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| Raise Your Hand Illinois | |
|---|---|
| Name | Raise Your Hand Illinois |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Area served | Illinois |
| Focus | Education advocacy |
Raise Your Hand Illinois is a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on improving public schooling in Illinois. Founded in Chicago, it operates within networks that include civic groups, school districts, philanthropic foundations, and policy institutes. The organization works alongside unions, corporations, and elected officials to influence legislation, funding, and classroom practice.
Raise Your Hand Illinois traces its origins to mid-1980s civic reform movements in Chicago, Illinois that intersected with statewide coalitions in Springfield. Early collaborators included leaders associated with Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Harold Washington, Governor James R. Thompson, and civic organizations like the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. During the 1990s and 2000s the group engaged with figures from Illinois State Board of Education, United States Department of Education, and national networks such as Education Week–affiliated projects and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation education initiatives. Its history features partnerships and tensions with labor organizations such as Chicago Teachers Union and advocacy groups including Stand for Children and Teach For America campuses active in Evanston, Illinois and Urbana, Illinois.
The stated mission emphasizes student achievement and equity in Illinois classrooms, connecting work with local districts like Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, Naperville Community Unit School District 203, and Springfield Public Schools. Programs span leadership development for principals and superintendents who have participated in fellowships associated with Harvard Graduate School of Education, University of Chicago networks, and professional learning communities modeled on work from John Dewey-inspired reformers. Initiatives include teacher recruitment pipelines that intersect with Northern Illinois University, DePaul University, and certification routes recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education. Partnerships extend to out-of-school programs linked to After School Matters and community organizations such as Chicago Public Library branches.
Raise Your Hand Illinois has advocated on legislation before the Illinois General Assembly and budget negotiations involving governors from Rod Blagojevich to J.B. Pritzker. Policy campaigns have addressed funding formulas, influencing debates around the Evidence-Based Funding model, capital funding for school construction connected to projects in Cook County, and accountability measures related to standardized assessments like the SAT and state assessments tied to federal statutes such as the Every Student Succeeds Act. The organization has lobbied alongside coalitions with Advance Illinois, Illinois Federation of Teachers, and municipal leaders from Peoria, Illinois and Rockford, Illinois. It has also engaged in ballot measure work similar to activities by groups like Stand for Children and education arms of the Illinois Policy Institute.
The group produces reports, briefs, and toolkits that reference data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, U.S. Census Bureau, and Illinois Report Card datasets managed by the Illinois State Board of Education. Publications have cited case studies from districts including Berwyn, Illinois, Aurora, Illinois, and Belleville, Illinois and draw on research methodologies used by think tanks such as the Education Trust and Brookings Institution education programs. White papers discuss topics related to school funding inequities, leadership pipelines, and instructional time, informed by scholars connected to Northwestern University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and policy analysts from American Enterprise Institute critiques.
Funding sources have included philanthropic grants from foundations like the Lilly Endowment, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and regional donors with ties to Chicago Community Trust. The organization’s board has featured members with backgrounds at institutions such as University of Chicago, DePaul University, corporate partners from McKinsey & Company, and civic leaders who worked with the MacArthur Foundation. Financial oversight follows nonprofit practices seen in filings comparable to GuideStar and reporting standards in line with tax regulations overseen by the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) entities. Governance debates have intersected with broader nonprofit sector discussions involving Council on Foundations principles.
Supporters credit the organization with influencing increased state education appropriations and leadership development that benefitted districts like Evanston Township High School District 202 and Glenbard Township High School District 87. Critics, including some members of the Chicago Teachers Union and community activists in neighborhoods such as Englewood, Chicago and Austin, Chicago, argue that advocacy priorities sometimes align more with philanthropic agendas than with frontline educators’ demands. Commentary and analysis have appeared alongside critiques from policy commentators at Jacobin-adjacent outlets, education reporters at Chalkbeat, and columns in the Chicago Tribune and Crain's Chicago Business. The debate reflects national conversations involving actors like Diane Ravitch, Michelle Rhee, and organizations such as Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Illinois