A new coalition of grassroots organizing groups announced last week that it will launch projects in four localities, with support from a variety of philanthropies, to involve community residents in pushing for better schools.
Communities for Public Education Reform said it will work with local groups in Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, and New Jersey to organize people to influence education reform efforts in their regions and states. The groups will receive $2.3 million in grants and technical assistance initially and more than $6 million over three years for their work.
National funders include the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and others.
The CPER organizations will aim to drive policies to improve the quality of education provided to low-income students of color by tackling such issues as insufficient and inequitable school funding, inadequate and outdated facilities, high dropout rates, and a lack of highly qualified and culturally competent teachers, according to a news release.
