Helpful Websites

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Advocacy

  • Susan Ohanian

    Susan Ohanian, a longtime teacher, maintains this site reflecting the leadership role she has taken in opposing NCLB, high stakes testing and the resulting take over of curriculum.

  • Everyday Democracy (Formerly Study Circles)

    Everyday Democracy is an organization whose mission is to help communities develop their own ability to solve problems by exploring ways for all kinds of people to think, talk and work together to create change.

  • The Public Conversations Project

    The Public Conversation Project is an organization whose mission is to guide, train and inspire individuals, organizations and communities to constructively address conflicts relating to values and worldviews.

Colleges

  • Colleges That Change Lives Website

    A highlight of the 40 colleges included in Loren Pope's "Colleges that Change Lives" and the organization is dedicated to a student-focused college search process.

  • The Education Conservancy

    An organization dedicated to improving the college admissions process for students, high schools and colleges.

  • The National Survey of Student Engagement

    NSEE gathers data about colleges and universities beyond the usual rankings. The organization examines student engagement, how students spend their time and what students perceive they gain from attending college.

  • Fairtest.org

    The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.

Education

  • Challenge Success

    Challenge Success is an expanded version of the Stanford University School of Education Stressed Out Students Project. The mission is to "inform, inspire, and equip youth, parents and schools to adopt practices that expand options for youth success. 

  • Whole Child Education

    Working to bring parents, educators, policy makers and communities together to ensure children are prepared for adulthood, this group is advocating for development of children who are healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged. A wonderful resource for those interested in advocating for change in education that emphasizes the whole child.

  • Edutopia

    Founded by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, Edutopia is a place where kids and parents, teachers and administrators, policy makers and the people they serve are empowered to change education for the better.  Visit the site to discover the latest practical, hands-on advice and real world examples for developing lifelong learners and the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.

  • The Institute for Language and Education Policy

    The Institute for Language and Education Policy is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting research-based policies in serving English and heritage language learners. The Institute critiques misguided "accountability" measures, high stakes testing, cutbacks in school funding and English-only activism.

Health

  • Psychalive

    A site drawing on leading psychology experts who specialize in a broad range of subjects related to emotion well-being. The information on the site is derived from the research of the Glendon Association, a non-profit organization.

  • American Academy of Pediatrics

    Site provides general information relating to physical, mental and social health for children and adolescents.

  • Alliance for Childhood

    The website and organization support children's health development, love of learning and joy in living. Lots of focus on loss of play and hands-on activities, excessive amount of time in front of a screen, the misuse of testing and the increase in childhood obesity.

  • Kids Health

    Kids health provides a comprehensive information about health, behavior and development from infant through adolescence. The site has a place for parents and young people.

  • Mental Health America

    Mental Health America (formerly know as the National Mental Health Association) is a non-profit with 320 affiliates nationwide representing a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation - every day and in times of crisis. Their website includes fact sheets for youth and families about topics such as back to school tips and you child's mental health. It also includes fact sheets about bullying, depression and suicide.

  • BAM Radio

    "BAM!" is an acronym for "body and mind" and was conceived in 2007 to draw attention to the need for a healthy mind and a healthy body for each developing child. BAM radio is the largest education radio network in the world, offering programming from the nations' top thinkers and leaders around education. It reaches out to parents, educators, and school directors to encourage looking at a holistic education approach.

  • Reach Out

    The Inspire Foundation combines technology with direct involvement of young people to deliver innovative and practical online programs that prevent youth suicide and improve young people's mental health and well-being. The mission is to help millions of young people lead happier lives. The organization's work is backed by research and evaluation. Reach Out is its web-based initiative that offers information, support and resources to help young people improve their understanding of mental health issues, develop resilience and increase their coping skills and help-seeking behavior. The services provided are anonymous and help is available 24 hours a day.

Homework

  • Stop Homework Blog

    Sara Bennett, an advisor to the film and co-author of the book "The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting our Children and What We Can Do About It" created this resource for parents and educators interested in advocating for change.

  • East Bay Homework Blog

    Kerry Dickinson, a parent, teacher and advisor to the film recently launched a blog and is a thoughtful writer on topics relating to education, parenting, and homework. She advocated for change to her school district's homework policy and participated in the task force that ultimately wrote a new policy for a district in Northern California serving 24,000 students.

Progressive Education

  • The Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO)

    AERO's goal is to advance student-driven, learner-centered approaches to education. AERO makes connections with international educational alternatives including Montessori, Waldorf (Steiner), Public Choice and At-Risk, Democratic, Homeschool, Open, Charter, Free, Sudbury, Holistic, Virtual, Magnet, Early Childhood, Reggio Emilia, Indigo, Krishnamurti, Quaker, Libertarian, Independent, Progressive, Community, Cooperative, and Unschooling. One of AERO's areas of expertise is democratic process and democratic education.

  • American Educational Research Association (AERA)

    AERA is the most prominent professional organization concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging the dissemination and practical application of research results with the primary goal of advancing educational research and its practical application. Its more than 25,000 members are educators, administrators, directors of research, persons working with testing or evaluation in federal, state and local agencies, counselors, evaluators, graduate students and behavioral scientists.

  • Big Picture Learning

    Big Picture Learning's mission is to lead vital changes in education by generating and sustaining innovative, personalized schools that work in tandem with the real world of the greater community. Big Picture students work in their communities with volunteer mentors and are not evaluated solely on the basis of standardized tests. Students are assessed on their performance on exhibitions and demonstrations of achievement, on motivation and on the habits of mind, hand, heart, and behavior that they display.

  • Center on Education Policy

    The Center on Education Policy is a national, independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools. The Center helps Americans better understand the role of public education in a democracy, the need to improve the academic quality of public schools, to make sense of the conflicting opinion and perceptions about public education, and create the conditions that wil lead to better public schools.

  • The Coalition of Essential Schools (CES)

    The CES network includes hundreds of schools and more than two-dozen Affiliate Centers. Diverse in size, population and programmatic emphasis, Essential Schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through high school in urban, suburban and rural communities, and they are characterized by personalization, democracy and equity, and intellectual vitality and excellence.

  • The Independent Curriculum Group

    The Independent Curriculum Group is part of a growing movement of leading college preparatory schools that have de-emphasized curriculum driven by standardized testing.

  • Pikler Institute

    The International Emmi Pikler Foundation at Loczy is guided by the mission of founder Dr. Emmi Pikler to offer aid in raising healthy, happy children. Established in 1946, this internationally recognized agency is dedicated to empowering children and families through outreach programs that serve the child, parent and caregiver.

  • Teaching to Change L.A.

    Teaching to Change L.A. is an online journal of UCLA'S Institute for Democracy, Education and Access. Here you will find the work and thought of educators, students, parents and activists who confront critical issues that schools and communities face across greater Los Angeles.

Recommended by the Community

  • Seeding The Future NOW

    eeding The Future NOW is a group of adult and youth visionaries seeking to work with communities to co-create unique educational models around the globe. The models we choose to create support children from the inside out in a reverent, holistic, ecological and just fashion.

Resilience