We are thrilled to announce a new organization, Raise Your Hand Action, and a new way to get involved in public education advocacy.

Raise Your Hand Action will work to preserve and improve the public school system in Chicago and Illinois. Our vision is a public education system that provides a high-quality, well-resourced public education for every child.

Raise Your Hand Action is a 501(c)(4) sister organization to Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, our existing 501(c)(3). We will build on six plus years of education, research and outreach work by Raise Your Hand to advocate for better education policy at the city and state level. 

Check out the Take Action tabs for specifics on our current initiatives. We will work on issues like funding, elected school board, standardized testing and charter school expansion.

Collective action is key to effecting change, so RYH Action will be an organization of members connected within networks. We know that legislators respond more favorably when their own constituents are aware and involved. So, our goal is to build a network of members in every legislative district in Chicago and beyond. If a network doesn’t exist yet in your area, we’ll help you find additional people to start one. Connecting to other constituents and acting together is the best way to build power to advocate for better schools for all kids.

Our legislative advocacy work can only succeed if we have constituents on the ground talking to their elected officials and holding them accountable. We need an active, organized membership to carry this out.  Look for more information about how to become a Raise Your Hand Action member in coming weeks.

Please join us at our launch party on Saturday October 8th to help us fund this exciting new venture.