Education grant emphasizes unity

By Annette EspinozaDenver Post Staff WriterMay 18, 2007Two Denver grassroots groups received a major grant Thursday to work on school reform as part of a new nationwide community-organizing effort.
The groups, Padres Unidos and Metro Organizations for People, or MOP, were the main benefactors of a $600,000 grant designed to improve education by uniting community members and give them a stronger voice in shaping education policy.
The funding comes from Communities for Public Education Reform, a new nationwide coalition of education-reform groups created with $6 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Denver- based Piton Foundation.
Padres Unidos and MOP were chosen because of their efforts to improve schools, said Terri Bailey, a Piton Foundation program manager.
"It was a no-brainer," Bailey said. "With the work they've done, they could be supported to the next level of education reform that is driven by parents and youth."
Both organizations are represented on the "A+ Denver" committee, an independent panel studying school closures within Denver Public Schools.
Pam Martinez, Padres Unidos' co-director, said her organization plans to use the money to help raise achievement in middle schools connected to North High School, a school plagued by low enrollment and low Colorado Student Assessment Program test scores.
The coalition also designated funds to organize public- education reform efforts in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-954-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.