An education non-profit known for recruiting teachers to promote Common Core in the political arena has received a large grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In June of 2016, Hope Street Group received a grant for $2,650,003 for the purpose of ‘training teachers on policy’ and working on ‘perception improvements’.

Grant Details:

Date: June 2016
Purpose: to select, train and network teachers to drive sustainable policy, practice and perception improvements at local and state levels.
Amount: $2,650,003
Term: 19
Topic: K-12, K-12 Education
Program: United States
Grantee Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Grantee Website: http://www.hopestreetgroup.org

This site has well-documented the presence of Hope Street Group in North Carolina, including reporting on NC State Superintendent, June Atkinson, entering into a partnership  with the group in 2015.  As such, the group has gotten away with using taxpayer  funded resources for their messaging purposes.

Multiple members of Hope Street Group engaged in attacks on the Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) during the commission’s review of Common Core. Hope Street Group members used Op-eds to criticize the commission and elevate Common Core. The group also sent letters to the commission in an effort to pressure them.

Hope Street Group employs a  ‘Teacher Voice Network’. The organization recruits teachers they call “fellows” to promote pro-Common Core messaging and other related education policy initiatives. One of the Hope Street Fellows involved in criticism of the ASRC was  Trey Ferguson.  Ferguson is one of the “NC Teacher Voice Network Fellows“.

As a result of the reporting on this topic by this website, the founder of Hope Street Group, Demitri Melhorn, decided to engage in ‘trolling’ by lashing out in a Medium blog post.  This website responded in kind.

At the end of the last legislature session, there was an attempt bring back traditional math as an alternative to Common Core via HB 657. The Department of Public Instruction was not happy with this move, which in essence, called their bluff on the current standards revision process.  On cue, Hope Street Group again came out on the offensive and it was Trey Ferguson again leading the charge to rescue Common Core.

Read About Hope Street Group:

• Another House In the Common Core Potemkin Village: Hope Street Group
• Common Core Potemkin Village: Hope Street Group – Money and History