The mission of Literacy Mid-South is to provide literacy resources to learners of all backgrounds and ages. The breadth of this work encompasses a number of programs and goals, all working towards one end: 100% literacy in the Mid-South. Through a combination of strategies including collaborative action, capacity building, resource distribution, and tutoring services, LMS works to ensure learners across the lifespan have access to the literacy resources they need to live their best life. Learn more about Literacy Mid-South and the organization’s programs here.

First 8 Memphis (F8M) is an advocacy, coordinating, and convening organization strengthening the prenatal-8 space including, but not limited to, the following systems: home visiting, childcare, Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) and Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Universal Needs-Based Pre-K is F8M’s primary equity strategy for ensuring underserved (<185% Federal Poverty Level) students have an equal footing. F8M monitors outcomes using performance-based Pre-K metrics in ways that Memphis and Shelby County has not previously done.

Stand for Children (Stand) is a nonprofit organization serving our community as a unique catalyst for education equity and racial justice creating a brighter future for us all. Stand, a national advocacy organization founded in 1996, fulfills this mission by organizing with individuals (parents, educators, and community members) and partnering with organizations around targeted goals that will positively impact opportunities for children and our fellow community residents. In education, Stand has come to realize that to achieve the scaled, enduring progress we seek for students of color and students growing up in poverty, we need to be able to succeed in two areas: 1) consistently pass and sustain research-backed state & local policies and investments aligned with factors that encourage consistent, scaled impact; advocate for effective rules and guidance; and monitor progress and 2) impact educator practice and mindset. We are unique among education organizations in having built the capacity to do all of the above. Stand for Children TN builds and facilitates effective coalitions that develop collaborative plans and take collective action toward achieving greater impact in areas of education and justice. Stand TN takes the lessons, knowledge, and sense of urgency that we have gained in policy advocacy and organizing to these coalitions supporting the implementation of evidence-based strategies and building a base for strategic advocacy to address systemic issues in education.