Teaching For Change
Teaching for Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing social justice curriculum, professional development, and parent engagement for K-12 educators. Founded in 1989 in Washington, D.C., it operates eight program sub-brands including the Zinn Education Project and Social Justice Books.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Teaching For Change does
Teaching for Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1989 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., that develops and distributes social justice curriculum, professional development, and parent engagement resources for pre-K-12 educators, parents, and librarians. The organization originated as the Network of Educators' Committees on Central America (NECCA) in the 1980s, a coalition of teacher committees formed in 11 major U.S. and Canadian cities to support Central American immigrant students and challenge U.S. foreign policy in the region. The D.C. committee formally incorporated in December 1989 and was subsequently renamed Teaching for Change as the focus expanded beyond Central America. The organization serves classroom teachers, school staff, librarians, and parents seeking to supplement traditional curricula with multicultural, anti-racist, and civil rights-focused content, and operates with national reach alongside dedicated programs in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
The organization's core product surface is an ecosystem of interconnected educational websites and a portfolio of original publications, with technology consisting of standard web publishing rather than proprietary software. Teaching for Change maintains its primary site at teachingforchange.org and operates seven additional program-specific websites: SocialJusticeBooks.org (offering 100+ curated booklists and critical reviews), the Zinn Education Project (co-published with Rethinking Schools since 2008), Civil Rights Teaching, Teaching Central America, Challenge Islamophobia, Teach the Beat: Go-Go, and the D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice network. Notable publications include Beyond Heroes and Holidays (an interdisciplinary K-12 multicultural guide) and Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching (the 2004 Philip C. Chinn Book of the Year Award winner). The organization offers no mobile app, no public or partner-facing API, and no AI/ML-driven features.
Teaching for Change operates a hybrid nonprofit revenue model combining three streams: one-time publications sales through SocialJusticeBooks.org; professional development services delivered directly to school districts, the National Education Association, PBS, and national conferences; and foundation and institutional grants from funders including the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation (long-term support since 1991), the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Communities for Just Schools Fund (since 2017), and Ben's Chili Bowl Foundation. Pricing is mixed — most online lessons and resources are provided free of charge through program websites, book purchases are per-title, and professional development engagements are quote-based. The go-to-market motion is event-driven (workshops, institutes, annual Teach Central America Week and Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action) layered onto a community-led model anchored by the D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice network.
Teaching For Change firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Teaching For Change
- Legal name
- Teaching for Change
- Website
- https://teachingforchange.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Teaching for Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing social justice curriculum, professional development, and parent engagement for K-12 educators. Founded in 1989 in Washington, D.C., it operates eight program sub-brands including the Zinn Education Project and Social Justice Books.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Teaching For Change industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Nonprofit Services
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- K–12 Instructional Design & Curriculum Development Services (EDAGAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Core Subject Textbooks (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies) (EDAGAAAA), K–12 Digital Curriculum & Interactive Lessons (EDAGAEAA), Children’s Educational & Curriculum Publishing (MPAJAFAF), Special Needs & Inclusive Learning Trade (Dyslexia, ADHD, ASD Supports) (EDAGAIAL)
Keywords
Where Teaching For Change is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Teaching For Change business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Publications Sales: Teaching for Change publishes books and educational materials including Beyond Heroes and Holidays, Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching, Caribbean Connections series, and other curriculum resources. These are sold through SocialJusticeBooks.org.
- Professional Development Services: The organization offers workshops, courses, and institutes on their publications for the National Education Association, PBS, school districts, and national conferences. Revenue generated through professional development engagements.
- Foundation and Institutional Funding: Teaching for Change receives grant funding from foundations including Ben's Chili Bowl Foundation, Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Communities for Just Schools Fund, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and others to support their programs and operations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Books and Publications |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Online Resources |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Teaching For Change product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Teaching for Change offers professional development, develops lessons, and curates multicultural and social justice resources to help classroom teachers supplement pre-K–12 curriculum. The organization publishes books and digital downloads (Beyond Heroes and Holidays, Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching, Caribbean Connections series) sold through SocialJusticeBooks.org, and delivers paid workshops, institutes, and courses to school districts and educational associations.
Product overview
Teaching for Change operates a platform of interconnected educational resources and publications designed to help teachers and parents create schools where students learn to read, write, and change the world. The core offering includes the main teachingforchange.org website plus multiple sub-brand websites: SocialJusticeBooks.org (book curation with 100+ booklists and reviews), Zinn Education Project (people's history teaching resources), Civil Rights Teaching (civil rights curriculum), Teaching Central America (Central American studies), Challenge Islamophobia (Islamophobia education), and Teach the Beat: Go-Go (go-go music education). The organization also publishes books including Beyond Heroes and Holidays and Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching (award-winning). Parent engagement is supported through the Tellin' Stories approach. All resources focus on social justice education, anti-bias curriculum, and multicultural perspectives for pre-K-12 classrooms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Professional Development Workshops and Institutes Fee-based workshops, courses, and institutes delivered to school districts, the National Education Association, PBS, and national conferences on social justice education, civil rights teaching, and the organization's publications. Targeted at educators and educational institutions seeking to build capacity in anti-racist and multicultural curriculum.
- Beyond Heroes and Holidays An interdisciplinary guide for K-12 multicultural, anti-racist education and staff development, providing lessons and readings for educators, administrators, students, and parents to transform the curriculum. Sold as a book and digital download through SocialJusticeBooks.org.
- Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching A resource guide for classrooms and communities providing interactive, interdisciplinary lessons and articles for K-12 educators on teaching the Civil Rights Movement beyond a heroes approach. Won the 2004 Philip C. Chinn Book of the Year Award and Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention.
- Caribbean Connections: Puerto Rico Third edition book (2020) introducing students to the history, economy, environment, and culture of Puerto Rico through essays, poetry, and fiction. Available as a free PDF download.
Quantifiable outcome
- More than 100 booklists and critical reviews available through SocialJusticeBooks.org
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Teaching For Change
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Teaching For Change technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Teaching For Change partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, significant and minor.
- Rethinking SchoolscoreCo-publishes the Zinn Education Project with Rethinking Schools. This is a flagship collaboration to promote understanding of people's history of the United States in middle and high schools through free classroom teaching activities.
- D.C. Public SchoolscoreTeaching for Change has worked with educators in D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) to incorporate civil rights and labor history lessons, and DCPS has funded classroom visits for the Teach the Beat go-go program.
- National Education AssociationmajorTeaching for Change has offered workshops and institutes on award-winning publications for the National Education Association, reaching teachers nationwide.
- Smithsonian InstitutionmajorPartnership with multiple Smithsonian museums including National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and National Portrait Gallery for events, teach-ins, and educational programming.
- Busboys and PoetssignificantSocial Justice Books operated a brick and mortar store at Busboys and Poets for 10 years. Ongoing collaborative relationship for events and author appearances.
- Howard University School of EducationsignificantCo-hosted 2019 DC Reconstruction Teach-In at Howard University as joint session with Zinn Education Project.
- African American Civil War Memorial and MuseumminorListed as partner organization in the social justice education community.
- Black Lives Matter at SchoolcoreTeaching for Change's D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice plays a lead role in the annual Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, connected to the national Black Lives Matter at School movement.
- America's Award (CLASP)minorTeaching for Change collaborates with CLASP Americas Award, which recognizes children's and young adult books about Latin America.
- Africa AccessminorCollaborates with Africa Access to review and promote books about Africa for children.
- American Indians in Children's LiteratureminorCollaborates with this organization to critically review and recommend Native American children's literature.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Teaching For Change competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Learning for Justice (Southern Poverty Law Center): Formerly Teaching Tolerance, it provides free K-12 classroom resources, anti-bias frameworks, and professional development for social justice education. Directly comparable mission and K-12 educator audience.
- Rethinking Schools: Teacher-led publishing organization that co-publishes the Zinn Education Project with Teaching for Change. Both produce social justice-oriented K-12 curriculum, lesson plans, and publications for educators.
- Black Lives Matter at School: National movement that Teaching for Change's D.C. network plays a lead role in through the annual Week of Action. Provides K-12 lesson plans aligned with the 13 guiding principles of BLM.
- Facing History & Ourselves: Provides K-12 history curriculum, PD, and resources focused on racism, antisemitism, and civil rights. Direct overlap in civil rights and people's history curriculum delivery to schools and districts.
- Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility: Nonprofit providing K-12 social and emotional learning, restorative practices, and anti-bias curriculum with a strong New York City focus. Comparable nonprofit scale and PD-driven model.
- Learning for Justice (was Teaching Tolerance) - direct comp: Closest national peer providing free K-12 anti-bias curriculum, professional development, and a grant-supported funding model. Operates from a 501(c)(3) parent with broader resources.
Emerging players
- Roxy Barton Productions / Africa Access: Long-time Teaching for Change partner curating children's literature about Africa. Smaller scale, niche overlap in multicultural book reviews and educator resource curation.
- Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Education: Provides K-12 educational resources addressing Islamophobia. Partial overlap with Teaching for Change's Challenge Islamophobia initiative, but broader civil rights advocacy scope.
Broad incumbents
- Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Education: Provides anti-bias education curriculum, PD workshops, and educator resources for K-12 schools. A larger, more established peer operating in the same anti-bias education space with broader reach.
- Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture - Education: Partner organization that delivers educational programming and resources on African American history. Much broader institutional scale but overlapping mission in K-12 civil rights education.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Teaching For Change social profiles
Digital presenceTeaching For Change financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Teaching For Change leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Teaching For Change subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Teaching For Change funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Teaching For Change M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Teaching For Change
What does Teaching For Change do?
Teaching for Change offers professional development, develops lessons, and curates multicultural and social justice resources to help classroom teachers supplement pre-K–12 curriculum. The organization publishes books and digital downloads (Beyond Heroes and Holidays, Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching, Caribbean Connections series) sold through SocialJusticeBooks.org, and delivers paid workshops, institutes, and courses to school districts and educational associations.
Is Teaching For Change a public or private company?
Teaching For Change is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Teaching For Change founded?
Teaching For Change was founded in 1989. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Teaching For Change based?
Teaching For Change is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Teaching For Change make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Publications Sales are the primary driver. The others are professional Development Services and foundation and Institutional Funding.
Who are Teaching For Change's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Learning for Justice (Southern Poverty Law Center), Rethinking Schools, Black Lives Matter at School, Facing History & Ourselves, Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility and Learning for Justice (was Teaching Tolerance) - direct comp. Emerging players are Roxy Barton Productions / Africa Access and Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Education. Broad incumbents are Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Education and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture - Education.
Does Teaching For Change have an API?
No public API is recorded for Teaching For Change.
What industry is Teaching For Change in?
Teaching For Change's product category is Education Nonprofit Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAKAA, K–12 Instructional Design & Curriculum Development Services, with a secondary code of EDAGAAAA, Core Subject Textbooks (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies). Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.