What is your advocacy in education?

An advocate is a person who empowers their students. They give advice, encouragement, or a
listening ear. It's an individual that lets a student know that they have someone who believes in
them and who is there for them. Teachers, administrators, and school staff can be advocates for
students while they are in school.

From new studies and research to a changing sociopolitical climate, education in America is
constantly evolving. But how can teachers be sure that it’s changing in the right direction?

Advocacy groups and nonprofits across the country are working to instill policies, procedures
and research that are focused on learning. Comprised of educators, experts and researchers from
all walks of life, these advocacy groups reflect the best interests of teachers and their students.

Alliance for Excellent Education

Did you know that one in five high school students drops out of school in America? The Alliance
for Excellent Education is on a mission to change that statistic. It supports the needs of the
country’s most at-risk and underrepresented children by improving school policies affecting
students of this demographic. They focus heavily on research-based practice, working to develop
policy proven to increase student performance.

Stand for Children

This education advocacy group is aimed at helping all children gain fair and equal access to
quality education. Stand for Children achieves its mission through a variety of initiatives,
including advocating for education policy at the local, state and national levels. They make sure
these policies directly impact teachers and students, ensuring special funding ends up where it’s
intended to go. Another important initiative of this group is empowering parents and teachers to
stand up for student rights and demand excellence of all public schools, no matter where they’re
located.

Achieve

Achieve is a nonpartisan organization that focuses on strengthening academic accountability,

improving standardized assessments and raising academic standards. These initiatives aren’t
meant to make school more difficult – they’re meant to help students be more prepared for
college, careers and the world beyond. By giving all students access advanced coursework,
technical skill development and work based learning, Achieve helps high school graduates
become more successful when they head out into the real world.

National College Transition Network

National College Transition Network is for upper level high school students, helping them
become prepared to succeed in college and subsequent careers. NCTN holds a yearly conference
called Effective Transitions in Adult Education, the goal of which is to help adult learners
succeed in postsecondary education and jobs. The member-based organization provides
professionals with a wide range of support services and research-based methods on how to
support students through major educational transitions.

America Achieves

America Achieves wants to help America improve its high school and college graduation rates. It
also wants to help prepare high school students with the skills they need to perform well in
cognitive, highly-skilled jobs. The number of these careers has increased to 22 million since
1988. America Achieves gets more students to qualify for jobs in these sectors by teaching them
critical thinking and non-routine jobs. It reaches students by identifying influential leaders who
already have ideas for instilling change, equipping them with the funding and resources they
need to make those dreams come true.

American Youth Policy Forum

American Youth Policy Forum supports students by empowering the policy makers, researchers
and practitioners working to reform education. The online forum is filled with resources on
critical educational topics such as social emotional learning, education equity, dropout
prevention and more. The AYPF hosts a number of in-person events education experts can
attend. These cover topics like personalized learning, ESSA reform, career readiness and how to
support first generation college students.

YouthBuild

YouthBuild brings together low-income and disadvantaged youth who lack access to education,
job training, entrepreneurship skills and other essential life experiences. It provides these young
people with opportunities to learn and grow by teaching them how to build houses in their
communities. In addition to learning construction, project management and collaboration skills,
program members directly impact their community by alleviating homelessness and improving
overall quality of life. There are about 260 urban and rural YouthBuild programs in 46 states
across the country.

Education Reimagined

This innovation-driven group brings together people who are passionate about learner-centered
education. Education Reimagined invites teachers and other education pioneers to collaborate
and share ideas at events called Pioneer Labs. These include panels by education experts along
with question and answer sessions and activities that promote collaboration and problem solving.
The sessions are held throughout the year nationwide.

PIE Network

PIE Network (Policy Innovators in Education) connects the nation’s most passionate teachers
with advocacy organizations at the state level. Connecting colleagues to influential organizations
gives teachers a voice while enabling them to share ideas with people who have the resources
and funds to put them into action. The network is passionate about representing the needs and
voices of many different types of people, and this allows them to develop policies and
procedures that are all-encompassing.

CompetencyWorks

This online resource brings together the latest research, knowledge, policy advancements and
perspectives regarding competency education. CompetencyWorks explains that competency
education moves away from a time-based system to focus on more on learning, giving students a
more enriching and promising education experience. Specifically, competency-based initiatives
focus on personalized education, ensuring that each student excels at their own pace without
being left behind. It hosts a national summit on K-12 education, which teachers and educators
can attend on an invitation basis.

Clayton Christensen Institute

The Clayton Christensen Institute is named after Harvard education expert Clayton Christensen.
It is a think tank that harnesses the power of disruptive innovation to improve education for all
students. Through research and public outreach, the institute is focused on elevating community
conversations about K-12 education, among other social issues. Its primary education sector
focuses on issues like personalized and blended learning, course access, social capital, software
tools and more.

Digital Promise

Digital Promise believes that technology has the power to teach, motivate, and personalize
learning in new and exciting ways. The technology initiative is aimed at helping education
leaders, researchers and tech experts improve learning climates through research-based
technology applications. The organization brings together a network of technology-driven
leaders from across the globe to help them solve problems together and work towards a more
technology-driven future. They also document stories of success achieved through their
programs, helping inspire other teachers and innovato

iNACOL

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) focuses on advancing online
education research and sharing distance learning policy innovations with teachers. Its mission is
to advance powerful and effective competency-based blended and online learning that improves
student outcomes. The organization believes that by supporting research in online learning,
they’ll be able to help schools better implement the types of learning they most believe in: online
learning, blended learning, competency education and personalized education.

Education Reform Now

This education advocacy group invites teachers and those passionate about education to become
involved in education policy. Education Reform Now puts education advocates at the forefront
of policy initiatives, helping them by lobbying for education-related bills, advocating for
resources and supporting candidates who promote education initiatives. The education system
has been slow to adopt political lobbying, especially when compared to industries like healthcare
or energy; Education Reform Now is changing that, getting teachers involved in the policies that
affect their livelihoods.

The Network for Public Education

The Network for Public Education is an advocacy group committed to strengthening and
protecting the integrity of public education. Their goal is to ensure that all students have an
equitable environment in which to learn, and that all schools are equipped with skilled teachers
who can advance education. These goals are achieved by connecting teachers, parents, students
and citizens who are passionate about the power of public education.