Why Tennessee Needs Stand for ChildrenTennessee ranks low among other states on many education indicators, including math and reading. And Memphis and Nashville rank even lower when compared to the Tennessee average.

Only 5% of Memphis City Schools students are deemed college ready by ACT.

Almost 20% of all high school students statewide fail to graduate in 4 years. Those numbers are even worse for Hispanic and African American students.

Our MembershipStand for Children’s reach is wide in Tennessee. We have:

15,000 emailable supporters across the state

Almost 16,000 Facebook fans*

* Facebook contacts are not exclusive of our membership and contact numbers

MissionStand for Children channels the power of parents and educators to transform our public schools. Our mission is to use the power of grassroots action to help all children get the excellent public education and strong support they need to thrive. Our members believe we need to invest in our children now – in their education and enrichment from pre-school through high school, their health, and their safety – to create a better future for our communities.

Rather than help one child at a time through direct service, we build effective local and statewide networks of advocates capable of convincing elected officials to invest in and reform children’s programs. Following specific priorities chosen by our members, we focus on securing adequate funding for public schools and reforming policies and practices to help children thrive, giving them the opportunities they need to become successful, productive citizens.

Organizational StrategyStand for Children improves children’s lives by channeling the collective energy of committed citizens to achieve best-practice solutions. Through a formalized system of leadership training and mentoring carried out by a skilled program staff, Stand for Children gives everyday people the tools to make a real, lasting difference for children in their communities.

In addition to helping children, our members themselves significantly benefit from involvement in Stand for Children – they learn to be effective leaders, developing key organizational skills and a heightened understanding of children’s issues. These member-leaders, organized into local Chapters and Teams, research their major concerns, decide on an issue, set specific goals for change, and work in coalition with other organizations to win significant improvements.

Budget and FundraisingThe combined 2011 budget for Stand for Children (a 501c4 nonprofit advocacy organization) and Stand for Children Leadership Center (a tax-deductible 501c3 charitable organization) in Tennessee is $ 1,799,199. Our overhead is extremely low; less than 13 cents of every dollar donated is spent on administration and fundraising, well below the maximum of 35% recommended by charity watchdog organizations like the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. Contributions are used entirely in-state. We gratefully acknowledge the support of our members, generous individual donors, and private foundations and organizations including the The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Hyde Family Foundations, Pre-K Now, The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and The Poplar Foundation.

Stand for ChildrenNashville Office

123 South 11Nashville, TN 37206

Memphis Office915 E. McLemore, Suite 201A

Memphis, TN 38106

TNInfo@stand.orgwww.stand.org/tn

Current Goals

Continue to press for a teacher quality initiative to improve teacher effectiveness, which research shows is the greatest lever in boosting student achievement

Use the new Teacher Evaluation System to make informed decisions about hiring, promotion, compensation and dismissal

Preserve the state’s Pre-K program, which provides funding for 934 pre-K classrooms serving 18,000 four year olds in Tennessee.

Improve teacher and principal quality in Memphis City Schools and Metro Nashville Schools. Work with the districts to implement Race to the Top programs that improve professional development, evaluations, and differentiated teacher leadership roles.

Lead Friends of Metro Schools in Nashville, a coalition of community residents and organizations working to make education a top priority during state and local budget processes.

Develop a coalition of community residents and organizations working to make education a top priority during state and local budget processes.

Fundraising Leverage

Key Accomplishments

Laid the ground work for increasing teacher and principal effectiveness and improving performance of chronically low-performing schools statewide by playing a key role in passing Governor Bredesen’s “Tennessee First to the Top Act of 2010,” which lifts the prohibition on using student achievement data in teacher and principal evaluations and gives the state greater flexibility in turning around low-performing schools.

Moved Tennessee’s children closer to universal access to quality pre-K education by co-leading the Tennessee Alliance for Early Education, which secured $70 million in public funding over three years providing 800 new classrooms for 16,000 at-risk 4-year-olds.

Worked with legislators to secure the release of $100 million in lottery funds to create an “Energy Efficient Schools Initiative,” which will result in significant savings that can be used to maintain school facilities or build new schools to keep pace with growth.

As a member of the Nashville for All of Us coalition, contacted more than 6,000 voters to help defeat an "English only" referendum that would have harmed children and schools.

Helped save teaching positions and restore educational programs in 2005 by convincing the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission to add over $19 million to fully fund education for the 163,400 children in Memphis and Shelby County Schools for the first time in three years.

What People are Saying about Stand for Children

“Stand for Children is a critical partner for education reform in Tennessee. Their advocacy efforts played a crucial role in helping our state adopt the innovative education reform policies we needed to win the Race to the Top competition.”

- Former Governor Phil Bredesen, May 2010

"As a parent of 2 young children in public school and owner of my own business, my time is very limited. I love that Stand offers so many ways for me to be involved without demanding more time than I can give. And I know that the time I am able to give to Stand will have maximum benefit for children.”

- Laura Donohue, (Nashville) Lockeland Design Center parent

"It is exciting to be a part of a local organization that has proven to be such a powerful force of positive change for public education”

- Rochelle Griffin, Memphis City School Educator

To stay informed with happenings in the State Legislature, check in weekly with our blog at www.stand.org/tnblog. To make a donation or get involved in your community,

please contact us at 615.726.1414or visit www.stand.org/tn