Alliance For Public Schools Foundation Inc

Helped me learn how to be a better leader and helped me come out of my shell.

Incredible organization dedicated to the betterment of all students. It has impacted me personally in so many wonderful ways, allowing me to advocate for my peers. The effect this organization has had on Hillsborough County is tremendous, and I cannot stress its importance enough.

Amazing organization that empowers the students and fights for the students best interest

Alliance for Public Schools is an incredible advocate and resource for students, educators, and community members. Their development of student leadership empowers students to advocate for their needs in school. Their engagement with families is critical in ensuring that all students have the support and tools they need to be successful. Education policy is confusing and hard to keep up with and I’m thankful for the Alliance for Public Schools’ work in informing and advocating for parents, educators, students, and community members.

Alliance for Public Schools is a powerful advocate for public education. They provide connections to different parts and levels of the community to support our students, educators, and schools. Their programs, including family engagement and student leadership programs, give every student a chance at success.

They also provide information and resources to other public education advocates that make it easier to tell the story of public education and why it is so critically needed.

The SSAC has been a such a cool and informative experience, and I have learned so much about my school district as well as personal leadership skills.

As a member of this organization, I can personally attest to its excellence. The alliance for public schools Foundation is ran by extremely passionate, caring and committed people. Every time I am in contact with the APS, I feel better than I did before. I feel inspired and motivated.

Participating in this program has been great for me not only as a leader, but as a person. Being able to come together and meet like minded individuals all working towards the same goal is truly a blessing.

This group has helped me build leadership skills in ways that I wouldn’t be able to think of on my own. My favorite thing is collaborating with likeminded and unlike minded people. I love being able to hear different perspectives and how to better help students and their families in Hillsborough County.

The Alliance for Public Schools gave me a voice as a student and connected me to people who have helped me figure out my career path for the rest of my life. This organization is truly wonderful, and they consistently fight for improvements and more student voice in public schools.

My school in Vermont has worked with the organization for the last two years to help plan family centered nights. The Alliance is incredibly easy to work with and has a great knowledge of child development and how to engage families. We are a small rural school but have had almost 70% participation on the 2 family nights we ran. Our focus has been to help families with tools at home to help with literacy and math skills. The preprepared materials provided by the Alliance are beautiful, engaging and easy to follow to make the family night preparation easier. The two events we ran were; Learning Under the Stars and Camp Learn-A-Lot. Melissa Erickson connected multiple time during the planning process and after to make sure we were set and if we had questions. We are eager to meet with them soon to start work on this year's event!

They support educators, the community, and families to create safe and equitable schools for ALL

For the past two years Alliance For Public Schools Foundation, Inc. has played a major role in the success of both students and staff at Brandon High School. As a Success Coach, I’ve worked beside the students that were selected to be members of GradNation. They’ve attended monthly meetings and reviewed school data pertaining to social and emotional issues. As a result of their findings, a mentoring and tutoring program will be implemented for the 2023-2024 school year. This was all done by the help and assistance from Ms. Erickson. We, the students and staff at Brandon High, is looking forward to growing our GradNation program with more staff support and student involvement!
Stephanie R. Moore
Brandon High School
Student Success Coach

I work with the Alliance For Public Schools through their GradNation program. I’ve been with them since my sophomore year and have been able to make so many new friends and have been granted wonderful opportunities through this foundation!

This foundation has individuals who really put in the work and care for schools to grow, as well as improve the learning environment.

Alliance for Public Schools helps the community to connect with and support students, teachers, and public schools. They help families access information and resources to help their kids be academically successful. They also teach them how to advocate for students with elected officials. They provide an invaluable service to our community and we are lucky to have them working for students and teachers.

As a longtime community volunteer, I have been to many events hosted by the Alliance and have always been impressed by their passion and dedication to supporting students in our community. It is tough in these difficult times to know who to trust about information related to public schools and all things politicians have to say about what is and isn't happening. Out community is lucky to have this group to give parents and community the facts about what our teachers and students are facing.

This program was what I looked forward to when going to school my junior and senior year. It was such an inspirational experience that I will forever cherish. Being able to help my peers and work with many different kids and influential adults across the county made me feel like us kids matter and our voices are wanted and needed. Mrs Erickson is an absolutely amazing teacher and mentor that devotes her self to making schools environment a better place overall!

APS provided invaluable support in our effort to bring high-quality STEM opportunities to HCPS students this summer. Their partnership was facilitated with ease and a high degree of responsiveness. We look forward to continuing our collaboration.

The Alliance for Public Schools has been an incredible resource in the Tampa bay region and has served as a foundational member of the Tampa Bay STEM Network since 2016. The Tampa Bay STEM Network, one of nearly 100 STEM Learning Ecosystems around the globe, holds parent advocacy and support as a core value in the work of providing students with academic trajectories in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

I appreciate the work Alliance for Public Schools is doing to help cut through the window dressing and help parents like me understand the core issues in education, and how we can best support public education.

As a student in the Tampa Bay community, I have worked with the Alliance for Public Schools Foundation first hand. The Alliance for Public Schools does fantastic work bringing students, parents, teachers, and community members together together to develop grassroots solutions in the public education ecosystem. I believe that any school or school district could learn from the Alliance's work!

This organization has truly been amazing. I became apart of this organization my junior year of high school. It helped develop my leadership and communication skills. I enjoyed being a part of making a big change at my high school and other schools across the county. Now seven years later it is an honor to be on the board and help expand this amazing organization. The Alliance for Public Schools Foundation is great!

The Alliance for Public Schools is a great partner with Hillsborough County Public Schools. APS has undertaken several initiatives to improve the lives of deserving students through education and community impact. They work alongside educators, families, students, policymakers, and community partners to provide practical assistance and resources embedded in public policy outcomes and services to help students reach their fullest potential.

The Alliance for Public Schools is a great organization that I have had the pleasure to work with throughout our previous school year. The collaboration between our families and students has created a foundation to continue into the new year inspiring everyone to share the value in public education and the partnership.

This organization is fantastic! They do so much with and for the community.

Such a great partner to get STEM program information to families. They are very knowledgeable of what families need and they work well with other organizations.

This organization does great work connecting students, families, teachers and school districts so everyone can give students what they need to succeed!

This group is really great! They supported my school all summer with trainings for students to understand how to improve our school. Our school has a bad reputation and we are trying to change that and MS. Erickson gives us lots of ideas to help us make things better. I am leaning how to be a better leader and help make positive change at out school through this program.

The Alliance for Public Schools facilitated a deep dive into parent engagement for our schools. We emerged with a solid plan and a community that felt "heard". We are already seeing results.

I have had nothing but positive experiences with this non profit organization. The impact they have made on myself and the community has been a tremendous blessing. Being able to uplift our community and enrich the youth to pursue future careers in the STEM field is one of the many great attributes they posses and as proud to be apart of.

I have been involved with the Alliance for the last 6 years. Hillsborough County was one of the first districts to develop and encourage student leadership within our most challenged schools with a program led by students. Students have a unique advantage to understanding what they need to move the needle and get to graduation. The Alliance gave them the skills and voice to continue to push themselves as well as their peers to increase graduation rates. Student input was highly respected and valued at the schools where the administration was involved and saw the value in the program. In order to. E about the student we must continue to engage the student on all levels and at every challenge point. Skills from this program have enhanced student leadership and allowed for growth in development. I watched students lead others and present to large audiences the ideas they had implanted in their classrooms to change the trajectory of success. I am grateful that the Alluia. Ow part of multiple school districts and is reaching so many students. But there is always more work to do ! I applaud the Alliance for always being an easy non profit to work with and for always doing what is best for kids first !

I’ve been involved with Alliance for Public Schools Foundation for the last two years. Their expertise and guidance has helped my school engage in stronger relationships with our families building communication pathways.

I joined Alliance for Public Schools as s freshman in high school in 2015. Since the very beginning, this non profit was dedicated to helping students like myself succeed by providing us resources to get academic and mental help. They helped us advocate for ourselves verbally and politically, and have helped shaped me into the woman I am today. I am truly grateful for everything they have done for me over the years and am a proud member to this day.

I was the President of the teachers union in the same county when Melissa created and developed the Alliance for Public Schools in 2012, and we immediately collaborated to work for better schools and conditions for teachers and students. That led to many collaborations to support educators and students through community work, parent education and empowerment, development of student leadership in school site-based problem-solving, and comprehensive strategic planning and project implementation with the school district.
In every single instance, she and her organization demonstrated great and insightful leadership, creativity, efficiency, and outstanding execution. Her ability to build productive relationships and work collaboratively with districts, superintendents, school boards, educators, and the professional organizations (unions) within school districts — as well as at state and national levels— is top-notch.

Alliance for public school is a powerful advocate for public schools. They have connected the home and student to their public school through engagement The programming created by the Alliance was done so with a single focus to make sure every student is successful.

The Alliance for Public Schools is an amazing organization that helps communities build strong home, school, and community relationships for the benefit of student achievement.

Their dedication and work in Osceola has opened the doors for parents, students, and the community to obtain information by hosting Power-up, a virtual on demand series of workshops. These workshops include information on the vast resources available for the littlest of learners through those getting ready for college and career.

We are fortunate to have the Alliance working in Osceola.

The Alliance for Public Schools has supported Jefferson High School for years. They offer student leadership and student voice opportunities that have inspired our students to take an active role in improving our school culture and graduation rate. Truly a a great public service!

The Alliance For Public Schools is an amazing organization. The support and passion they share for the public school system is admirable! Melissa and Christine are extremely passionate and committed to their work of helping families, communities and students.

APS has been an integral part of increasing our school’s family engagement since coming out of quarantine and getting back to “normal”! We couldn’t do it without them! Our students are so lucky!

Have never worked with such a committed group willing to roll their sleeves up and serve the community in the way the community needs! True partner and committed to the real work.

The alliance for public schools is second to none. Their tireless efforts allow students teachers and parents to grow into the best versions of themselves.
I had the pleasure of going through the Educate Hillsborough program. It really open my eyes to the inner workings of the school system in one of the largest systems in the nation. Often when the community is outraged by local politics etc. I am able to help inform and push past ignorance by all the experiences inside of this program.

Alliance for Public Schools operates in the critical nexus between parents and educators and support for public schools. As a long time national partner, it has been great to have the Alliance engage parents on critical issues at the federal level and provide an on the ground view of what is happening in schools and communities. In addition, the Alliance is doing critical work in helping parents be better prepared to engage in their local schools and their student’s education. All of this leads to a better collaboration between parents and their local educators and improves outcomes for students. Authentic parent voice is sorely missing in too many policy debates.

As an AmeriCorps VISTA, I was lucky enough to dedicate part of my service towards supporting APS. Melissa and Christine fostered my passion for education, and introduced me to the world of education policy/reform. Working closely with them for over two years, I witnessed firsthand the deep impact that APS had across the Tampa Bay & Orlando communities. From hosting Community Conversations to Parent University, Melissa & Christine have always done a tremendous job of bringing people of all backgrounds together. It was not out of the ordinary to watch students, parents, teachers, gov't officials, community advocates, etc. come together, share ideas and collaborate - as peers. Simply put, the work the Alliance for Public Schools does is inspiring.
Though I have since found a career outside of the non-profit sector, the skills I developed with this organization are invaluable. More importantly, I will always be an advocate to our public schools, and have Melissa and Christine to thank for this!

The Osceola School District is extremely proud to partner with the Alliance for Public Schools as we increase our community involvement and engagement opportunities across the district. They are proven experts in how to build advocacy programs that build positive relationships with education stakeholders. The Osceola County School Board entrusted the Alliance to facilitate a series of Community Conversations to gain stakeholder input for the district’s Strategic Plan. Participants felt that their thoughts and opinions mattered, and many have remained engaged as active advocates for our schools. The district also partners with the Alliance for a parent and student summit called Power Up For Success and Student Alliances at two Osceola County schools. The Alliance continues to serve as an amazing trusted partner with the Osceola School District and our community.

Alliance for Public Schools has ben a tremendous partner over the years. Melissa and all her staff are always willing to help support our mentorship program in anyway they can. We would not be able to operate as efficiently as we do without that support!

Alliance truly has students and educators at heart. They have assisted with many things connected with schools and families in order to make events and experiences the most positive possible. It would be difficult to experience the measure of success we have with regard to our outreach had we not had the assistance of this amazing group of people. This organization is top-notch, and it is always a pleasure to work with them. With so many organizations, things have to be tailored their way. Not Alliance. They find ways to meet you where you are and give you what you need because, ultimately, it benefits kids, families, and educators.