Colorado Senate President Peter Groff is the newest addition to the Education Department, where he will be the director for the faith-based and community initiatives center.

Groff was part of a milestone moment in Mile High City. In a mostly-white state, he and another African American legislator became the first minority duo to hold the state capitol’s top two legislative jobs.

This is making the Democrats for Education Reform very happy. Groff, a charter schools supporter, is a founding member of DFER’s Colorado branch and won the organization’s “education warrior” award in 2008. During his time in the legislature, he helped craft the Innovation Schools Act last year, which gave school districts more control over hiring staff outside of union contracts and more control over how much time teachers spend in class.

Education secretary Arne Duncan, who brings a strong district perspective to his new federal gig, also picked another (former) legislator for a job last week.