Stand For Children is an organization that provides strategies to better the education system. It is located in different places in the United States, including Memphis, Tennessee.

Cardell Orrin, Memphis Executive Director of Stand For Children, says that Stand For Children exists to address structural inequalities built into the education system.

According to Orrin, “The school system, more specifically the Shelby county school system, creates a city that has a focus on [educational] labor. While it creates [educational] labor, the school system focuses mainly on racism and classism.” 

Orrin says that the education system often fails black or Hispanic children living in impoverished neighborhoods. Furthermore, not giving students a chance to succeed, in some instances, can lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. 

“Student/child poverty impacts the students’ family and education which the school system feeds off of,” Orrin explained. “Because of poverty, the school system doesn’t have to worry about giving the child the tools to succeed but to make the child stay in poverty to either work (as labor) or to go to prison.” 

Even though charter schools exist as an alternative, Ordin says many parents wonder why public schools are failing the students who still remain. 

How can Stand For Children help with this?

Stand For Children meets Wednesday and Friday to discuss problems within the school systems and how they can take action to better their solutions.

Every month, Stand for Children hosts a dinner for parents, leaders and school employees to present the problems and solutions to advance the school system into a functioning and better system for students and parents who their students to thrive.

Mr. Orrin states, “Our solutions for bettering our school systems are finding resources, ensuring that the students have the best resources (better teachers who want to teach, better locations, functioning buildings that are safer for students, materials like books for students, and updated technology in schools) for education, impacting the school board and bringing resources to the district.”

If you want more information about Stand For Children, visit their website: http://stand.org/tennessee/action