Since its inception in 1996, Stand for Children has worked with parents, educators and citizens to improve public schools through grassroots organizing, policy work and leadership training. Over the years, its affiliates in seven states have won numerous education reforms and leveraged more than $3.9 billion in public funding for students. In 2010, the organization helped pass new education laws in six states aimed at ensuring teacher efficacy. Here, Stand’s cofounder and chief executive officer, Jonah Edelman, talks about why teachers have been the focus of its policy efforts, and how parents and concerned citizens can get involved in education reform.
"It’s hard on your own to
effect systemic changes;
it’s a team activity."
Q: Why did Stand get involved in policy work?
A: We started organizing on children’s issues, and education kept coming up as the focus. Once we started looking at the research and talking to great practitioners, it became clear that we had to do everything possible at a policy and political level to ensure that every child has an effective teacher, every school has an effective leader, and schools have the agility to meet the needs of their specific students. That brought us into the realm of policy advocacy and electoral politics, where we are currently working in seven states, and soon more.
Q: Tell me about some of the policy efforts you’ve been involved in.
I’m really proud this year that we played a meaningful role in the passage of six pieces of state legislation that improves schools. Probably the most consequential piece of legislation was in Colorado. That was the Great Teachers and Leaders law (Senate Bill 191). It requires teachers to demonstrate effectiveness three years in a row to earn tenure. If they’re ineffective for two years in a row, they lose tenure and get put on probationary status. Fifty percent of their evaluation would be based on student academic growth. And there are now no forced teacher placements in Colorado, which means they can’t be placed in a building without their consent, and a principal cannot be given a teacher to work in the building without their consent. And finally, layoffs can happen based on performance, not seniority.Q: Much of the Stand’s legislative work is related to teachers. Why?
A: Outside the home environment, the effectiveness of a child’s teacher is the most profound powerful determinant of that child’s academic outcome. That’s not to say parents don’t have a primary role. I’m a parent of two kindergarteners and my wife and I take on that responsibility wholeheartedly. But I know how important it is that each of my boys has an effective teacher. They can go to a great school, but if they have an ineffective teacher, that’s going to determine how much they learn. It’s going to affect their self-esteem and their socialization. [Teachers are] just fundamentally important, particularly for low-income children. If a child is coming from a difficult home environment and doesn’t have parental support and high expectations set for them, and if they don’t have an excellent teacher every year, it’s going to be very difficult for that child to make it in today’s incredibly tough world.
Q: Talking about teacher performance can be associated with being too critical of teachers. I’d like to get your response to that concern.
A: I share that concern. I think it’s incredibly important to recognize that teaching is an incredibly high-skill profession. Incredible interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence are required, and then they have to be able to teach the content. Frankly, as a society, we aren’t valuing, either culturally or financially, that level of skill properly. We need a wholesale shift in expectations, and the type of preparation and the compensation we provide to teachers.
Q: What advice do you have for the public and parents who want to get more involved?
A: This is why Stand for Children is here. We set it up as a vehicle for parents, educators, concerned community members to advocate for the well being of students. You don’t have to have children, or have children in school, to get involved with Stand for Children or to have your voice heard. Every person’s voice and vote adds to the strength of our message. Where Stand for Children has an affiliate, I can say confidently that an individual’s time and money will be used optimally and utilized strategically. Through our affiliates, there is a vehicle that will enable you to channel your passion and commitment into concrete changes. And that’s why we’re so bent on expanding, to give parents, educators and other concerned citizens in other states that vehicle. It’s hard on your own to effect systemic changes; it’s a team activity.
Q: Any final thoughts about education reform?
A: One thing I would convey is the sense of urgency I feel. There are tens of millions of children in K-12 schools right now, and some of them are getting a great education. But far too many of them are not. They’re not on track, and we have to do something about that right now. We can’t just talk about it. Concrete actions to make things better for students who need our help right now—that’s what this is all about.
Jonah Edelman is the cofounder and chief executive officer of Stand for Children. He was the recipient of an Ashoka Fellowship and he is a Hunt Alternatives Fund Prime Mover.
