Stand for Children

Who We Are

Stand for Children is an innovative, citizen-led child advocacy organization that seeks to make children and their needs a higher political priority. 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.  We build effective local and statewide networks of grassroots advocates capable of convincing elected officials and voters to prioritize children’s needs. Following specific priorities chosen by our members, we work to improve education policies and secure adequate funding for public schools to give children the opportunities they need to become successful, productive citizens.

Our members believe we need to stand up for our children now – particularly for their education from pre-school through high school – to create a better future for Tennessee. Our overarching goal is to ensure that all students in Memphis City Schools achieve academic success and graduate from high school.

Our Strategy

Stand 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.

Key Accomplishments

Statewide

  • 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 leading Stand for Children’s statewide pre-K campaign, which secured $70 million in public funding from 2005 to 2007 providing 800 new classrooms for 16,000 at-risk 4-year-olds.

Memphis

  • Helped lower class sizes and restore educational programs in 2005 by convincing the Shelby County Commission to add over $19 million to fully fund education for the 163,400 children in Memphis City and Shelby County schools for the first time in three years.

Memphis Goals:

  • Improve teacher quality in Memphis City Schools by ensuring thorough implementation of the Memphis City Schools Teacher Effectiveness Initiative.
  • Strengthen the Memphis Chapter by building teams of educators and parents in school communities across the city.

For more information, visit www.stand.org/tn/memphis.