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Stand for Children
Who: Co-founder and CEO Jonah Edelman is the son of the civil-rights leader Marian Wright Edelman.
What: The most grassroots of these groups. Leads efforts to lobby state governments for reforms such as value-added teacher evaluations and more-equitable school funding.
Democrats for Education Reform
Who: Bankers, CEOs, and other wealthy Democrats. Adviser Cory Booker lends liberal star power.
What: Offers political cover to Democratic politicians who alienate teachers unions by supporting education reforms such as mayoral control of schools and national curriculum standards. Has helped loosen the unions’ grip on the party.
Students First
Who: Founded by Michelle Rhee in 2010 after she stepped down as schools chancellor in D.C.
What: Uses its 1 million–strong e-mail list to lobby for data-based teacher evaluations and against seniority-based teacher layoffs. Rhee garners lots of attention, but her group has yet to establish itself as a major player on the policy front.
Educators 4 Excellence
Who: Founded in 2010 by two Teach for America alumni in the Bronx; now numbers some 7,000 pro-reform teachers in New York and Los Angeles.
What: Counterbalances the teachers union by lobbying for policies the union opposes, such as deemphasizing seniority. Has buzz, and a seat at the table, but this approach may not play in other cities.
Who: Founded by Jeb Bush, who made school reform one of his top priorities as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007.
Who: A self-appointed caucus of progressive teachers within the 38,000- member United Teachers Los Angeles union.