools can implement to improve student outcomes, particularly in areas with concentrated poverty.

THREE ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

Data-Driven Decision-Making: High-performing, high-poverty schools root all of their decision-making in data, including: summative assessments, interim assessments, live data (such as exit tickets), and non-academic data (such as PBIS points, student/family/staff satisfaction surveys, social-emotional screenings, and attendance data). Spotlight schools have regular data cycles to support students through targeted small-group instruction and behavioral interventions as well as to support teachers through targeted professional development and coaching. This process requires that principals and teachers build data literacy; it’s essential that state and district policies provide appropriate incentives, funding, and professional development to ensure that educators understand what data to collect, how to collect it, and how to leverage it to inform decision-making.
Multi-tiered systems of support: Spotlight schools emphasized the importance of tiered interventions in boosting both academic achievement and attendance rates. For Tier 1 academic supports, principals agreed that high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) are essential to provide effective core instruction. Principals emphasized the importance of data-driven small-group instruction to provide personalized learning experiences beyond core instruction, particularly for students who are falling behind. States across the country have passed legislation aligned with these priorities, including Colorado’s high impact tutoring bill and Texas’s HQIM legislation. Successful policies should be replicated across the country and supplemented by ongoing professional development and coaching.
Family engagement: As schools navigate unprecedented challenges in behavior and attendance, it has become increasingly important that they form strong partnerships with families. This may include regular communication, community events, or even welcoming families into the classroom for reading groups or SEL lessons. Establishing this trust and partnership then makes it easier to address problems as they arise, such as chronic absenteeism. In those instances, spotlight schools have seen particular success with attendance teams, whereby designated staff monitor attendance data and call the families of absent students each morning.

HOW OTHER LEADERS INFORMED OR USED THIS RESEARCH

One of the greatest barriers to advocacy is that practitioners, policy experts, and politicians often work in silos, but the spotlight schools series has brought these stakeholders together. First, we elevated and connected the voices of school leaders – both through a written report as well as webinars. This has spurred collaboration between principals across districts and states to learn from each other about how to successfully implement strategies that will boost student outcomes.

We’ve also connected PIE members and other policy experts to our principals’ insights through webinars and panels – giving PIE members the opportunity to better understand how existing and potential policies may actually be implemented by practitioners. PIE staff tell us that the session we led on Spotlight Schools was one of the highest rated in recent memories. Lastly, we’ve had 10 meetings on Capitol Hill, at the request of key offices including staff of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and we’re working with congressional staffers to develop a federal policy agenda based on our findings – which will likely include further research proposals, statutory revisions, and/or additional funding streams specifically designed to support these evidence-based strategies.

UNDERSTANDING REACH AND IMPACT

The spotlight school series has received over 4,678 total website sessions, including 3,697 unique users. This does not include direct pdf downloads, which we are unable to track. Our work has been shared through 66 social media postings across individuals and organizations, and it was profiled on The 74. These numbers are reflective of the first two reports on Colorado and Massachusetts, and we expect to see further increases in September as we launch our Texas report.

The series has also been amplified across webinars and Lunch and Learns. We featured a panel of spotlight principals during a PIE webinar with over 30 participants, who rated the webinar a 4.7/5 – one of the most highly rated of the year. We also presented the webinar during a Massachusetts lunch advocacy coalition led by ERN’s Massachusetts chapter, which included several PIE partners.

Beyond policy experts, the series continues to gain attention from elected officials. We have presented our findings to 10 congressional offices, at their request, and we are planning a Fall webinar for Massachusetts stakeholders, including state legislators and Board of Education members.

Longest Running Parent Poll Drives National Conversations and Media Coverage

National Parents Union (NPU)

***Network Policy Pillar:* High Expectations, Great Educators *Responsive Systems, Innovative Options***

Link: Polling – National Parents Union

SUMMARY

This data helps policymakers, educators, journalists and advocates to understand the perspectives and priorities of parents. Specifically for policymakers, educators and advocates, the research has helped them make informed decisions that enhance student outcomes and support family needs. For journalists, the data is a compelling tool that provides unparalleled insight and helpful context for K-12 reporting on the experiences of students and their families.

WHY THIS RESEARCH MATTERS

The National Parent Poll is the longest-running parent poll in the United States, providing invaluable insights into the views of parents on critical education issues. This work matters because it empowers decision-makers with data that reflect real-world concerns and priorities, helping to defend assessments, inform AI policy, build bipartisan support for the Child Tax Credit, and advocate against Title I cuts. By ensuring that parent voices are heard and considered, the poll helps to shape policies that directly impact student outcomes and opportunities, fostering an education system that is responsive and equitable.

THREE ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

Defending Assessments: The poll highlights strong parental support for standardized assessments, emphasizing the importance of maintaining rigorous evaluation methods to ensure student progress and accountability. We have used our polling data on assessment to brief the Department of Education and members of Congress as well as inform our collaborative work with NPU affiliates Unidos and the National Urban League. Additionally, our parent poll informed the collaborative efforts with Ed Trust and Collaborative for Student Success where we presented the data at the CCSSO annual conference on assessment.
Informing AI Policy: Insights from parents about technology use in education have guided the development of AI policies that prioritize student privacy, equity, and access to digital resources.
Advocating for bipartisan action on the Child Tax Credit and opposing Title I cuts: The data has been pivotal in building bipartisan support for the Child Tax Credit and opposing cuts to Title I funding, demonstrating widespread parental backing for these essential programs.

HOW OTHER LEADERS INFORMED OR USED THIS RESEARCH

Describe how other PIE Network members or education leaders informed your work and/or applied your research to take action.

UNDERSTANDING REACH AND IMPACT

Since its founding, the National Parents Union has secured over 3600 media placements across the country with its survey accounting for over 1000 direct media mentions in top tier and international media such as: The Economist; Univision National; The New York Times and The New York Times Opinion; Fortune Magazine; USA Today; CNN.com; NPR, NBC News; Scary Mommy and Telemundo National. NPU’s polling data has also resulted in organic opportunities to elevate the parent voice to top tier and international outlets such as: CBS evening with Nora O’Donnell, ABC News, The BBC, The PBS News Hour, Amanpour & Company; Fox News, The Atlantic, Univision Radio, and the Associated Press. Over the last four years, NPU’s polling has monitored parent sentiment regarding trending news such as chronic absenteeism; cell phone bans in schools; the use of artificial intelligence in schools; child tax credit support CROWN Act support; cost of living challenges; ESSER spending in schools; youth mental health; student loan debt; the priorities of parent voters, views on vaccinating children during COVID-19; and the banning of books—prescient issues that inform national reporting and policymaking at the state and national level.

Policy References: Policymakers in states and federally have referenced the poll in legislative sessions and policy proposals, demonstrating its influence in shaping education policies nationwide, including reference to our poll by Senator Cassidy in the HELP Senate Education Committee Hearing on K-12 Education in June.

Make Funding More Fair Y’all: Southerners for Fair School Funding Rubric and Advocacy Guides

The Education Trust in Tennessee

***Network Policy Pillar:* *Responsive Systems***

Link: Make Funding More Fair Y’all

SUMMARY

These tools help state and local advocates in the South to evaluate how fair school funding is in their state so they can effectively advocate for equitable, student-centered school funding reform.

WHY THIS RESEARCH MATTERS

Research shows that money matters for all students’ success, but it especially matters for students furthest from opportunities. Simplified, student-weighted funding formulas give districts and schools the resources and flexibility to close opportunity gaps for historically underserved students. In Southern states – which educate more than one third of the nation’s public school students and more than half of the country’s Black students – school funding systems produce some of the lowest teacher salaries and per pupil spending in the United States. Southerners for Fair School Funding, which is powered by Ed Trust–Tennessee, supports advocates to build a movement for school funding formulas that are transparent, fair, and clearly provide for the needs of individual students.

Using criteria developed based on research, best practice, and student-centered values, we designed advocate-facing tools to change the narrative in the South around equitable funding. Our State Ratings Rubric provides a concrete framework with five core components that works as a scorecard to inspire and drive reform. Advocates use the State Ratings Rubric to see how their state’s funding system measures up to equity principles, from the formula type and student weights to the reporting and accountability.

The Advocacy Guides (Funding for English Learners, Funding for Rural Schools, Funding for Students with Disabilities, and Funding for Students from Low-Income Backgrounds) put in plain language why funding matters for specific student groups, so advocates can center these students in their local context. The fact sheets also provide model policies and key questions for advocates to ask policymakers. Both the State Ratings Rubric and the Advocacy Guides help advocates talk about where their state is lagging and point to specific ways to improve. Because school funding is complicated, advocates on the ground need these easy-to-digest, actionable tools to evaluate their state’s funding system and push for equitable change.

THREE ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

For any Southern state, advocates can use these tools to:

See how their state’s funding system impacts historically underserved students, benchmarked against peer states in the region.

Georgia advocate example: “My state provides more money for English Learners, but we are the only Southern state that does not provide additional funds of any kind for students living in poverty.”
Alabama advocate example: “Almost all the other Southern states have a weighted-student or hybrid funding formula, but we still use an outdated resource-based formula.”

Evaluate policy proposals to change state funding formulas.

Mississippi advocate example: “If we adopt the proposed weighted-student funding formula, our ratings on the rubric would improve in every category.”

Advocate for the needs of specific underserved student groups.

Virginia advocate example: “We currently fund students with disabilities based on estimated costs for special education staff positions, without considering students’ actual needs. Is our state considering tiered weights for students with disabilities?

HOW OTHER LEADERS INFORMED OR USED THIS RESEARCH

Informed by:

The State Ratings Rubric and Advocacy Guides draw on work and input from organizations including Edunomics Lab, EdBuild, Ed Trust’s national office, The Commonwealth Institute, A+ Partnership in Alabama, Public School Forum of North Carolina, Mississippi First, Brown’s Promise, and Bellwether. These tools also draw on the work of and input from school funding experts like Zahava Stadler, Rebecca Sibilia, and Stephen Owens while he was at the Georgia Budget Policy Institute.

Applied by:

Working with Mississippi partners, Southerners for Fair School Funding used the State Ratings Rubric to create a side-by-side comparison of the state’s long-standing funding formula and the proposed student-based formula. Those two partners – Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi – used that analysis and op-ed in their campaign for a new funding formula.
A+ Alabama leveraged our tools to create specific guides for Every Child Alabama coalition members to use in local and state advocacy. These guides were embedded in their Every Dollar Counts learning series and shared with their network.
Public School Forum of North Carolina shared the Advocacy Guides at a convening of 20-25 grasstops advocates and education leaders as a way to build momentum in a conversation about school funding reform in North Carolina.

UNDERSTANDING REACH AND IMPACT

The main gateway to access the advocacy tools for Southerners for Fair School Funding is on the website, www.fundsouthernschools.org. Since the launch of the site in November 2023:

1.9k unique users have visited the site.
The individual state rubric pages have the most engagement out of any page on the site, except for the home page, with 100+ views
An average of 68 users have accessed the site on a daily basis since launch.
The website has served as an education funding resource for Southern states, with most of the ten Southern state pages having over 100 views each.
Our education funding resources, ratings, reports, justifications, and rubrics have been downloaded over 300 times across 18 different pages on the site.
The Southerners for Fair School Funding introduction video has had 8,636 impressions across all web and social platforms.
Southerners for Fair School Funding LinkedIn posts showed engagement across multiple profiles, with 197 total likes and 23 reposts.
Southerners for Fair School Funding Twitter posts have had over 6,800 views, with 42 likes and 22 reposts.

Mississippi First and Teach Plus Mississippi used the analysis and op-ed from Southerners for Fair School Funding in their successful advocacy for the new Mississippi Student Funding Formula, a student-based funding formula with weights for all of the underserved student groups identified in the rubric. Advocates and legislators shared both items across social media. They also successfully advocated for a record increase of $218 million for education in the 2024-25 school year.

Toren Ballard, Director of K-12 Policy at Mississippi First shared the Southerners for Fair School Funding analysis in a Twitter post which has 1,320 views and 5 reposts.
Gini Pupo-Walker, Executive Director at The Education Trust in Tennessee, had an important op-ed published in Mississippi’s largest newspaper, The Clarion-Ledger, which has a daily circulation of 15,500 and a Sunday circulation of 16,422.
A+ Alabama’s coalition for school funding reform, Every Child Alabama, has 35 members. Their Every Dollar Counts learning series had a total of 201 registrants and 317 viewers, and each session had an average of 45 viewers.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS AND LINKS

Tools:

Reach:

Spotlight Schools: High-Poverty Schools That Are Raising The Bar

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)

***Network Policy Pillar:* *High Expectations***

Link: Spotlight Schools: High-Poverty Schools That Are Raising The Bar

SUMMARY

This research helps school leaders, policymakers, and advocates to identify and execute school improvement strategies so they can improve proficiency and spur student academic growth.

This research helps school leaders to identify and implement evidence-based strategies so that they can improve student outcomes, particularly in areas with concentrated poverty.

This research helps policymakers and advocates to identify effective educational practices so that they can advocate for policies that support student success, particularly in areas with concentrated poverty.

WHY THIS RESEARCH MATTERS

It’s an unfortunate reality that students from low-income backgrounds often face significant barriers to accessing quality education, and these challenges have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. However, while there is ample research on the failures of the education system to adequately support students from low-income backgrounds, there’s too little attention paid to what schools can do instead. The spotlight schools series provides clear, actionable strategies that schools can implement to improve student outcomes, particularly in areas with concentrated poverty.

THREE ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

Data-Driven Decision-Making: High-performing, high-poverty schools root all of their decision-making in data, including: summative assessments, interim assessments, live data (such as exit tickets), and non-academic data (such as PBIS points, student/family/staff satisfaction surveys, social-emotional screenings, and attendance data). Spotlight schools have regular data cycles to support students through targeted small-group instruction and behavioral interventions as well as to support teachers through targeted professional development and coaching. This process requires that principals and teachers build data literacy; it’s essential that state and district policies provide appropriate incentives, funding, and professional development to ensure that educators understand what data to collect, how to collect it, and how to leverage it to inform decision-making.
Multi-tiered systems of support: Spotlight schools emphasized the importance of tiered interventions in boosting both academic achievement and attendance rates. For Tier 1 academic supports, principals agreed that high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) are essential to provide effective core instruction. Principals emphasized the importance of data-driven small-group instruction to provide personalized learning experiences beyond core instruction, particularly for students who are falling behind. States across the country have passed legislation aligned with these priorities, including Colorado’s high impact tutoring bill and Texas’s HQIM legislation. Successful policies should be replicated across the country and supplemented by ongoing professional development and coaching.
Family engagement: As schools navigate unprecedented challenges in behavior and attendance, it has become increasingly important that they form strong partnerships with families. This may include regular communication, community events, or even welcoming families into the classroom for reading groups or SEL lessons. Establishing this trust and partnership then makes it easier to address problems as they arise, such as chronic absenteeism. In those instances, spotlight schools have seen particular success with attendance teams, whereby designated staff monitor attendance data and call the families of absent students each morning.

HOW OTHER LEADERS INFORMED OR USED THIS RESEARCH

One of the greatest barriers to advocacy is that practitioners, policy experts, and politicians often work in silos, but the spotlight schools series has brought these stakeholders together. First, we elevated and connected the voices of school leaders – both through a written report as well as webinars. This has spurred collaboration between principals across districts and states to learn from each other about how to successfully implement strategies that will boost student outcomes.

We’ve also connected PIE members and other policy experts to our principals’ insights through webinars and panels – giving PIE members the opportunity to better understand how existing and potential policies may actually be implemented by practitioners. PIE staff tell us that the session we led on Spotlight Schools was one of the highest rated in recent memories. Lastly, we’ve had 10 meetings on Capitol Hill, at the request of key offices including staff of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and we’re working with congressional staffers to develop a federal policy agenda based on our findings – which will likely include further research proposals, statutory revisions, and/or additional funding streams specifically designed to support these evidence-based strategies.

UNDERSTANDING REACH AND IMPACT

The spotlight school series has received over 4,678 total website sessions, including 3,697 unique users. This does not include direct pdf downloads, which we are unable to track. Our work has been shared through 66 social media postings across individuals and organizations, and it was profiled on The 74. These numbers are reflective of the first two reports on Colorado and Massachusetts, and we expect to see further increases in September as we launch our Texas report.

The series has also been amplified across webinars and Lunch and Learns. We featured a panel of spotlight principals during a PIE webinar with over 30 participants, who rated the webinar a 4.7/5 – one of the most highly rated of the year. We also presented the webinar during a Massachusetts lunch advocacy coalition led by ERN’s Massachusetts chapter, which included several PIE partners.

Beyond policy experts, the series continues to gain attention from elected officials. We have presented our findings to 10 congressional offices, at their request, and we are planning a Fall webinar for Massachusetts stakeholders, including state legislators and Board of Education members.

State of the States: Policy Actions to Improve Implementation of the Science of Reading and Transform Results for Students

National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ)

***Network Policy Pillar:* *Great Educators***

Link: State of the States: Five Policy Actions to Strengthen Implementation of the Science of Reading

SUMMARY

NCTQ’s reading policy research and four tools help states and advocates leverage five policy actions so they can promote equitable access to effective reading teachers and improve reading results for students; by highlighting states that are leading the way and calling attention to those that need to do more, especially when it comes to students of color and students living in poverty. The four tools include:

State of the States: Five Policy Actions to Improve Implementation of the Science of Reading: An analysis of five policies every state should make to improve teacher capacity to teach reading aligned to science of reading
State Data Profiles: Customized summaries for individual states on what they are doing well and where they can improve
State Reading Policy Action Guide: A how-to on five key actions states can take with case studies demonstrating how to do it
False Assurances: Reading Licensure Test Ratings by State: Analysis of each state’s reading licensure test to determine whether it is weak or strong in aligning to the science of reading

WHY THIS RESEARCH MATTERS

Millions of students across the country cannot read on grade level. We could change this statistic and give millions more – each year – access to the civil right they deserve: literacy. If only they have access to teachers who are well-prepared and well-supported to implement the science of reading. NCTQ’s work is contributing to this mission.

State education leaders across the country are rightly prioritizing efforts to improve elementary student reading outcomes. However, too often these initiatives do not focus enough on the key component to strong implementation and long-term sustainability: effective teachers. Only when state leaders implement a literacy strategy that prioritizes teacher effectiveness will states achieve a teacher workforce that can strengthen student literacy year after year. NCTQ’s work sheds light on what each state is doing or not doing to leverage five policy actions to ensure an effective teacher workforce and sustain the science of reading in classrooms across the country to transform reading results for students.

In January 2024, NCTQ provided customized state policy analysis and feedback with individualized state profiles and a State Policy Action Guide that features states leading the way to dispel myths and give credit to the courageous states and advocates who are getting the job done. We coupled these tools with a highly personalized campaign supporting state leaders and advocates to drive improvement in their states. And we are seeing results in states across the country.

THREE ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

NCTQ tools provide data and customized recommendations on the following policy questions for each state:

Do we have specific, detailed standards for educator preparation programs to prepared teachers in the science of reading?
Do we have a robust educator prep program review to measure alignment to the science of reading?
Do we have a strong reading licensure test aligned to the science of reading? If not, what can we do — and what are other states doing — to use these three policy levers to ensure access to effective reading teachers for all students?

HOW OTHER LEADERS INFORMED OR USED THIS RESEARCH

NCTQ is indebted to many members of the PIE network for collaboration and use of the tools to advance strong, good policy. For example:

Engaged and invited all PIE members to pre-release webinars to learn about the research and tools.
Teachplus PA to publish an op-ed focused on the need to train teachers in the science of reading and support passage of legislation in PA.
NCTQ presented findings and held strategy discussions with Teachplus Executive Directors on the implementation of reading policies.
NCTQ provided feedback on new reading standards for teacher prep in Oregon and am currently a thought partner to STAND in Oregon, thinking about how to hold teacher prep programs accountable to implement those new reading standards.
NCTQ provided feedback on reading bill in NY through Ed Trust NY
NCTQ provided comparisons of curriculum ratings across states to GeorgiaCAN as part of their reading task force to help inform their decisions on curricula to approve.

UNDERSTANDING REACH AND IMPACT

In six months, thousands of policymakers and advocates downloaded and used NCTQ the tools. Data from January-July 12, 2024:

State Action Guide – 4,514
Print-ready report – 1,893
State Profile downloads – 13,873
Top Performing States:

California – 823
Illinois – 653
New Jersey – 506
New York – 418
Oregon – 373

13 states passed laws that include NCTQ’s policy recommendations from the four tools:

Oklahoma is revising their literacy licensure tests based on NCTQ’s False Assurances report on reading licensure tests.
Iowa passed legislation that would require EPPs to administer the Foundations of Reading assessment to all candidates. Iowa was the only state identified in the recent State of the States report that did not have any type of reading licensure test.
Illinois will publish the subscores on the language and literacy elementary content knowledge tests; and publish test participation and language and literacy pass rates by program. Illinois also plans to revise the elementary licensure test to include additional literacy components and develop a ‘passing’ benchmark for the literacy component” – two policies NCTQ called for in The State of the States.
Delaware passed legislation to audit all teacher prep programs for alignment to the science of reading. The governor has also slated $3 million in his budget for literacy coaches.
Arkansas funded literacy coaches.
Georgia provided funds for literacy screeners and targeted literacy coaching in this year’s budget.
Idaho revised their reading licensure test to strengthen it as a result of NCTQ’s critique of their previous test.
South Carolina expanded the Read to Succeed Act (S418) to include evidence-based literacy standards as part of educator preparation. The state will also provide more robust professional learning to educators, both recommendations that were part of NCTQ’s State of the States on Reading.
Kansas passed legislation to improve reading instruction: Literacy training for teachers based on the science of reading, including the requirement for teacher preparation programs to use science of reading materials, among other requirements.
Massachusetts’ Governor Healey added $30M to her budget request to use for early literacy support and the legislature allocated $20M; NCTQ is working in coalition with other PIE members to add accountability measures to the incentives, including shortened timelines for ed prep program review (we successfully pushed to reduce from 7 years to 4 the timeline to review all programs).
Minnesota – This supplemental education budget bill would modify The Read Act to include additional screening for students, an audit of teacher preparation programs and $33,225,000 for teacher professional development.
New York – The budget includes $10 million for early literacy teacher training grounded in the science of reading and high-quality instructional materials.
Oklahoma – Their early literacy bill would require screening and interventions for students with reading deficiencies and require the state’s K-3 reading curriculum to be based in the science of reading.
Pennsylvania SB 801 would require high-quality reading curriculum and training for teachers. It has passed the Senate and is currently in the House.
Wisconsin passed a bill requiring training for teachers, leaders, and ed prep faculty in the science of reading by July 1 2025.

A number of other policies are still making their way through legislatures or committees at this time; we continue to work with legislators and state policymakers to support their passage and implementation (or testify against the bills, as needed).

Where We Agree: Designing Contracts for a Modern Classroom

Educators for Excellence

Network Policy Pillar: Great Educators, Responsive Systems

Link: Where we Agree

SUMMARY

This tool — which was built based on extensive original academic research—helps teachers, union leaders, and district leaders to look past the status quo of overly prescriptive, adversarial Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) and explore examples of districts that have leveraged their contracts to reimagine teaching roles, build modern classrooms, and enable strong teaching and learning so they can replicate these solutions in their own communities and ultimately boost student outcomes.

WHY THIS RESEARCH MATTERS

Although teacher contracts provide critical workforce protections for teachers and govern much of the profession, they remain an underutilized lever for enabling strong teaching and learning, elevating the teaching profession, and equipping school systems with tools and capacities to confront the challenges of a rapidly changing, increasingly uncertain world.

This tool leverages formal, original academic research—conducted in partnership with the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University—and nearly a decade of teacher survey data to set forth a vision for reimagining teachers contracts—both what they say and the ways they are built—as a powerful mechanism for professionalizing teaching and imbuing the profession with the flexibilities and collaboration needed to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. It translates this research and survey data into an easily navigable website that separates issues into buckets based on what changes teachers or system leaders want to see and offers case studies of places where these changes have been implemented and led to improved student outcomes. This equips users with practical tools to transform their unions into agents of change and innovation and their contracts into policy documents that enable the creation of modern classrooms designed to bolster student outcomes.

THREE ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

Teachers’ contracts offer an often overlooked, yet essential lever for improving teaching and learning. By redesigning contracts and collective bargaining processes to be student-centered, transparent, flexible, and inclusive of all stakeholders, we can create modern classrooms ready to meet the challenges of both today and tomorrow.
Districts across the country are already doing this work by adopting student-centered policy provisions aligned with teacher perspectives in the areas of teacher leadership, compensation, evaluation, layoffs, professional learning, school-based flexibility, and student discipline. The tool gives users the opportunity to engage with examples of these provisions without getting mired in contract language that is hundreds of pages long and encourages them to engage more deeply with their own union contract.
District and union leaders are successfully doing this work by taking a collaborative and inclusive approach to collective bargaining, instead of the more common, adversarial stance. The webpage’s case studies detail the how of these changes, providing system leaders with practical examples of avenues for achieving change and encouraging rank-and-file union members to engage more deeply with their bargaining process.

HOW OTHER LEADERS INFORMED OR USED THIS RESEARCH

This tool was built based on extensive academic research—conducted in partnership with CPRL—that included interviews of 84 education leaders in teaching and learning, school funding, school management, school transformation, collective bargaining, union building, teacher contracts, labor-management partnerships, family engagement, and community organizing. It also benefited from the expertise of an advisory council of 21 education leaders, including representation from the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. Though not captured quantitatively, we also had hundreds of informal conversations with many PIE Network partners over the course of this project, all of which contributed to the final product.

This work relied, in particular, on partnerships with PIE Network members TNTP and the National Council on Teacher Quality. In the first stage of the project, we partnered with TNTP to conduct a systematic review of 50 contracts in the 41 states that do not prohibit or severely restrict bargaining. We also relied heavily on the National Center for Teacher Quality’s state-level research as a guide for what is legally permissible at the contract level state-by-state, as well as their already existing database of teachers’ contracts.

Though this tool was just released in June 2024, we are already starting to see members of the PIE Network and other education leaders informally use the work to inform their own. For example, the tool and its underlying research are augmenting the growing movement around strategic staffing, as flexible contracts are one of the prerequisites to that work. As a very specific example, we presented the work to a large audience of PIE Network members during a site visit to see Next Education Workforce’s model in action in Arizona, sharing how contracts can be leveraged to enable the model and others like it. The session was one of the top two attended and highly rated choice sessions of the day, and we received ample positive anecdotal feedback about it from attendees.

UNDERSTANDING REACH AND IMPACT

Although our tool is brand new, and we are planning an official launch with our membership base and chapters in the fall, we have already presented this work to the Broad Fellowship, PIE site visit at ASU, Leading Now and have been accepted to present at the Aurora Institute Symposium and EdTrust West. Additionally, we’ve already had one media hit (The 74).

Gini Pupo-Walker

Former Executive Director, The Education Trust in Tennessee

SUMMARY

Gini Pupo-Walker has embodied the give-and-get spirit of the Network by launching Southerners For Fair Funding to support other PIE Network members’ work on fair school funding and resource equity

SUPPORTING THE WORK OF OTHER PIE NETWORK MEMBERS

Last year, Gini and the Ed Trust TN team launched Southerners for Fair Funding, a new initiative supporting new and existing education advocacy coalitions across the South fighting for fair funding and resource equity. Over the last year, Gini and the Southerners for Fair Funding team have mentored and supported the A+ Education Partnership as we launched the Every Child Alabama Coalition. With Gini’s help, Every Child Alabama has recruited over 30 organization partners, launched the Every Dollar Counts virtual learning series, and prepared coalition partners to advocate for school funding reform in Alabama. We would not have been able to accomplish all of this without her!

BRINGING THE PIE NETWORK COMMUNITY AGREEMENT TO LIFE

With deep gratitude, we nominate Gini Pupo-Walker for the Suzanne Kubach PIE Network Weaver of the Year. Renowned for her ability to navigate complex political environments while remaining steadfast in her commitment to students and the pursuit of educational equity, Gini Pupo-Walker is a living legend. After two decades of work as a teacher, administrator, and non-profit leader, Gini launched Ed Trust Tennessee, which has successfully advanced student-centered policy and accomplished game-changing victories for Tennessee’s students. In 2018, she was elected to the School Board for Metro Nashville Public School.

In 2021, Gini and the Ed Trust TN team launched the Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education, a coalition that has grown to 85 civil rights, social justice, and education organizations and advocates working to promote educational equity for underserved students. With Gini at the helm, TAEE was an integral partner in passing the Tennessee Investment in Students Act (TISA) in 2022, mobilizing hundreds of advocates across the state to champion and ensure equity-based policy principles were embedded in the legislation. TAEE partners engaged in a multi-session learning series about school funding reform, put out a signed public statement in support of TISA, and advocated directly with legislators across the state.

There are countless examples of Gini living out the PIE Community Commitments over the years. She has built trusting relationships with many network members, partners, and allies across the country, mentoring many policy advocates throughout the PIE Network and providing sage counsel and encouragement during challenging times. She never hesitates to share her hard-earned political expertise and knowledge. Gini truly embodies the spirit of the Suzanne Kubach PIE Network Weaver of the Year!

RESOURCES

Op-Eds:

Tennessean Op-ed: “TISA is a big win for students. Let’s make it the best it can be” (June 14, 2022) Authors: Gini Pupo-Walker and Zahava Stadler
Clarion Ledger Op-ed: “Tennessee education advocates watching debate over INSPIRE Act in Mississippi. See why” (April 16, 2024) Author: Gini Pupo-Walker
The Daily Yonder Op-Ed: “Commentary: The Voucher Question in the South” Author: Gini Pupo-Walker

Interviews:

Tennessee Voices: Episode 148 (Feb 19, 2021) – Gini Pupo-Walker interview about pandemic-related challenges
Tennessee Voices (Jan 31, 2024) – Gini Pupo-Walker interview about the voucher debate in TN

Awards

Equal Chance for Education awarded Gini as one of their 2024 Champions of Education Equity

Corinn O’Brien

Vice President of Policy, A+ Education Partnership

SUMMARY

Corinn O’Brien has embodied the give-and-get spirit of the Network by acting as a steady champion for numeracy policy and being incredibly generous with her time and expertise, consistently jumping at the opportunity to inform programming and lend her experience and wisdom to support other PIE Network members’ work on high-quality math instruction and professional learning for educators.

SUPPORTING THE WORK OF OTHER PIE NETWORK MEMBERS

Alabama passed The Alabama Numeracy Act in 2022 to create a comprehensive plan to improve math achievement, coupled with a historic state investment to support implementation.

Corinn has been a consistent partner with PIE Network members actively engaging in the Network’s Math Multipliers programming and serving on the Math Multipliers steering committee, helping plan for in-person opportunities for this group to gather in the fall. Corinn frequently shares the story of the Alabama Numeracy Act and what implementation looks like, including during the Math Multipliers Series: Math Policy – State Levers.

A+ Education Partnership’s work on numeracy has inspired and informed many Network members who have taken up this policy, and Corinn has been giving in her time and expertise to help others make gains in their state, including E4E-NY’s successful advocacy for NYC Solves and NPU’s NY math bill.

BRINGING THE PIE NETWORK COMMUNITY AGREEMENT TO LIFE

Corinn embodies the Community Agreement because connection is the foundation of PIE Network, and she has been living that out by making herself available for partnership with Network members and community members. She continues to share her truths regarding her organization’s policy positions, challenges, and wins. Corinn is a trusted confidant for her peers in Leadership Institute Cohort 8, including supporting other work behind-the-scenes and co-planning the Network’s first-ever, multi-day Leadership Institute reunion. Personally, she is an ongoing advocate for Alabama families, leading new coalition efforts during the 2024 legislative session.

RESOURCES

More on the Alabama Numeracy Act: Op-ed

Gini Pupo-Walker

Former Executive Director, The Education Trust in Tennessee

SUMMARY

Gini Pupo-Walker has embodied the give-and-get spirit of the Network by launching Southerners For Fair Funding to support other PIE Network members’ work on fair school funding and resource equity

SUPPORTING THE WORK OF OTHER PIE NETWORK MEMBERS

Last year, Gini and the Ed Trust TN team launched Southerners for Fair Funding, a new initiative supporting new and existing education advocacy coalitions across the South fighting for fair funding and resource equity. Over the last year, Gini and the Southerners for Fair Funding team have mentored and supported the A+ Education Partnership as we launched the Every Child Alabama Coalition. With Gini’s help, Every Child Alabama has recruited over 30 organization partners, launched the Every Dollar Counts virtual learning series, and prepared coalition partners to advocate for school funding reform in Alabama. We would not have been able to accomplish all of this without her!

BRINGING THE PIE NETWORK COMMUNITY AGREEMENT TO LIFE

With deep gratitude, we nominate Gini Pupo-Walker for the Suzanne Kubach PIE Network Weaver of the Year. Renowned for her ability to navigate complex political environments while remaining steadfast in her commitment to students and the pursuit of educational equity, Gini Pupo-Walker is a living legend. After two decades of work as a teacher, administrator, and non-profit leader, Gini launched Ed Trust Tennessee, which has successfully advanced student-centered policy and accomplished game-changing victories for Tennessee’s students. In 2018, she was elected to the School Board for Metro Nashville Public School.

In 2021, Gini and the Ed Trust TN team launched the Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education, a coalition that has grown to 85 civil rights, social justice, and education organizations and advocates working to promote educational equity for underserved students. With Gini at the helm, TAEE was an integral partner in passing the Tennessee Investment in Students Act (TISA) in 2022, mobilizing hundreds of advocates across the state to champion and ensure equity-based policy principles were embedded in the legislation. TAEE partners engaged in a multi-session learning series about school funding reform, put out a signed public statement in support of TISA, and advocated directly with legislators across the state.

There are countless examples of Gini living out the PIE Community Commitments over the years. She has built trusting relationships with many network members, partners, and allies across the country, mentoring many policy advocates throughout the PIE Network and providing sage counsel and encouragement during challenging times. She never hesitates to share her hard-earned political expertise and knowledge. Gini truly embodies the spirit of the Suzanne Kubach PIE Network Weaver of the Year!

RESOURCES

Op-Eds:

Tennessean Op-ed: “TISA is a big win for students. Let’s make it the best it can be” (June 14, 2022) Authors: Gini Pupo-Walker and Zahava Stadler
Clarion Ledger Op-ed: “Tennessee education advocates watching debate over INSPIRE Act in Mississippi. See why” (April 16, 2024) Author: Gini Pupo-Walker
The Daily Yonder Op-Ed: “Commentary: The Voucher Question in the South” Author: Gini Pupo-Walker

Interviews:

Tennessee Voices: Episode 148 (Feb 19, 2021) – Gini Pupo-Walker interview about pandemic-related challenges
Tennessee Voices (Jan 31, 2024) – Gini Pupo-Walker interview about the voucher debate in TN

Awards

Equal Chance for Education awarded Gini as one of their 2024 Champions of Education Equity

Gregory Hatcher

Robin Lake

2024 Finalists & Winners

Game Changer Campaign of the Year

Game Changer Campaign of the Year Winner

Game Changer Campaign of the Year Finalists

Best Collaboration

Best Collaboration Winner

Best Collaboration Finalists

Best Defense

Best Defense Winner

Best Defense Finalists