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Nonprofit Partners in Education folding after 15 years of service due to donor loss The nonprofit organization that raised millions for public education in Memphis over the last 15 years is closing, a victim of hard times and stepped-up competition among funders to improve schools. Partners in Public Education, which over the years raised $23 million for such projects as the Teaching and Learning Academy on Union and two national superintendent searches, will formally close at the end of the year. "When we began in 1993, we were virtually alone in our advocacy for school reform," said Larry Brown, PIPE board chairman. "Today, it's difficult to count all the local groups working to improve public education," he said, adding that PIPE considers that interest part of its legacy. The group was born of Goals for Memphis -- now The Leadership Academy -- which convened 500 to 600 volunteers for a sweeping inventory of what needed to happen to improve economic and leadership assets in Memphis. "We were a very, very diverse group of people. Several of us whose dream this was stood up and said we will make this happen," said Nancy E. Bogatin, founding board member and longtime chairwoman. "Our thrust was to try to get the private community involved in the public school system." With the help of a board heavy with industry leaders, PIPE informally became the fundraising arm for the city schools, soliciting millions from corporate Memphians and the foundations they endowed for improvements in schools across the city. Its leadership roster includes Sonia Walker, Chip Dudley, Sam Hollis, Will Dupree, Jane Walters, Jocelyn Rudner, Gary Shorb, Cato Johnson, Nate Essex and Ben Peternell. "We looked at what it would take to bring about systemic change in the school district," said Éthele Hilliard, president. "We were nimble, and could inspire change more quickly." At one time, PIPE financed and ran the districtwide program for aspiring principals. It sent dozens of leaders to Harvard University's Principal's Leadership program. It raised millions to build classroom libraries for the city's youngest learners, and compiled and mailed an easy-to-understand report card to every city schools parent in town. But its most visible achievement is the $3 million it raised for an off-campus professional development site for teachers. When the Teaching and Learning Academy was dedicated in 1996, it was one of the first in the country. "Our name is not on that building," said Joel Evangelisti, PIPE treasurer. "But PIPE is who helped make that possible. "Training the teachers has been the real impetus for change. If you think about reforming a system, you have to reach the people working inside it." PIPE is affiliated with Public Education Network, a national conglomerate of grass-roots support for education originally funded by the Ford Foundation. There are 88 affiliates in 32 states. Last year, for the first time, PIPE did not have the $18,000 for postage to mail its annual report card. It was posted on the Internet instead. For three years, money has been tight as the economy faltered and the Hyde Family Plough and Poplar foundations began funneling more to their specific reform agendas, including charter schools. "It is really challenging to seek money when those foundations support their own missions. It's hard for them to say, 'let's fund another organization,'" Hilliard said. Supt. Kriner Cash, an ex officio member of PIPE's board, started a separate nonprofit in the district this year for donations he garnered, including the $100 million he hopes to receive from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "I do know there is greater attention for education from many foundations. I'm saddened to hear that PIPE will no longer be around," said school board member Freda Williams. "They've done an awful lot for Memphis City Schools and their support will be missed." -- Jane Roberts: 529-2512 |
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