Hearts & Minds - Information for ChangeSM Education Organizations that aim to improve the educational system of the nation

Academy for Educational Development (AED)
1825 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Phone: 1-202-884-8000
Fax: 1-202-884-8400

New York Office
100 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 1-212-243-1110
Fax: 1-212-627-0407
E-mail: communicationsmail@aed.org
Website: www.aed.org
     Starting with a project in Kansas and eventually expanding to more than 130 countries, AED has improved the educational opportunities of thousands of students around the world.
     Provides valuable information and articles on issues concerning today's youth, such as health, education, the environment and democracy. Browsing is available through three convenient options: by topic, approach, and geography. -LOL

American Educational Research Association (AERA)
1230 Seventeenth St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-3078
Phone: 1-202-223-9485
Fax: 1-202-775-1824
E-mail: webmaster@aera.net
Website: www.aera.net
     AERA strives to improve the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education. Also offers a program of scholarly publications, training, fellowships and meetings to advance educational research, disseminate knowledge, and improve the capacity of the profession to enhance the public good.
     Website is crowded and not too appealing. Still, this is an important organization that should be helpful to researchers  who want to put their theories about education into practical use. -SB
     Includes several references to educational information and detailed techniques and methods to improve the quality of teaching. -LOL

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Atlas Communities
222 Third Street, Suite 1320
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 1-617-577-8585 or 1-888-577-8585
Fax: 1-617-577-8686
E-mail: info@atlascommunities.org
Website: www.atlascommunities.org
     A comprehensive school improvement initiative designed to help create high performing schools that serve all students well.
     Provides key factors to improving education within schools grades K-12 through improved techniques for teaching and learning, better assessments for both students and teachers, increased professional development, incorporating family and community, and progressing techniques of school management. -LOL

Beginning with Books, Center for Early Literacy
5920 Kirkwood Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Phone: 1-412-361-8560
Fax: 1-412-361-8567
Website: www.beginningwithbooks.org
     The mission of Beginning with Books is to increase meaningfully the numbers of children who become capable and enthusiastic lifelong readers. This is accomplished through research-based programs respectfully offering the information, materials, skill development, and encouragement that enable parents and other adults to promote the literacy development of the children in their care. Beginning with Books programs operate in partnership with other organizations serving low-income families. Beginning with Books also offers training and materials that equip others to adapt or replicate its programs.
     What a wonderful program! Comforting to know there's an organization like this one around. The website is full of information and advice, easy to navigate, and obviously managed by a group of big-hearted, intelligent and imaginative people. It offers a good selection of books for children. -SB
     A great organization that goes beyond encouraging literacy for children: it offers tips for adults reading to their children, monthly book lists, guidelines for choosing books, and even book reviews. -LOL

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Council of the Great City Schools
1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Suite 702
Washington, D.C. 20004
Phone: 1-202-393-2427
Fax: 1-202-393-2400
Website: www.cgcs.org
     "A coalition of 63 of the nation's largest urban public school systems. Works to promote urban education through legislation, research, media relations, instruction, management, technology, and other special projects designed to improve the quality of urban education."
     Good site, great program, important mission. -SB
     Provides valuable information, statistics, articles, and press releases on progress made in the educational field. -LOL

Donors Choose
347 West 36th Street
Suite 503
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 1-212-239-3615
Fax: 1-212-239-3619
E-mail: reyna@donorschoose.org
Website: www.donorschoose.org
     Donors Choose presents a new business model for accomplishing good works. Typically, a nonprofit organization must pay itself to assess needs and design services for a particular group of people. At Donors Choose, motivated teachers--who know their kids better than anyone in the system--perform this essential task for free. Correspondingly, a foundation pays itself to evaluate the programs designed by nonprofits and to channel funds to the most worthy programs. At Donors Choose, citizen-philanthropists perform this task."
     Donors Choose can be a great help to teachers and students in poorly funded schools. It's an innovative, effective, and well-acclaimed program (read the NY Times article in the news section), with chapters in NYC, Chicago, North Carolina and the San Francisco Bay area. The website is just as wonderful. -SB
     Website includes great ways for any curious browser to get involved with the public education system and allows teachers' voices to be heard about what changes need to be made in schools around the US. -LOL

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Education Commission of the States
700 Broadway, #1200 
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: 1-303-299-3600
Fax: 1-303-296-8332  
E-mail: ecs@ecs.org
Website: www.ecs.org
     Updates on what's happening in the states by gathering, analyzing and disseminating information about current and emerging issues, trends and innovations in state education policy.
     A great place for students, activists, educators, researchers and the like to gather valuable and current information about education policies in each state. The website is well-organized and easy to navigate. -SB
     Contains interesting and informative articles on issues and solutions for public schools in the US. -LOL

Education Trust
1250 H St. NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-293-1217 
Fax: 202-293-2605

520 West 3rd Street
Suite 204
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: 1-510-465-6444
Fax: 1-510-465-0859
E-mail: rali@edtrustwest.org
Website: www.edtrust.org
     The Education Trust works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels and forever closing the achievement gaps that separate low-income students and students of color from other youth. Its basic tenet is this — All children will learn at high levels when they are taught to high levels.
     Provides valuable information for students, parents, and faculty alike. -LOL

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Fairtest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 1-617-864-4810
Fax: 1-617-497-2224
E-mail: Info@fairtest.org
Website: www.fairtest.org
     Works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial. Places special emphasis on eliminating the racial, class, gender, and cultural barriers to equal opportunity posed by standardized tests, and preventing their damage to the quality of education.
     Presents both the problems with, and solutions for, most of the public schools in the US. Strongly against the "No Child Left Behind Act" and biased standardized testing. -LOL

Foundation for Excellent Schools
1634 Route 30
Cornwall, VT 05753-9264
Phone: 1-802-462-3170
Fax: 1-802-462-3180
E-mail: info@fesnet.org
Website: www.fesnet.org
     Committed to helping member schools in low-income communities identify, initiate, and sustain practices that will enable students to achieve stronger performance. Encourages increased aspirations and achievement for all students and works with each partnering school to create opportunities for each student to take "One More Step" in his or her education.
     An accomplished, committed and well-acclaimed organization. The website is neatly and professionally designed. -SB  I agree. -LOL

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Milken Family Foundation Teacher Advancement Program
1250 Fourth Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: 1-310-570-4800
Fax: 1-310-570-4801
E-mail: comm-gov@mff.org
Website: www.mff.org
     TAP's goal is to draw more talented people to the teaching profession – and keep them there – by making it more attractive and rewarding to be a teacher. TAP helps teachers become the best they can be by giving them opportunities to learn better teaching strategies and holding them accountable for their performance.
     Informative website features extensive details on programs such as the "Teacher Advancement Program Foundation" and the "Milken National Education Conference." Very devoted to the cause of furthering teaching capabilities. -LOL

National Council on Teacher Quality
1225 19th Street NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 1-202-263-8320
Fax: 1-202-261-2638
E-mail: info@nctq.org
Website: www.nctq.org
     The National Council on Teacher Quality advocates for reforms in a broad range of teacher policies at the federal, state, and local levels, including raising the standards for entry into the profession while also eliminating obstacles that keep many talented individuals from considering a career in teaching. Urges a more market-sensitive approach to the structure of the profession in order to encourage a more equitable distribution of the finest teachers to the schools that need them the most and in the subject areas that are particularly difficult to fill. Seeks to make a career in the classroom professionally satisfying, elevating our best teachers to positions of honor and respect. Believes that none of these changes can occur without improving the public understanding of teacher quality by giving voice to good research, sound practice, and common sense. -LOL

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National Institute for Urban School Improvement
1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 625
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: 1-303-556-3990
Fax: 1-303-556-6141
E-mail: niusi@edc.org
Website: www.inclusiveschools.org/
     The mission of the National Institute for Urban School Improvement is to support inclusive urban communities, schools, and families to build their capacity for sustainable, successful urban education. The National Institute will accomplish this mission through dialogue, networking, technology, action research, information systems, alliance and consensus building. -LOL

National Science Teachers Association
1840 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington VA 22201-3000
Phone: 703-243-7100
Website: http://www.nsta.org/
     NSTA's Guiding Principles:
- Model excellence
- Embrace and model diversity through equity, respect, and opportunity for all
- Provide and expand professional development to support standards-based science education
- Serve as the voice for excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning, curriculum and instruction, and assessment
- Promote interest and support for science education, collaboratively and proactively throughout society 
- Exemplify a dynamic organization that values and practices self-renewal.
     Great site, strong organization. Read the articles, check out the links, subscribe to its newsletter. You may also want to donate to NSTA's City Science Project and join its program, Building a Presence for Science . -SB  

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Public Education Network
601 Thirteenth Street NW
Suite 900 North
Washington, DC 20005-3808
Phone: 202-628-7460
Fax: 202-628-1893
E-mail: Pen@publiceducation.org
Website: www.publiceducation.org/
     PEN seeks to build public demand and mobilize resources for quality
public education for all children through a theory of action that focuses on the importance of public engagement in school reform. PEN believes community engagement is the missing ingredient in school reform, and that the level of public involvement ultimately determines the quality of education provided by public schools. -LOL

Previous update by Olivia Chitayet, most recent update by Lindita Lika (LOL).

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http://www.heartsandminds.org/links/volsimplinks.htm - latest update August 17, 2005, text changes November 25, 2005.

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