Consortium for Educational Change (CEC) is a Chicago-based left-of-center education advocacy organization that seeks social change through education. ¹² CEC advocates for systemic change in the classroom³ and works to advance “equity” in education,⁴ making labor union leadership and school management a key part of this process. ⁵ CEC conducts so-called “equity audits” of school-level and district-level systems to find ways to address perceived “systemic inequity.” ⁶ CEC’s equity advocacy work also incorporates critical race theory-inspired “anti-racist” training at schools. ⁷

CEC has been involved in “diversity training” since the 1990s⁸ and has convened organized labor leaders and public-school administrators to advance critical race theory-aligned “equity” priorities since at least 2015. ⁹ CEC endorsed a report by the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development¹⁰ which calls for “systemic change”¹¹ of education in the United States and acknowledges that “equity means acknowledging that not all students are the same.” ¹²

CEC has received millions of dollars of funding from the left-of-center Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation since 2010, including a $7.5 million grant in 2014. ¹³

History and Leadership

Consortium for Educational Change (CEC) was formed in 1987 as a coalition of Illinois school districts, key stakeholders, organized labor, and management. ¹⁴ Between 2019 and 2020, CEC’s headquarters moved from Lombard, Illinois, to Chicago. ¹⁵

Shelley Taylor is CEC’s executive director. ¹⁶

Activities and Funding

CEC is a left-of-center education advocacy group that calls for systemic change to the classroom¹⁷ and works to advance “equity”¹⁸ in education by making labor union leadership and school management a key part of this process. ¹⁹ CEC has convened organized labor leaders and public-school administrators to advance equity priorities since at least 2015²⁰ and has been involved with so-called diversity training since the 1990s. ²¹

In June 2021, CEC co-hosted a forum entitled “Rethinking Our Schools: From Crisis to Opportunity” with several left-of-center and labor union organizations including National Labor Management Partnership, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Association of School Administrators (AASA), National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Education Association (NEA), and the National School Boards Association. ²²

CEC endorsed a report by the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development²³ that calls for “systemic change”²⁴ of education in the United States and acknowledges that “equity means acknowledging that not all students are the same.” ²⁵ CEC also conducted collaborative reports with the left-of-center National Labor Management Partnership and Aspen Institute’s Education and Society Program on climate and advancing equity. ²⁶

Since 2015, CEC has partnered with Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation (CEDF) on the California Labor Management Initiative (CALMI) to make labor union and school management a key component of “advancing equity in California.” ²⁷

Equity Audits

CEC offers “equity audit” ²⁸ services at the school-level and district-level to provide recommendations on how to remove “systemic patterns of inequity.” ²⁹ CEC’s equity audits and reports cost between $10,000 and $20,000 and involve data collection, stakeholder surveys, focus groups, and interviews to gather “equity indicators” using taxonomy from a book called Building Equity. ³⁰  CEC’s equity advocacy includes critical race theory-inspired anti-racist training at schools. ³¹

CEC also offers equity-focused curriculum, instruction, and assessment audits;³² union assessment and strategic planning audits; special education audits; system assessments; boundary audits; and curriculum audits. ³³

Funding

In 2020, Consortium for Educational Change reported $3,348,042 of revenue, down from $4,478,257 in 2019. ³⁴ In 2019, CEC received grants, gifts, and contributions totaling $212,646. That number represents a decline from $5,717,674 in 2015; $1,775,547 in 2016; and $1,244,213 in 2017. ³⁵

CEC has received millions of dollars of support from the left-of-center Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. CEC has received $1 million in 2018;³⁶ $1.5 million in 2017; ³⁷ $7.5 million in 2014; ³⁸ $1,501,900 in 2013; ³⁹ $411,722 in 2012; ⁴⁰ $2,052,066 in 2011; ⁴¹ and $50,000 in 2010. ⁴²

CEC has also received grants of $204,000⁴³ and $100,000⁴⁴ from the National Education Association teachers union and $60,000 from the left-of-center Chicago Community Trust. ⁴⁵

Associated Organizations

The pro-labor union organization Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN) is a project of CEC. ⁴⁶

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7. “Leveraging Our Learning and Moving Forward Systemically and Systematically.” Consortium for Educational Change.” PDF Release. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://files.constantcontact.com/3cc9ff36001/53ee8b27-5f8d-4e24-ab46-4dd25975ea73.pdf.
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