Students For Education Reform
Young people have a deep sense of whether the public schools they sat in from kindergarten through 12th grade prepared them for opportunity, choices, and college. SFER members saw and experienced injustice in our K-12 schools. Far too many students graduated high school with diplomas that do not correlate with college opportunity. Too many students experienced discrimination and discouragement in public schools.
“Graduates of inner cities, as resilient products from a broken system, now it is our turn to come back to our community and improve it. Although my hometown has one of the lowest graduation rates, highest crime rates, and highest rates of poverty, it made me the person I am today; it is my home. I refuse to wait around for someone else to take action.” -Desiree Martinez, UCLA
2014-2017
By training student organizers who take action to advance education reform in their communities, we conduct mobilization campaigns in cities, influence media reporting, and canvass thousands of low-income residents to pass district and city-wide education reform policies.
Members take risks for the sake of improving public education. We testify to public officials, sharing our stories of triumph and our vulnerable struggles so that leaders will understand how students are experiencing public schools. SFER members run public actions to defy business as usual. We have conversations with neighbors about the conditions of our schools and how to fight for better public schools. SFER members are growing the movement for educational justice by taking action.
Minnesota students lobbied for four years to transform how the state’s higher education system treats students who weren’t prepared for college by their k-12 schools. The campaign started as an idea when meeting with Senator Torres Ray at Macalester College in 2013 and developed into legislation that required colleges and universities to develop a plan to reduce the financial burden of remedial courses. From that discussion, to our first meeting with Higher Education Committee Chairs, dozens of students testified, shared their story in the media, and collected petition signatures on campuses. We had to face strong, powerful foes. We had to learn how to talk to all parties and stakeholders. In June, Governor Dayton signed the Higher Education Omnibus Bill which included language that seriously addresses the issue of remedial education across the Minnesota State system. Additionally, school districts are now required to report directly to the legislature on how many students they send into remedial courses. This is a big win for students because our leaders are finally finding solutions to the barriers that prevent students from completing college.
Students, whose undeniable voices and lived experiences are compelling reasons to make solutions a reality, are a source of power. We believe organizing is about stories. As students, we build power from our voices and stories in the policy sphere. We approach our work with independent, critical thought and always speak from personal experience.
"As the first in my family to graduate from college, graduating from UCLA with a major in Sociology and a minor in Education Studies is beyond exciting. SFER showed me the power of grassroots movements in the battle to fight big systemic inequities. My college chapter taught me the power of grassroots movements in the battle to fight big systemic inequities. My college chapter taught me the power of resilience. I’m proud of my SFER UCLA family and can’t wait to see all the amazing work I know they will accomplish next year. I plan to continue combating institutionalized inequalities."
"It makes a huge difference when the people most impacted by the inequities (e.g., the parents organized by Parent Revolution and Green Dot, the students who comprise SFER) are at the center of the collective leadership we’re building. We’ve seen through...the instrumental role SFER played in the recent election, that this community leadership brings unflagging persistence and determination, accountability to students and parents, and moral authority. The last three decades in L.A. have shown that we need everyone in this fight, but that it’s crucial that students and families lead the change."
SFER’s staff has grown steadily, and SFER has staffed states as they mature:
Over the next three years, we will focus on engaging our base more deeply, inspiring and preparing them to take bold public action; creating school board leadership that ensures the conditions for reform; and working through grassroots community organizing to pass city and school district policies that put kids first and boost student achievement.
Anonymous
Arthur Rock & Toni Rembe
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Laura and John Arnold Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
William K. Bowes Jr. Foundation
Adam Cioth & Beth Cobert
Bouncer Foundation
Bush Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
John & Regina Scully Foundation
Joyce Foundation
Minneapolis Foundation
The Eli and Edyth Broad Foundation
Bruce Rauner
Chamberlin Family Foundation
CityBridge Foundation
The Late Dave Goldberg & Sheryl Sandberg
John & Denise Graves Foundation
McKnight Foundation
Minnesota Comeback
Olson Foundation
Rebecca & Charles Ledley
WEM Foundation
Anonymous
Brian & Stephanie Spector
Carlson Family Foundation
Fisher Fund
Jason Fish & Courtney Benoist
John Petry
Myerson Wagner Family Charitable Fund
Newark Charter School Fund
New Schools Venture Fund
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Foundation for Children
Stanley Hubbard
Steve Cohen
Stuart Cobert & Marcy Engel
Whitney Foundation
Alliance for a Better Community
Ambassador Frank Baxter
Bodman Foundation
The Margaret and Daniel Loeb – Third Point Foundation
David & Cathy Habib
Diana Nelson & John Atwater
Douglass Brandenborg Family Foundation
F.R. Bigelow Foundation
Frey Foundation
Irene Scully Foundation
Jay and Rose Phillips Foundation
Jennifer Moses and Ron Beller
John and Stephanie Cozzi
Kathy Surace Smith & Brad Smith
Ron Nahas
Piper Family Fund
San Francisco Foundation
Smikis Foundation
Tim Welsh
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
Amiad Kushner
Anschutz Foundation
April Chou & Peter Belden
Ben Whitney
Cynthia King Vance & Lee Vance
David & Peggy Tanner
Dawn Bellinger
Heidi & Richard Landers
James M. Kennedy
John Frank & Delia Jampel
Julie & Andrew Klingenstein
Justin Cohen & Eleanor van den Heuvel
Katherine & David Bradley
Lenny Mendoca
Mark & Jayne Battey
Michael Carter
Mortenson Family Foundation
Nancy Poon
National Christian Foundation
Paul Gaffney
Saint Paul Foundation
Shavar Jeffries
Soran Foundation
Sue Lehman
William Graves
Aditya Naik
Alexandra Conway
Andy & Molly Hill
Dave Howard & Dale Schomer
David Forsyth
Gilbert Romero
Jesse & Pamela Baker
Kevin Huang
Lisa Pawel
Maryellen Butke
Meg Ansara
Russell C. Welch & Brenda K. Andrewson
Sandra Vargas
Walter Isaacson
Whitney Tilson
Akil Hollis
Alfred Morin
Amber & Eric Hanson
Amy Hertel Buckley
Ann Gerber
Bindu Eban
Chris Nicholson
Christopher Macklem
Dana Mortenson
David O’Fallon
Elizabeth Finch
Elyse Dashew
Greta Henderson
James Blew
James Schorr
Jeffrey Garoon
Jim & Julia Bartholomew
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Jonathan Rubenstein
Joseph & Jo Ann Nathan
Karim Abouelnaga
Karin Kyte
Kelly Amis
KK Apple
Lancelot Matthiese
Leonard Poirier
Lily Alberts
Lou Hoeschen
Madaline Edison
Mariam Tisdale
Matthew Libby
Meg Judy
Nikhil Basu Trivedi
Paul Wojcik
Rebecca Erdahl
Results in Education Foundation
Reynolds-Anthony Harris
Ryan Irwin
Sheila Sarem
Zach Padellford
Adam Sapp
Aditi Patil
Alex Piasecki
Alexa Marchbanks
Allison Choi
Allison Welch
Alvin Abraham
Amal Sharif
Amazon Smile Foundation
Ambriana Wade
Angelina Sanchez
Anne Campbell
Anta NjieBarry Suiter
Bella Hernandez
Benjamin Martin
Benjamin Meyer
Brandon Terrell
Brian Dockendorf
Bryan Walker
Carolina Reinoso
Cesaltina Barros
Chelby Gill
Cindy Contreras
Cj Parker
Claire Bradach
Clark Joseph
Clausell Stokes
Daniel Sellers
Daniela Felix-Trejo
Daven Vellido
Deidra Zavala Rojas
Eduardo Martinez
Elaine Chen
Enma Batres
Erin Johnson
Fadumo Yusuf
Flora Hong
Garrett Bucks
Hajar Saksaka
Hannah Dean
Jaimee Kidd
James Schuster
Jasmine Leggett
Jason Terrell
Jay Belmonarch
Jazmin Olave
Jennifer Valdivia
Jeremy Paul
Jerod Bottolfson
Jordan Ward
Joseph Staruski
Joshua Ibarra
Julia D’Errico
Julian Smith-Sparks
Karen Montufar-Federico
Katherine Elchert
Kevin Kramer
Kevin Poirer
Kevin Quintero
Khulia Pringle
Kiran Magee
Kristina Colon
Lisbet Martinez
Logan Holmes
Louis Garcia
Luis Ledesma
Lynn & Marilyn Padellford
Mackenzie Wilkins
Maddie Orenstein
Madelyn Rahn
Maria Hurgara
Maria Khoudary
Mariah Jukes
Marvin Francois
Matt Menke
Miya Howard
Monica Ortiz
Nataly Sanchez
Nick Strenke
Nicolas Santiago
Nicole Marcus
Noam Shemer
Patrick Mateer
Rana Thabata
Rula Thabata
Ryan Tessman
Sam Margo
Sara Liang
Sarah Aoanan
Sayra Sanchez
Sharon Martinez
Sylvia Jeannette Villanueva
Tenicka Boyd
Terry Wong
Thomaiyah Reeves
Tiffni Flynn Forslund
Veronica Ledesma
Wallace Weaver
William Raymond
Willie B. Younger
Zach Padellford