Business leaders play a critical role in ensuring that our education systems enable young people to gain the skills, knowledge, and experiences they need to be successful in the current and future economy. Business voices can be powerful tools to help shape policy, champion programs, and advocate for greater coordination Read more
AdvocacyLabs, a partnership between FutureEd and 50CAN, draws on insights from academia to help education advocates work effectively on behalf of disadvantaged students. In Experiments in Advocacy: What Works and Why, author Marc Porter Magee focuses on the growing number of rigorous experimental studies of effective advocacy campaigns. By leveraging Read more
Achieve has released new resources directed toward the business community, to inform and rally more advocates for education reform. The Business Resources for a College- and Career-Ready America include modular resources for business leaders to use as they engage their internal and external networks of colleagues, peers, employees, and employers Read more
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing professional learning opportunities for teachers, policymakers, and other education leaders, has revamped its website to be more user-friendly. The site is more interactive and has more functionality for users, who can now: Perform a dynamic search of all Read more
In a recent article for The Hechinger Report, classroom teacher Eric Shieh reflects on his experiences working with his union to fight budget cuts in his district. As a music teacher in St. Louis, he was appalled by the district’s decision in 2007 to cut student time in the arts Read more
A new report from Education First and Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) details how state advocacy groups are working with state policymakers to advance education reforms. To compile the report, PIE and Education First worked closely with Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas Read more
Time Magazine has named its picks for the top education activists to watch in 2012. So who are some of these potential movers and shakers (in no particular order)? 1. Catharine Bellinger and Alexis Morin: Two students who founded Students for Education Reform (SFER) in 2009, with the goal of Read more
We have all heard the polls—while most people think their local/neighborhood school is great, they have a poor opinion of other schools across their states and the nation. Recently, a group of past and present state Teachers of the Year took part in a three-day intensive discussion about the public Read more
This month, twenty-five education advocacy organizations released a “statement of principles” addressed to Sens. Harkin and Enzi and Reps. Kline and Miller. The statement focused on the role of teacher quality in the reauthorization of ESEA and urged the congressmen to “make every effort possible to spur states and school Read more
The Center for Education Reform (CER) recently launched their new, interactive website, which they hope will become the central hub for all things related to education reform. The CER, founded in 1993 to help bridge the gap between education policy and practice, says that it re-designed their site in order Read more
Last week, Time’s Andrew Rotherham addressed a growing movement led by young teachers: taking action against traditional teachers’ unions. “These renegade groups…are trying to accomplish what a generation of education reformers, activists and think tanks have not: forcing the unions to genuinely mend their ways.” Rotherham nicknames the three most-talked Read more
Time Magazine’s Andrew Rotherham has compiled a list of the top 11 education activists to watch in 2011. Follow the links below for more on these influential individuals. Michael Bennet: The Senator Steven Brill: The Writer Jeb Bush: The Adviser David Coleman: The Architect John Deasy: The Superintendent Jonah Edelman: Read more
Who were the top educational reformers of 2010? Van Schoales, the Executive Director of Education Reform Now, has posted a Top Ten Education Reformers of 2010 list. There are some interesting picks here! From Education Reform Now: So here’s my “best of” list for education reformers and reforms in no Read more