The decision comes after seven years building the movement for education justice in the Episcopal Church and supporting congregations committed to education equity in public schools.

Today All Our Children National Network [AOC] publicly announced they are ceasing all programming and operations after seven years serving as a nexus for Episcopalians and other Christians dedicated to building the movement for education justice and having a meaningful impact on public schools.

In conjunction with their closure, All Our Children announces a one-time-only Advancement Grant initiative for Episcopal congregations, dioceses, and Episcopal-affiliated programs working toward education equity and quality public education for all. Eligible applicants must be engaged in an active church-school community partnership or participating in an education advocacy initiative that has been operating at least two years. The grants will provide up to fifteen awards of $5,000 to $10,000 in unrestricted funds. Prospective applicants should visit www.allourchildren.org/grants for application details and to submit a proposal. Completed applications are due August 1.

Founded by Lallie Lloyd in 2012 with support from Trinity Wall Street, AOC produced a host of regional and national conferences, sponsored resolution B005: Quality Public Education for All at the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, published All Our Children: The Church’s Role in Education Equity (Church Publishing) telling the stories of congregations and dioceses that are affecting change in their local public schools, and provided resources, leadership training, networking, and moral support for Christian leaders pursuing education equity.

“All Our Children emerged from God’s dream of a world where every child grows into the fullness of all they were created to be. High quality public education is an essential component of that dream,” says AOC Director, Lallie Lloyd. “These seven years have been an amazing journey of learning alongside many other faith leaders who have also been called to this work. Our decision to close comes as we face several stark realities, the most important of which is an understanding that our previously unexamined and unconscious racial bias limits our ability to build the coalitions necessary to mend what is broken in our public schools. Addressing that error is not a quick fix and cannot be accomplished in our current structure by our current leaders. We know this work is not ours alone, and we hope our Advancement Grants will support the leaders who will carry this movement forward and help it continue to grow and transform.”

AOC will keep all their resources online for free at allourchildren.org. These include how-to guides, recorded webinars, and 2018 national conference content — developed with the help of experts and leaders — to help congregations and their members create church-school partnerships and other education advocacy and justice initiatives.

“We are grateful to so many who have shared their wisdom, wealth, time, and talent with our staff and across our network,” says Ms. Lloyd, “Our greatest power has always been the hundreds of dedicated faith leaders, ally organizations, and educators willing to engage with us and our vision for a future where every school has everything every child needs to thrive. It has been our privilege to serve local leaders and foster critical conversations about how working for equity in public education directly responds to the Gospel call for justice”

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About All Our Children, National Network
All Our Children has spent seven years as a leading voice promoting quality public education for all in The Episcopal Church. It has been our privilege to serve local leaders and foster critical conversations about how working for equity in public education directly responds to the Gospel call for justice.

Contact:
Mary-Liz Murray
Director of Communications, All Our Children National Network
maryliz@allourchildren.org
617-681-5852