ADVANCE ILLINOIS
Advance Illinois is a statewide, independent education advocacy organization in Illinois dedicated exclusively to improving academic achieve through public policy. Focused around the goals of raising academic standards, adopting college- and career-ready graduation requirements, strengthening and aligning statewide assessments, giving teachers the tools they need to succeed, providing parents with early, relevant information about student development and progress, as well as improving innovation and accountability in the state, Advance Illinois offers case-making and strategies for addressing each of these priority areas. The organization also plans to collect student-level data and monitor the state's progress towards a set of measurable goals.

SMART ARKANSAS
The Smart Arkansas Initiative, launched by the Arkansas Department of Education, seeks to build statewide support for raising education expectations, achievement and attainment, through four aligned initiatives: Smart Start (focusing on grades K-4) Smart Step (focusing on grades 5-8), Smart Future (focusing on high school redesign) and Smart Leadership (focusing on related professional development). Each of these initiatives provides key information on why each piece of Arkansas’ education pipeline needs to be strengthened to improve student opportunities. Smart Future offers targeted information for stakeholders, such as an overview of the Smart Core graduation requirements and tips for college planning for students.

LEARN MORE INDIANA
Learn More Indiana is the state’s Pre-K to college connection — Indiana’s strategic communication effort to improve student achievement and increase the educational attainment of all. While Learn More Indiana includes a host of information on college and career access, the site also features a variety of advocacy materials, ranging from PSAs and brochures to a PowerPoint Presentation targeted to Indiana’s 8th graders to help them understand Core 40 and what they can do to prepare for high school and beyond. 

MICHIGAN MERIT HIGH SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS PAGE
In 2006, Michigan raised its graduation requirements to the college and career-ready level – to first impact the graduating class of 2011. The state Department of Education created a webpage that provides critical information on the new requirements for key stakeholders, including students, parents, educators and counselors. Included on this webpage is a FAQ about the new requirements, research on college and career readiness, links to each major subject areas’ curriculum pages and guidelines, a brochure for parents, as well as a customizable parent brochure for schools, and information on related policies, such as Early and Middle College credit opportunities in the state. 

TENNESSEE DIPLOMA PROJECT
In 2007, the Tennessee launched the Tennessee Diploma Project (TDP) to build public and stakeholder support for raising education standards. Early on, the TDP held a series of regional roundtables – hosted by the Governor and supported by the Tennessee Business Roundtable and Hyde Family Foundation – where state CEO’s and business leaders identified gaps in students’ math and science skills, communications skills, and ability to work in teams and think critically, giving the agenda a sense of urgency. In 2008, TDP proved to be successful as the State Board of Education adopted standards and graduation requirements aligned with the expectations of the postsecondary and business communities. The TDP continues to have the support of the Tennessee Business Roundtable, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and the philanthropic community.

While individual organizations or champions may be influential independently, when diverse groups collaborate and advocate as one, the effect can be exponential. Below are examples of advocacy campaigns born out of public-private coalitions:

EXPECT MORE ARIZONA
In May 2009, Expect More Arizona – a public-private partnership dedicated to increasing public awareness about the importance of strengthening education in Arizona first conceived by the Governor’s P-20 Council – was launched.  At the heart of this campaign is www.ExpectMoreArizona.org, a robust website that provides key information about Arizona’s education system and what can be done to improve it. The campaign also includes a significant public awareness element, with television, radio, print and out-of-home advertising to bolster support for education reform. With leaders from Arizona’s pre-K, K-12, postsecondary, business, and philanthropic communities on board as funders or supporters, Expect More Arizona represents a coalition of coalitions, bringing together education advocates under a single tent.

OKLAHOMA BUSINESS EDUCATION COALITION
Oklahoma Business & Education Coalition (OBEC) is a nonprofit organization to build and help implement a plan to improve public education in Oklahoma, supported by over twenty of Oklahoma’s large companies and chambers of commerce. Soon after its formation in 2000, OBEC initiated an advocacy campaign urging the state to raise its standards and expectations for all students, using research to illustrate how the state stood to benefit from increasing the quality and level of education of its citizens. OBEC’s advocacy for higher standards, coupled with its on-the-ground work through Oklahoma Scholars, helped lay the groundwork for sweeping new education reform – the Achieve Classroom Excellence (ACE) legislation. The primary goal of ACE is to prepare all graduates of Oklahoma public schools for success in credit-bearing college courses and the workforce. As a result, Oklahoma is now one of nineteen states in the nation to require all students to complete a college- and career-ready curriculum. OBEC continues to have a strong voice in how ACE is implemented, as OBEC serves as the business representative on the legislation’s Steering Committee, created by the legislature to develop strategies for putting the new student assessment and curriculum requirements into place.

OHIO MATH & SCIENCE COALITION
Ohio Math & Science Coalition (OMSC) is an advocacy group comprised of individuals from the education, business, and public sectors, working toward the common goal of revitalizing and improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education from preschool to beyond graduate school. OMSC's mission is to facilitate collaboration and align the efforts of all stakeholders working toward continuous, systemic, and sustainable improvement of STEM education for all of Ohio's students. OMSC hosts regular full coalition meetings as well as monthly executive board members, to ensure the coalition remains intact and active. In 2008, the Ohio Math & Science Coalition released The Future of Mathematics and Science Education in the Public Schools of Ohio: Scenarios and Strategies, a leadership paper outlining the coalition’s strategic theory of change.

Below are examples of advocacy campaigns developed by national organizations or the U.S. Department of Education:

COLLEGE.GOV
College.gov is run by the U.S. Department of Education, in collaboration with students. This site aims to be the go-to source for information about and resources for planning, preparing and paying for postsecondary education (including two- and four-year colleges and universities, as well as vocational and career schools). Most importantly, College.gov is intended to provide inspiration and hope to all students, and encourage them to consider and pursue a postsecondary education.

COMMON GOOD FORECASTER
The Common Good Forecaster, a web-based resource developed by United Way and the American Human Development Project, provides users with an interactive tool that illuminates and actualizes the connection between education attainment and economic and social conditions. Specifically, the site allows users to determine how a change in the education profile of the nation, a state, or local community is linked to wide-ranging ripple effects in ten critical social and economic indicators. For example, what would happen over time in a local community if the dropout rate were cut in half? The Common Good Forecaster shows how this would alter key factors in health (such as life expectancy and obesity rates), in financial stability (such as median personal earnings and the poverty rate), in community involvement (such as voting and incarceration rates), and even in education results for the next generation (children's reading proficiency rates).

KNOWHOW2GO
The American Council on Education, Lumina Foundation for Education and the Ad Council launched the KnowHow2Go campaign to provide encouragement and detailed information on the critical steps middle and high school students – and their parents – can take to prepare for and gain access to college. This multiyear, multimedia effort includes television, radio and outdoor public service advertisements (PSAs) that encourage 8th through 12th graders to prepare for college. A number of states, such as California, Ohio and Connecticut, have created state-specific KnowHow2Go sites.

ACHIEVE'S COMMON CONCERNS
As states implement the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network policy agenda, parents, educators and others often have concerns about whether these policies are the right ones and whether it's fair to expect all students to meet the same rigorous graduation requirements. To address the most common concerns – e.g. not all students need a rigorous curriculum, raising standards will only increase the drop out rate – Achieve created a series of fact sheets and PowerPoint presentations that each focus on one of the most frequent criticisms of the college- and career-ready agenda.

ACHIEVE'S MATH WORKS
Achieve’s Math Works advocacy kit provides resources that make the case for why all students - regardless of their plans after graduation - should engage in rigorous math course-taking throughout their high school experiences. The Math Works materials – ranging from fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, brochures and others – are resources for policymakers, advocates, educators, parents and students alike that highlight the connection between higher-level mathematics course-taking and college access and success, workplace and career readiness, and personal and U.S. competitiveness.

BENEFITS TO BUSINESS
In order for public schools to prepare the next generation of well-educated employees and for businesses to ensure their own futures, companies must partner with policymakers, school districts, parents, students and educators to improve education performance. Businesses can also underscore how rapidly the world and the workplace are changing, which is often necessary to spark real, lasting change in public education. The Business Tools for Better Schools, Achieve’s business leaders’ web-based toolkit, offers four fact sheets exploring how, by participating in education reform, business can benefit.

POSTSECONDARY FACT SHEETS
Postsecondary leadership is critical to ensuring that high school graduates are prepared for postsecondary success. Whether students are entering two- or four-year institutions and whether they are doing so as recent graduates or adults, all are expected to have common knowledge in core subjects such as math and English language arts. Postsecondary Connection, Achieve’s postsecondary leaders’ web-based toolkit, offers fact sheets on what postsecondary leaders need to know and can do to help close the expectations gap and ensure that high school graduates are ready for postsecondary success.

A number of states have developed web-based college access sites to provide students with critical information on what they can be doing in middle and high school to prepare for college and careers, on the states’ various postsecondary institutions (to help students find the best fit), and on financial aid and scholarship opportunities. These sites all aim to make the college application and enrollment process clearer for students but also have an important readiness component that clearly communicates postsecondary expectations to students, parents, guidance and career counselors and educators alike.

BE WHAT I WANT TO BE 
Founded by the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, Be What I Want To Be works to achieve meaningful, measurable and systemic improvement in schools and student achievement. The site offers students critical information about college and career planning, but also provides thought-provoking questions that help guide students as they figure out what they want to be. Students are encouraged to create an account to begin setting personal goals for life, career and learning.The site also includes a number of industry profiles – in areas such as energy, telecommunications and health – that include personal stories, major employers based in Maryland, examples of the range of jobs available in that industry, and what students can do to prepare for careers in those fields.

COLLEGE FOUNDATION OF NORTH CAROLINA
College Foundation of North Carolina is a nonprofit partnership between Pathways of North Carolina, College Foundation, Inc. and the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Together, these organizations provide a complete and comprehensive source of information – and real solutions – for students and their families. The web-based resource provides tools including a student planner that allows students to plan their high school education to meet the entrance requirements of North Carolina’s colleges and universities. There is also a virtual “college fair,” which allows students to search through the state colleges and universities to see which might be the best fit for them.

COLLEGE FOR ALL TEXANS
College for All Texans’ objective is to enroll an additional 430,000 academically prepared people in Texas’ colleges and universities – beyond the 200,000 enrollment growth that has been projected for 2015 – by providing critical college access information to students, parents and counselors, including planning resources, financial aid details and a link to a college readiness diagnostic assessment offered by University of Texas System. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which launched the College for All Texans website, estimates that adding more students to the state’s higher education system and raising the annual number of graduates to over 210,000 is essential for Texas to close the gaps in college participation and success by 2015 and to follow a course toward a bright future for all of its people. The slogan is Education: Go Get It.

GEAR UP HAWAII
Hawaii’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a statewide campaign – geared towards students from 5th grade through high school, parents, teachers, counselors, education policymakers, legislators and the general public – developed in partnership by the University of Hawaii System, Hawaii Department of Education and community partners. In addition to providing crucial information about college preparation, access and financial aid, GEAR UP Hawaii offers a number of programs and services, such as learning skills courses, preparation for college placement tests, a college awareness month (for which GEAR UP developed a comprehensive advocacy kit), and the GEAR UP Scholar program, which encourages middle school students to take a rigorous curriculum in high school. This very successful program has benefited from careful planning and research, highly targeted media and advertising strategies, direct marketing, and the effective leveraging of strategic partnerships. Read GEAR UP Hawaii’s 2007-08 performance report here.

GEAR UP OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative is a comprehensive statewide social marketing effort, led by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, designed to ensure that all students are prepared to succeed in postsecondary education by building awareness about the importance of postsecondary education, early planning and the potential for financial support. The campaign is aimed at students from 5th grade through high school, parents, teachers, counselors, education policymakers, legislators and the general public. One valuable project of GEAR UP Oklahoma is the state’s 40-plus Plan4College centers, which provide students and parents with a one-stop shop for college access information.

LEARN MORE INDIANA
Learn More Indiana is the state’s Pre-K to college connection, the state’s strategic communication effort to improve student achievement and increase the educational attainment of all. Learn More Indiana includes a host of information on college and career access, with overviews of Core 40 graduation and assessment requirements, the various two- and four-year postsecondary options across the state, admissions requirements, and financial aid and scholarship options. Those interested are able to order materials through learn More Indiana, such as “Indiana’s Guide to Paying for College: An Introduction for Families and Students” and inserts for graduation plans that contain grade-specific checklists, goals, and an extra-curricular activity log to chart students progress towards college and career readiness.

WAY TO GO R.I.
Way to Go R.I. is Rhode Island’s student portal for college and career planning, developed by Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority. This comprehensive site allows students to create a portfolio and access a wide range of useful information. Students can build resumes, explore two- and four-year colleges by programs and majors in Rhode Island and across the nation, access college admissions and placement test practice modules, search for scholarships, build a financial aid plan, create a practice college application, and even apply directly to colleges through the Common Application. The site also includes a section called “Paws in Jobland,” geared towards students in grades K-5, that highlights dozens of careers to get younger students start thinking about what careers might interest them later on.

Below are examples of advocacy and informative materials around the college- and career-ready agenda and their intended audiences:

BROCHURES

• Tennessee Diploma Project Brochure (Audience: Educators)
• Michigan’s Making the Most of High School Brochure (Audience: Parents)
• Minnesota Association of Developmental Education College Brochure (Audience: Students)
• Oklahoma Graduation Brochure (Audience: Students)
• Kentucky Center for Mathematics, "Why Mathematics" Brochure (Audience: Students)

PSA’s & POSTERS

• Washington’s Partnership for Learning’s Math Matters PSAs (Audience: Students)
• KnowHow2Go’s PSAs on College Access (One & Two) (Audience: Students)
• Tennessee Public School Forum PSAs on College Readiness (One, Two & Three) (Audience: Parents & Students)
• Step Up Hawaii videos (Audience: Students & Community Members)
• Maine’s Kick Start video (Audience: Students, Parents, Community Members)
• Massachusetts' Ready-Set-Go "Think You Aren't College Material?" poster (Audience: Students)

FAQ’s & GUIDES

• Indiana’s Guide to Paying for College: An Introduction for Families and Students (Audience: Parents & Students)
• Michigan Merit FAQ (Audience: Students, Parents, Community Members)
• GEAR UP Hawaii College Prep Kit (Audience: Educators, Students, Parents)
• Maine's Kick Start College Planning Guide (Audience: Students & Parents)

PRESENTATIONS

• Indiana PowerPoint presentation for 8th graders (Audience: Students)