Citizens For Public Schools

What Citizens For Public Schools does

Citizens For Public Schools is a Massachusetts-based 501c3 nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1982 and headquartered at a PO Box in Brookline. The organization is dedicated to preserving and protecting public education in the Commonwealth, with an explicit focus on equitable school funding, opposition to high-stakes standardized testing (notably the MCAS graduation requirement), charter school accountability, multilingual education, and whole-child education approaches. It serves parents, families, educators, students, and education advocates through campaign materials, fact sheets, research reports, webinars, public forums, and coalition-based political work, including the successful 2024 Question 2 ballot campaign that eliminated the MCAS graduation requirement by a 59-41% margin.

The organization's product surface consists entirely of advocacy outputs rather than commercial goods: education policy advocacy services, MCAS opposition campaign resources (including opt-out letter templates and multilingual fact sheets in Spanish, Portuguese, and Cape Verdean), the 'Less Testing, More Learning' campaign, research reports coauthored with partners such as FairTest, and a program of virtual and in-person educational events including annual meetings and People's Forums on Graduation Readiness. The underlying technology is a standard WordPress-based website used to distribute free resources and coordinate campaigns; there is no proprietary technology platform, mobile app, API, or AI capability.

Citizens For Public Schools is led by Executive Director Lisa Guisbond and governed by a Board of Directors, with a staff of approximately 7. Revenue comes exclusively from donations and member contributions; the organization does not charge for events, sell products or services, or earn fee revenue. It is a member of multiple advocacy coalitions, including partnerships with FairTest, Raise Up Massachusetts, Massachusetts Advocates for Children, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Vocational Education Justice Coalition, MABE, the Mauricio Gastón Institute, and the 'Our City, Our Schools' coalition fighting state takeover of Boston Public Schools. As a registered public charity, CPS does not endorse candidates for political office and operates independently with no parent company.

Name

Citizens For Public Schools

Legal name

Citizens for Public Schools

Website

https://citizensforpublicschools.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Citizens For Public Schools is a Massachusetts-based 501c3 nonprofit, founded in 1982, that advocates for equitable public education funding, opposes high-stakes MCAS testing and charter school expansion, and serves parents, educators, students, and community advocates through campaigns, research, and coalitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Education Advocacy

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Rights & Public Interest Advocacy (BPAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA), Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Public education advocacy
• Education policy reform
• Nonprofit advocacy
• School funding advocacy
• Standardized testing opposition

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookline

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, Citizens for Public Schools relies on donations and contributions from supporters to fund its advocacy work, campaigns, and educational programs.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Citizens for Public Schools (CPS) is a Massachusetts-based 501c3 nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1982 that promotes, preserves, and protects public education in the Commonwealth. The organization conducts policy advocacy, coalition-building, voter education, and public campaigns on issues such as the MCAS graduation requirement, school funding, charter school accountability, whole-child education, and multilingual education. It distributes free fact sheets, white papers, opt-out templates, research reports, and hosts webinars, public forums, and annual meetings for parents, educators, students, and community advocates.

Product overview

Citizens for Public Schools is a nonprofit advocacy organization (501c3) operating in Massachusetts. The organization does not offer a commercial product or technology platform; instead, it provides advocacy services, educational resources, campaign materials, and hosts events focused on public education policy. Key offerings include opposition to the MCAS graduation requirement, school funding advocacy, charter school accountability campaigns, and multilingual education support. The organization uses a WordPress-based website to distribute resources and coordinate campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Education Policy Advocacy Services
• MCAS Opposition Campaign Resources
• Less Testing, More Learning Campaign
• Educational Webinars and Events
• Research Reports and Policy Analysis

Quantifiable outcome

• Question 2 passed 59-41% in November 2024, eliminating MCAS graduation requirement
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPS collaborates with FairTest on reports analyzing MCAS impact, including the April 2023 'Lessons Learned' report on high-stakes testing. Both organizations advocate for ending the misuse of standardized tests.
• Raise Up MassachusettscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPS works with Raise Up Massachusetts coalition to support the Fair Share Amendment (Question 1) which would raise revenue for public education and transportation through taxing high-income earners.
• Massachusetts Advocates for ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPS partners with Massachusetts Advocates for Children on education justice campaigns, including efforts to improve educational access for students with disabilities.
• Our City, Our SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPS coalition partner in the fight for Boston Public Schools, working to stop state takeover proposals and maintain local democratic control.
• Vocational Education Justice CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPS works with the Vocational Education Justice Coalition on issues of equity in vocational school admissions, particularly concerning barriers facing Latino, low-income, and English Learner students.
• Massachusetts Teachers AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in advocacy campaigns including opt-out movement, less testing more learning campaign, and education policy reform efforts.
• Multistate Association for Bilingual Education, Northeast (MABE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in CPS multilingual education webinar series, providing expertise on bilingual education and the LOOK Act for English learners.
• Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public PolicyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in CPS multilingual education webinar series, contributing expertise on Latino community development and education policy.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Teach Plus: Nonprofit that trains teachers to advocate for policy change in public education. Comparable advocacy capacity-building mission and overlapping focus on teacher voice in education policy.
• Parents Defending Education: National nonprofit focused on public education and opposing ideological influence in schools. Comparable advocacy positioning to CPS, though with broader geographic scope and a different political alignment.

Broad incumbents

• National Education Association: Largest U.S. labor union for educators, active in standardized testing, school funding, and privatization fights nationwide. Serves as the broad-incumbent counterpart to CPS's state-level advocacy work.
• EdReports: Nonprofit that reviews instructional materials and advocates for high-quality curricula. Comparable nonprofit advocacy posture within the public-education ecosystem, though with a content-quality rather than testing focus.
• American Federation of Teachers: National teachers' union with parallel advocacy on testing, school funding, and privatization. Comparable policy agenda to CPS but at national scale and through collective bargaining rather than a 501c3 advocacy structure.

Direct peers

• National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest): National nonprofit focused on ending the misuse of standardized testing. CPS and FairTest co-publish research (e.g., 'Lessons Learned,' April 2023) and share the anti-high-stakes-testing mission, making FairTest the closest direct peer.
• Raise Up Massachusetts: Statewide coalition CPS works with on the Fair Share Amendment (Question 1) for education and transportation funding. Highly comparable grassroots-advocacy model and Massachusetts-only operating geography.
• Massachusetts Teachers Association: MA's largest teachers' union and a CPS coalition partner on the opt-out movement and 'Less Testing, More Learning' campaign. Operates on overlapping advocacy issues (testing, funding, privatization) with similar target audiences.
• Our City, Our Schools: Boston-based coalition partner of CPS fighting against state takeover of Boston Public Schools. Operates in the same local advocacy niche around BPS governance and democratic control.
• Massachusetts Advocates for Children: Nonprofit advocating for children with disabilities and underserved students in MA education. CPS partners with this organization on education justice campaigns, sharing a similar advocacy-and-coalition operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Mass_CPS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzqCxnK5lhkC0_0sr6TApR06Y
• Facebookfacebook.com/Citizens-for-Public-Schools-92760529649
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citizens-for-public-schools

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Citizens For Public Schools