Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, today released the following statement on the nomination of Colorado Sen. Peter Groff (a founding member of the DFER-Colorado steering committee and 2008 recipient of DFER’s Education Warrior Award) to serve as director of the U.S. Education Department’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Center under Education Secretary Arne Duncan:
“Even among the leaders nationwide with whom we have had the privilege to work, Peter Groff stands out for his courage, determination, and dogged commitment to justice. He is exactly the kind of change-agent that President Obama and Secretary Duncan should look to in this time of historic opportunity. But Peter will be missed in Colorado, where his willingness to find new ways to solve old problems in education have helped put the Rocky Mountain State on the reform map. We look forward to working with the next generation of Colorado leaders to make sure public education reform does not stall in his absence.”