Jim Griffin, Colorado charter school leader, inducted into Charter Schools Hall of Fame

"Colorado has been on the forefront of our nation's charter school movement and has provided other states with examples of how strong policies and effective leadership can have a positive impact on kids," said Nina Rees, CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Griffin has been a huge part of that, she added.

Griffin received the honor this week at a conference hosted in Minneapolis by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In addition to Griffin, three Minnesota education leaders were inducted, joining sixteen others who've been honored over the past five years for developing charter schools and inspiring others.

Here's what the alliance had to say about Griffin:

Colorado has been at the forefront of the national charter school movement since 1993, when its charter law was first enacted. Early on, Griffin launched the nation's first comprehensive state association in the League, which for nearly 20 years has led the Colorado charter movement. He has worked with legislators and key stakeholder to develop solutions ranging from facilities financing to state accountability systems, and school support efforts including legal advocacy, new school development, group purchasing, and performance management.

As a result, Colorado's charter effort continues to thrive by any number of measures - school quality, growth and stability. Today, over 78,000 students attend 174 charter schools in Colorado. This amounts to about 10 percent of total public school enrollment in the state -- one of the highest in the nation.

Watch a video about Griffin below. It features him touring a charter school in Clark, Colorado, that he fought to open when the school district was dead-set against it. After the local school board turned the school down, Griffin helped it win an appeal before the state Board of Education. "By choosing a school up in the mountains up by Steamboat (Springs), I knew that if nothing else, there would be some stunning visuals," Griffin jokes.

More from our Education archive: "Monarch Montessori enrolls enough students to open as a DPS charter school this fall."

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