PIE Network Guest

EdVoice drives reform to help all students achieve. Kids need the best possible teachers in the classroom to help them master high quality standards. Accountability must measure what matters – student achievement, and we need change in schools with a history of failing to deliver. School funding should be driven by data, not program popularity. And families, not zip-codes should determine where their children go to public school. Intelligent advocacy organizations pick their battles; EdVoice chooses the fights with the biggest payoffs for California kids.

But EdVoice recognizes that statewide education policy and the legislative process are extremely cumbersome, and that pertinent information is hard to find. Even the most educated and community-minded of California residents often don't know what statewide education policies are being debated and when to speak up. That’s why EdVoice provides easy to understand information on key education issues and a step-by-step guide for Californians to impact the decision making process.

Visit EdVoice.

EdVoice doesn’t publicly reveal tactical priorities early in the year. “However, in the current challenging fiscal climate,” says Bill Lucia, “the golden rule is to do what’s best for kids and defend recent reform gains.

• Helping pass legislation to improve teacher effectiveness, EdVoice provided policy acumen and lobbying services to draft important bills and ultimately push them into law. EdVoice-sponsored AB 2086 delivers transparency in outcomes of teacher preparation programs. EdVoice advocated successfully for SB X5 1, which creates career pathways for STEM teachers, and SB X5 4, which provides open enrollment for students in low-performing schools. And in a tough budget package, EdVoice helped deliver an additional $38 million in facility funding for public charter schools through support of AB 1610.
• Co-hosting the first in a series of events to nurture reform-minded prospective candidates, the group created a pipeline political training program to prepare education reformers for elected office.
• EdVoice connected legislators and senior staff with education researchers and practitioners at the 2010 edition of the EdVoice Institute symposia series. The event took place during the national debate on Common Core and helped position EdVoice as a go-to resource on the next step of revising state assessments.

Bill Lucia
President and CEO

Media Contact: Steve O'Mara
(415) 250-6876

Twitter: @edvoice