Our Stories

Kim Payton was a force of nature when it came to speaking up for children and her community. She put in the hours, knocked on the doors, made the connections, and kept pushing for what’s right. She was like a superhero, standing up to make things better for everyone. She was also a genuine and […]

One of the most remarkable parents I have had the privilege of knowing during my time at Stand is Kimberly Payton. Many folks called her Kimmie, and the passion and depth of caring she brought to her advocacy was infectious. I am terribly sad to tell you that Kim recently and suddenly passed away. She […]

It’s not very often that we get to send happy notes like this so early in the year, but today is one of those days. Thanks to the support from education advocates like you, Illinois took a big step forward in the fight to dismantle systemic racism and move toward education equity. Gov. JB Pritzker […]

Today, the Center for Antiracist Education (CARE) is launching to respond to the enormous number of teachers who want to contribute to ending racism in their schools and in society, but say they lack the tools, resources, and professional development to do so. According to a survey conducted by EdWeek, 84% of teachers want to teach […]

I’ve been casually hearing about Illinois’ proposed Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading (CRTL) Standards for months (like, at a board meeting or in the context of the ongoing effort to diversify Illinois’ not-very-diverse pool of educators), but it seems like over the last week, talk of the Standards has exploded. And as with many fast-moving […]

Illinois and America are facing a reckoning with the systemic racism we have maintained since the country’s beginnings. Many people seem to finally realize that it’s not enough to just “not be racist.” Systemic racism keeps racist systems alive, even if we lived in a world without any racist individuals. We must commit to being anti-racist […]