The Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) is a nonprofit partnership of Colorado education and business leaders dedicated to developing the intellectual and scholarly practices of educators across the continuum of their professional lives so our schools are worthy of our students.

Mission

PEBC drives cutting-edge practices, and informs and provokes the public, to improve education for all.

History

Upon the 1983 release of the Nation At Risk report by The National Commission on Excellence in Education, the Ford Foundation provided funds through the D.C.-based Public Education Network to nine communities across the nation to create local education funds (LEF).

These non-profit organizations would operate apart from districts but would serve as “critical friends” to the education
institutions and provide resources and expertise to the system in their reform agendas. The Public Education Coalition (PEC) in Denver was one of those newly-formed organizations. Its primary work was in quality teaching initiatives.

In 1995, the PEC merged with the Colorado Business Alliance for Youth (founded in 1981), forming the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC). While both these organizations were dedicated to improving the quality of education for all students, the difference was that PEC focused on quality teaching, and the Alliance focused on preparing students for the workforce through student training activities. The merger consolidated staff and fundraising efforts; and brought a board together that would represent both the private industry sector (business executives) and the public industry sector (superintendents).

Today, PEBC has grown from this small, local education fund to an organization with an unrivaled reputation for its professional development model, its publications, and the expertise of its staff. PEBC has worked with more than 17,000 principals and teachers in K-12 education, impacting over 1,000 schools, and one million students.