National Organizations
For lists of policy organizations by state,
use our State-by-State
map.
For a list of national advocacy organizations,
see our Advocacy
Organization list.
This list is divided into three sections: National
Organizations, University-Based Organizations,
and Regional Education Laboratories
Advancement
Project
The Advancement Project describes itself as a democracy
and justice action group. The organization focuses
on three main areas of policy and research: opportunity
to learn, power and democracy, and urban peace. The
Advancement Project produces policy and legal research
and analysis, and translates academic and legal language
into "user-friendly" materials that are
relevant to their advocacy efforts. Partnering with
local communities to link external resources with
concerned citizens, the Advancement Project works
to advance universal opportunity and equality and
access to those left behind in America. The Advancement
Project also does advocacy work.
1730 M Street, NW #910
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: (202) 728-9557
Fax: (202) 728-9558
ap@advancementproject.org
West Coast office:
Advancement Project Los Angeles
1545 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: (213) 989-1300
Fax: (213) 989-1309
Alliance
for Excellent Education
The stated mission of the Alliance for Excellent
Education is to promote high school transformation
to make it possible for every child to graduate prepared
for postsecondary education and success in life. The
Alliance works on both advocacy and policy and envisions
a larger federal role in funding programs for at-risk
students. The organization advocates for additional
help for older students who struggle to read at grade
level, academic counseling that encourages parental
involvement, quality teachers, and school environments
that foster achievement.
President: Bob Wise
1201 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 901
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 828-0828
Fax: (202) 828-0821
wise@all4ed.org
Ameregis
Ameregis describes itself as a research and geographic
information systems firm dedicated to integrating
GIS, mapping, and traditional research methods to
inform public and private decision-making. Working
closely with their partner organization, Metropolitan
Area Research Corporation (MARC), Ameregis seeks to
offer unique ways to illustrate what is happening
in regions across the United States on issues such
as social demographics, metropolitan development,
transportation, housing, alternative school and municipal
aid formulas, commuting patterns and minority suburbanization.
1313 5th Street SE
Suite 108
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Phone: (612) 379-3926
Fax: (612) 676-1457
ameregis@ameregis.com
Center
on Education Policy (CEP)
The Center on Education Policy (CEP) describes itself
as a non-partisan national, independent advocate for
public education and for more effective public schools.
CEP strives to assist Americans in better understanding
the different perspectives about the role of public
education in a democracy and about the need for public-school
improvement. To that end, the Center does research
on related topics, including public engagement, standards-based
reform, and teacher quality. The CEP website provides
a multitude of resources, including publications and
conference information.
1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 522
Washington DC 20036
Phone: (202) 822-8065
Fax: (202) 822-6008
cep-dc@cep-dc.org
Committee
for Economic Development (CED)
The Committee for Economic Development (CED) describes
itself as an independent, nonpartisan organization
of business and education leaders dedicated to policy
research on major economic and social issues including
education reform, and the implementation of its recommendations
by the public and private sectors.
2000 L St., NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 296-5860
Fax: (202) 223-0776
info@ced.org
Council
of the Great City Schools
The Council of the Great City Schools, founded in
1956, describes itself as a coalition of over 50 of
the country's largest urban public-school systems.
The Council's stated mission is to promote and improve
urban education through legislation, research, media
relations, instruction, and other special projects.
The Council aims to act as the national voice for
urban educators, and to that end, it arranges conferences,
conducts studies about issues of popular practice
and common concern, and collaborates with other national
organizations, government agencies, and corporations.
Executive Director: Michael D. Casserly
1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 702
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: (202) 393-2427
Fax: (202) 393-2400
mcasserly@cgcs.org
Cross
City Campaign for Urban School Reform
The Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform states
that it is a national network of school reformers
that supports efforts to create high-quality schools
that ensure educational success for all urban young
people. To that end, Cross City advocates for policies
and practices that move authority, resources, and
accountability to the school level, reconnect schools
with their community, and rethink the role of school
districts. Headquartered in Chicago, Cross City's
membership includes parents, educators, researchers,
and funders from nine major cities: Baltimore, Chicago,
Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia,
and San Francisco.
3740 N. Lake Shore Drive Suite 3B
Chicago, Illinois 60613
Phone: 773.832.9375
http://www.crosscity.org/
The
Education Policy and Leadership Center
The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC)
works “to encourage and support the use of more
effective state-level education policies to improve
student learning in grades P-12, increase the effective
operation of schools, and enhance educational opportunities
for citizens of all ages.” The EPLC accomplishes
these goals by providing research and information,
developing leadership in the schools and education
agencies, and encouraging public advocacy to achieve
meaningful reforms. Based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
the EPLC is dedicated to improving education policy
in the state of Pennsylvania, but provides research
and information with national relevance.
800 North Third Street
Suite 408
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Phone: (717) 260-9900
Fax: (717) 260-9903
comments@eplc.org
The
Institute for Educational Equity & Opportunity
The Institute for Educational Equity & Opportunity
(“IFEEO”) is a non-profit organization
dedicated to the pursuit of educational equity and
opportunity, particularly for disadvantaged public
school children through legal means. The IFEEO is
especially interested in fair and equitable public
school finance laws. IFEEO has four main projects:
(1) the study of the history of the education clause
in the state constitutions of all fifty states; (2)
a IFEEO Legal Fellowship and Summer Associate Award;
(3) the IFEEO Educational Archives Project; (4) grants
to counsel for plaintiffs for assistance with drafting
an article regarding school equity and finance litigation.
Washington Office
Phone: 202-661-4652
Fax: 202-661-4699
Philadelphia Office
Phone: 215-557-6224
Fax: 215-557-9552
info@ifeeo.org
National
Black Caucus of State Legislators
The National Black Caucus of State Legislators’
(NBCSL) primary mission is to develop, conduct and
promote educational, research and training programs
designed to enhance the effectiveness of its members,
as they consider legislation and issues of public
policy which impact, either directly or indirectly,
upon "the general welfare" of African American
constituents within their respective jurisdictions.
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Suite 622
Washington DC 20001
Phone: (202) 624.5457
Fax: (202) 508.3826
staff@nbcsl.com
National
Clearing House for Educational Facilities (NCEF)
Created by the U.S. Department of Education, NCEF
is a free public service organization that provides
extensive information and publications on planning,
designing, funding, building, improving, and maintaining
safe, healthy, high performance schools. The NCEF
has an extensive list of resources and informational
sources, and it provides links to news stories about
educational facilities nationwide.
1090 Vermont Ave, NW
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 289.7800
News Archive: www.ncef.org/ne/index.cfm
Website: www.edfacilities.org
National
Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators
Since its founding in 1989, the National Hispanic
Caucus of State Legislator's (NHCSL) primary mission
has been to organize Hispanic state legislators who
advocate on behalf of Hispanic communities across
the United States, its commonwealths, and territories.
Their efforts focus on advancements in education,
healthcare, housing, economic development, criminal
justice, and employment and job training for the Hispanic
community.
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Suite 404
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 434-8070
Fax: (202) 434-8072
http://www.nhcsl.com/contact.html
Public
Education Network (PEN)
The Public Education Network has been a long-standing,
effective proponent of strong public schools nationwide,
especially in low-income communities. PEN believes
that "equal opportunity, access to quality public
schools, and an informed citizenry are all critical
components of a democratic society."
To promote what it describes as essentials for successful
public education - public engagement, community support,
and adequate resources - PEN was established nearly
two decades ago as a national association of nonprofit,
local affiliate organizations, Local Education Funds
(LEFs). PEN has grown to 69 LEFs in 28 states and
the District of Columbia, including, for example,
the Mobile
Area Education Foundation in Alabama, Forward
in the Fifth in Kentucky, New Visions for Public Schools
in New York City, and the Portland
Schools Foundation in Oregon.
PEN's website provides a wealth of information, including
links to other websites, on dozens of important education
topics.
601 Thirteenth Street, NW
Suite 710 South
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 628-7460
Fax: (202) 628-1893
pen@publiceducation.org
The
State Fiscal Analysis Initiative (SFAI)
SFAI brings together nonpartisan, independent, nonprofit
organizations in each of 29 states. These organizations
have diverse backgrounds and missions, but they share
a commitment to rigorous policy analysis, responsible
budget and tax policies, and a particular focus on
the needs of low- and moderate-income families. The
organizations broaden the debate on budget and tax
policy through public education and the encouragement
of civic engagement on these issues. The State Fiscal
Analysis Initiative is coordinated by the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities.
State Fiscal Analysis Initiative
820 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
http://www.statefiscal.org/
The
Rural School and Community Trust
The Rural School and Community Trust describes itself
as a national nonprofit organization rooted in rural
America that works with schools and community groups
across the country. Through its Policy Building and
Capacity Building Programs, it aims to improve the
links between schools and rural communities to better
the quality of education and community life and to
affect state education policy. The Rural Trust sees
itself as primarily focused on those rural communities
facing historic patterns of poverty and racism or
challenged by declines in population, major changes
in population composition, and fundamental economic
change. The Trust is the convener of the Rural Equity
Collaborative, which aims to improve the equity and
adequacy of school finance systems in rural communities
with high poverty rates. The Trust's website
provides state-by-state links to issues, projects,
and rural advocacy groups.
The Trust has also established the Rural
Education Finance Center (REFC), which describes
itself as dedicated to improving educational opportunity
for rural children by reducing inequality in state
school finance systems, improving rural schools' fiscal
practices, and ensuring the adequacy of rural-school
funding. The REFC states that it strives to meet those
goals by: building civic capacity; generating good
research and monitoring existing research; and providing
legal support for rural people involved in school-finance
lawsuits. President: Rachel B. Tompkins
National Office:
1825 K Street NW, Suite 703
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 955-7177
Fax: (202) 955-7179
info@ruraledu.org
Director, Rural Education Finance Center: Gregory
C. Malhoit
3344 Hillsborough Street, Suite 302
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 833-4541
greg.malhoit@ruraledu.org
University-Based Organizations Achievement
Gap Initiative
Harvard University
The Achievement Gap Initiative describes itself as
a research-based response to four urgent national
imperatives:
1. Increased Global Competitiveness
2. Changing National Demographics
3. Persistent Ethnic and Racial Achievement Gaps
4. The O'Connor Challenge to Affirmative Action
The initiative’s goal is to serve as a clearinghouse
for research reports, information, and analysis that
will closely follow and work to inform the debate
over strategies for responding to increasing educational
challenges.
Annenberg
Institute for School Reform
Brown University
The Annenberg Institute describes itself as a policy
research and technical assistance organization which
focuses on developing practical solutions to the challenges
of educating at-risk students. The Institute works
collaboratively to provide support to urban school
districts, where the Institute has recognized an unacceptable
inequity in educational opportunities. It emphasizes
relationships with state and local groups that can
harness the strength of communities to identify and
implement standards- and outcome-based education reforms.
The Institute focuses on three areas of school support:
Civic Supports, System Supports, and Teaching and
Learning Supports.
Brown University
Box 1985
Providence, RI 02912
Phone: (401) 863-7990
Fax: (401) 863-1290
AISR_Info@brown.edu
Chief
Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and
Diversity
Boalt Hall School of Law, University
of California, Berkeley
The Warren Institute is a “multidisciplinary,
collaborative venture to produce research, research-based
policy prescriptions, and curricular innovation on
issues of racial and ethnic justice in California
and the nation.” The institute works to provide
an intellectual backdrop to public discussions of
race, ethnicity, and civil rights. The institute focuses
on a number of topics that are intersected by these
issues, endeavoring to impact public policy while
maintaining a strong, independent academic project.
The
Civil Rights Project
Harvard University
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University describes
its mission as to assist the renewal of the civil
rights movement by providing “intellectual capital”
and academic research. The Project hopes to serve
as a “forum for building consensus” within
the civil rights movement. It argues that progress
towards eliminating the racial gaps afflicting the
United States has stalled since the achievements of
the 1960s, and will grow increasingly severe as the
country’s minority populations continue to grow.
The Project has produced numerous studies, reports,
and books reflecting extensive research into the nature
of the racial inequality and segregation in this country.
By recognizing the challenge of correcting racial
inequities, the Civil Rights Project hopes to corral
the forces of many different partners and to provide
a continuous flood of quality academic and policy
research. The Project was initially focused on education
reform, but has since branched out into numerous areas
in which civil rights injustices exist.
125 Mt. Auburn Street
3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 496-6367
Fax: (617) 495-5210
crp@harvard.edu
Consortium
for Policy Research on Education (CPRE)
University of Wisconsin, Madison
University
of Pennsylvania
Harvard University
University of Michigan
Stanford University
CPRE describes itself as a consortium of the nation's
top universities that have united to improve student
learning by doing research on education reform, policy,
and finance. Projects include the School
Finance Project, which focuses on the real cost
of school improvement and the ability of schools to
implement changes, and the Teacher
Compensation Project, which studies alternative
salary approaches that will provide teachers, both
individually and as a group, with incentives to teach
high standards to students, as well as with rewards
for success. CPRE holds an annual Teacher Compensation
Conference.
1025 West Johnson Street
Suite 653
Madison, WI 53706-1796
Phone: (608) 263-4260
Fax: (608) 263-9390
http://cpre.wceruw.org/contact/index.php
Education
Justice Collaborative
University of California, Los Angeles
The Education Justice Collaborative is a coalition
of about 30 grassroots, research, and advocacy organizations.
The EJC allows these groups to share resources and
strategies in order to maximize their impact on the
educational opportunities in their communities and
across the state, and specifically to ensure that
these opportunities are equally accessible to students
of color, low-income students and immigrant students.
The group’s members include Californians for
Justice, Public Advocates, and many others. EJC does
not participate in any advocacy on its own behalf,
but provides research assistance and support to member
organizations who themselves advocate for change.
The EJC is a joint program of UCLA’s Institute
for Democracy, Education and Access (IDEA) and Program
in Public Interest Law and Policy (PILP).
Education
Policy Studies Laboratory (EPSL)
Arizona State University, College of Education
The Educational Policy Studies Laboratory (EPSL),
headquartered at Arizona State University's College
of Education, conducts original research, analyzes
the research of other organizations and individuals,
and facilitates the implementation of innovations
in areas such as student performance standards, assessments,
and curriculum. It then distributes its reports to
policy makers, educators, and the public. EPSL consists
of five related projects, including the Education
Policy Research Unit (EPRU), which conducts research
on significant education topics and disseminates policy
analyses and related information to policy makers
and the public.
College of Education
Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Box 872411
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-2411
Phone: (480) 965-1886
Fax: (480) 965-0303
epsl@asu.edu
Education
Policy Research Unit
Arizona State University
EPRU "conducts original research, provides
independent analyses of research and policy documents,
and facilitates the implementation of innovations
in areas such as student performance standards,
assessment, and curriculum. EPRU disseminates its
reports, analyses, and other documents to policy
makers, educators, and the public."
EPRU is also home to the The
Think Tank Review Project "provides
the public, policy makers, and the press with timely,
academically sound reviews of selected think-tank
publications." The project is a collaborative
effort of the Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU)
at Arizona State University and the Education and
the Public Interest Center (EPIC) at the University
of Colorado.
Education Policy Research Unit
Division of Educational Leadership & Policy
Studies
Mary Lou Fulton College of Education
Box 872411
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-2411
Voice: (480) 965-1886
Fax: (480) 965-0303
E-mail: epru@asu.edu
http://www.educationanalysis.org
National
Institute for Early Education Research
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
The National Institute for Early Education was established
at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education
and merged with the Rutgers Center for Early Education
in January 2002. The organization describes its goal
as producing and communicating the knowledge base
required to ensure that every American child can receive
a good education at the ages of three and four. Its
main priority is to provide policy makers with timely
data addressing the practical problems young children
face. They offer independent research-based advice
and technical assistance to four primary groups: policy
makers, journalists, researchers, and educators.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
120 Albany Street, Suite 500
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: (732) 932-4350
Fax: (732) 932-4360
Regional
Educational Laboratories The network of
Regional Educational
Laboratories, serving ten geographic regions throughout
the nation, works to ensure that those involved in educational
improvement at the local, state, and regional levels
have access to the best available information from research
and practice. The concept of Regional Educational Laboratories
as a national resource for local and state benefit was
implemented by Congress over three decades ago under
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
WestEd
Chief Executive Officer: Glen Harvey
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, California 94107
Phone: 877-493-7833
Fax: 415-565-3012
NWREL
Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director: Dr. Carol
F. Thomas
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
101 SW Main St., Suite 500
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-275-9501
info@nwrel.org
McREL
Senior Director: Ceri Dean
2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500
Aurora, CO 80014
Phone: 303-337-0990
Fax: 303-337-3005
SEDL
Chairman: Dr. Tony Recasner
Southwest Education Development Laboratory
211 East 7th Street
Austin, TX 78701-3281
Phone: 1-800-476-6861
info@sedl.org
NCREL
CEO and Executive Director: Gina Burkhardt
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
1120 East Diehl Road, Suite 200
Naperville, Illinois 60563
Phone: 630-649-6500 | 800-356-2735
Fax: 630-649-6700
info@ncrel.org
SERVE
Executive Director: John R. Sanders
P.O. Box 5367
Greensboro, NC 27435
Phone: 336-315-7400 | 800-755-3277
Fax: 336-315-7457
AEL
President and Chief Executive Officer: Allen Arnold
P.O. Box 1348
Charleston, WV 25325-1348
Phone: 1-800-624-9120 | 304-347-0400
Fax: 304-347-0487
aelinfo@ael.org
LSS
Executive Director: JoAnn Manning
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory at
Temple University Center for Research in
Human Development and Education
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19122-6091
Phone: 800-892-5550
Fax: 215-204-5130
tcaldwll@temple.edu
Northeast
Regional Lab (The Education Alliance at Brown
University)
Executive Director: Adeline Becker
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300,
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: 401-274-9548 | 800-521-9550 |
Fax: 401-421-7650
PREL
President and Chief Executive Officer: Tom Barlow
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning
900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 1300
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: 808-441-1300
Fax: 808-441-1385
askprel@prel.org
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