Advocacy for Child-Serving Systems RFP Grant

The Advocacy for Child-Serving Systems RFP by the William Penn Foundation aims to enhance educational equity in Philadelphia by increasing the number of certified, diverse teachers. This initiative addresses the significant gap between the racial demographics of students and teachers. By funding strategic outreach and educational efforts, the foundation seeks to mobilize stakeholders to advocate for improved funding in early childhood and K-12 education, ensuring that all children have access to quality education and support.

Background
Research shows that diverse, well-trained teachers are positively related to student achievement, higher graduation rates, school attendance, and post-secondary completion.
However, diverse and well-trained teachers are in short supply, particularly in Philadelphia. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, more than 15,000 in-state certifications were issued during the 2010-11 school year. By 2021-22, that number had dropped to approximately 4,200. Nationally and locally, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and other teachers of color are underrepresented compared to the population of students they serve. In Philadelphia schools, over 86% of students identify as people of color, while only 38.6% of teachers do.
We are seeking to support projects and programs that research and experience show will be most effective in making progress on the objective above.
The William Penn Foundation’s commitment to advancing educational equity and opportunity in the Greater Philadelphia region has long recognized that achieving lasting change requires sustained programmatic support for organizations to evaluate policies and their impacts, and recommend better approaches where warranted.
Advocacy plays a pivotal role in shaping the public policies and funding priorities that determine the quality and accessibility of education. In the early childhood sector, advocacy ensures that the public, and state and local decision-makers understand the need to and benefits of sustaining and expanding investments in high-quality pre-kindergarten, childcare, early intervention, and home visiting that form the foundation for lifelong learning. In the K–12 education sector, advocacy is essential to advancing equitable school funding and expanding out-of-school time activities.
Opportunity Overview
The Foundation seeks to support efforts that complement the existing campaigns named above and are likely over time to increase public funding in child-serving systems including early childhood education, early intervention, home visiting, out-of-school time programming, and K-12 public education. Applicants may seek to coordinate with any of the existing statewide campaigns or may seek funding for independent activities that will enhance ongoing efforts and accelerate progress on the objective.
This RFP seeks to support organizations that inform, mobilize, and unite key stakeholders, including the public and policymakers, about funding issues impacting child-serving systems in Pennsylvania. To be eligible for funding, organizations will conduct at least one of the following activities:

• Strategic, non-partisan, broad-based outreach, education, and mobilization efforts that engage the public and policymakers
• Research or communications efforts that widely disseminate non-partisan information that increases public understanding of key issues
• Public interest litigation to advance adequate and equitable funding
• All projects must be likely to positively impact public investments in young children in Pennsylvania.