What We Stand For

We've done a lot of thinking, talked to a lot of really smart people and asked a lot of questions.  We're not education experts, but we've learned a thing or two along the way. 

What we do know, and many can agree, that there are some tried and true fundamentals that make for great schools. Download a copy of our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page here, our platform with all the noted sources here and a copy of our One Pager here. Looking for a bit more information and how we got to where we are, download our primer on the state of California Public Education here.

Mission Statement

Educate Our State is a parent-led, statewide campaign to unite the voices of Californians in support of high quality K-12 Public Education and demand real change. California is drastically falling behind in every measure of educational outcomes including: test scores, dropout rates, funding per pupil, teacher-student ratios and more. Now is the time for real change.

Campaign Platform

The current public education system in California is broken. We recognize the complexity of both the problem and the potential solutions. We are focusing our reform efforts on the following fundamental building blocks that, we believe, are essential to a high quality education. We demand a public education system that includes:

Superior Educators: High-quality, inspirational teachers, principals and staff

  • Support incentives to encourage great minds to enter teaching

  • Support performance assessment that is student-focused, outcome based

  • Support modified teacher tenure to streamline removal of ineffective teachers from the classroom

  • Support hiring and layoff practices that use criteria other than seniority

  • Support teacher professional development and training, in addition to collaborative teaching practices such as PLCs (Professional Learning Communities)

Logical Funding: Resources must follow student needs. The current funding system must be overhauled so that it is logical, easy to understand, controlled at the local level and simple to administer. This system should be based on the following outline which has been proposed by most experts and implemented in several states, including Maryland:

  • Support a system such as a weighted student formula in which the dollars follow the students and are adjusted for different students’ needs. This would eliminate most categorical funding streams providing a more simplistic and transparent system to understand and implement. There would be strict accountability from the districts to the state to ensure they are meeting all students’ needs and academic goals.

Sufficient Funding: California must calculate how much revenue is necessary to educate our students to meet the adopted high academic standards and set in place a mechanism to fund our schools adequately. We demand a state funding system based on student needs and not zip code.

  • Support creation of education funding stream that is stable (as opposed to the volatile general fund dollars)

Stimulating Curriculum: Education that prepares our children for the broad critical thinking and learning they need now and in the future

  • Support teaching the high academic California standards in addition to teaching the skills our students will need to succeed in the 21st century workforce

We support all efforts to achieve real change.

Educate Our State is a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, tax id# 27-1686467.  

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