• Education

  • Early Excellence
  • Denver Preschool Program
  • K-12 Education
  • The Charter Fund

• Economic Opportunity

  • Post-Secondary Education
  • Employment Skills
  • Asset Building

• Strengthening Communities

  • Support to Community Organizing
  • Social Networks

• Earned Income Tax Credit

  • American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
  • Tax Sites
  • The Piton Foundation's Tax Credits for Working Families Campaign
  • Tax Help Colorado
  • Low Income Taxpayer Help
  • 2010 Tax Year Promotional Materials
  • Filing Options Available
  • The Earned Income Tax Credit in Colorado
  • Learn More about the Earned Income Tax Credit
  • Employers: Help Your Workers Get Their Tax Credits
  • More Tax Credits
  • Non-Profits: Help Your Clients Get Their Tax Credits
  • Still Another Tax Benefit for Families! The Child and Dependent Care Credit
  • The Child Tax Credit: Extra Credit for Many Working Families!
  • Education Tax Credits for Families: The Hope Credit
  • Education Tax Credits for Families: The Lifetime Learning Credit
  • Saver's Tax Credit: Workers Can Save for Retirement and Reduce Income Taxes

k-12 education

The Piton Foundation supports the development of a public education system that allows all students, particularly lower-income students, to succeed as engaged, self-reliant citizens. The foundation seeks to accomplish its objectives by supporting effective and innovative public schools. It works to engage school districts in this work, and to help shape public policies that foster schools where all students can succeed.

Piton's strategic partners include other education and community organizations, public schools and school districts, charter schools, foundations, parents, and city and state government.

Design Principles

Access to Quality Education and School Choice -- All students should have a variety of high quality education pathways from early childhood to elementary and secondary schools through college, regardless of their family's wealth, ethnicity, documentation, or location. Building a 21st century education system that works for all students means creating and replicating a variety of new public schools that are managed by districts, the state or non-profits. Because there is no one school design that can meet every child's needs, families need to have access to a variety of high quality school choices.

Funding and Revenue -- Piton works toward achieving adequate and equitable funding for all students. Funding should be tracked according to individual students and be weighted to student needs. State and district school finance systems must provide the resources needed to ensure all students succeed in work, college and our democracy. Schools must be given the support and responsibility to manage their budgets and staff (including hiring and firing of teachers).

Teaching and Learning -- Piton supports creating a standards-based education system where students are promoted on performance, not age or time spent in class. Recruitment, credentialing and compensation systems for teachers and principals must be redesigned to attract and retain the best and brightest for Colorado's classrooms. Teacher and principal working conditions, expectations and wages must be reflective of expertise and performance rather than time served.

Accountability and Transparency -- Teaching and learning should be documented and assessed based on student performance. A public accountability system should tie school performance to rewards and interventions. Colorado should hold high expectations for all students, regardless of race, economic class or documentation status.

Public Engagement -- Public engagement in education reform and in advocacy for equal access to quality public education is crucial to the success of public schools. Strategic alliances with other organizations are needed to implement policy changes and cultural shifts in schools. Sustained reform requires monitoring of the state and school districts by citizens.

Partners in education

The Piton Foundation seeks to make strategic investments in education by partnering with organizations working to transform public education and improve the lives of low-income youth. Over the past three years, Piton has worked closely with more than 50 nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including nonprofit charter schools, district schools, researchers, and human capital providers.

Recent partners include: Academy of Urban Learning, Colorado Children's Campaign, Colorado Non-Profit Development Center, A+ Denver Citizens Committee, Community College of Denver, Denver Public Schools, Denver School of Science and Technology, Denver Venture School, East High School, Escuela de Guadalupe, Fairview Elementary School, Goodwill of Denver, Headfirst Colorado, KIPP Foundation, La Academia, Manual High School, Metro Organizations for People, Northwest Parents for Excellent Schools, Padres Unidos, Public Education and Business Coalition, Summer Scholars, Teach for America, The Institute for Educational Equity, University of Colorado--School of Education, University of Colorado--School of Public Affairs, University of Washington--Center for Reinventing Public Education, West Denver Preparatory High School, and Wyatt-Edison Charter School.

Learn More

Recent studies commissioned by The Piton Foundation include:

Colorado's 2008 Education Reforms: Will they achieve The Colorado's Promise?   In this report prepared for The Piton Foundation, national experts examine what Colorado is doing in education reform and where the state needs to go.

DPS Employee Compensation: the Role of Pension Benefits The Piton Foundation examined the Denver Public Schools' pension plan and its role in recruiting and retaining educators.

Access to Quality Public Schools: An Analysis of Where Low-Income Students Live in Proximity to Quality Schools Researchers at The Piton Foundation analyzed how far students in Denver, Aurora and Mapleton school districts must travel to reach a school rated "high" or "quality" by the state of Colorado.

Profiles of Success: Eight Colorado Schools that are Closing the Achievement Gap This report was commissioned by The Piton Foundation and Donnell-Kay Foundation to uncover promising practices in Colorado schools that are beating the odds in terms of their ability to close the achievement gap for economically disadvantaged students.

Testing in Colorado: Time, Cost and Purpose, commissioned by The Piton Foundation and Donnell-Kay Foundation to document the types of assessments that Colorado students take, and the time and costs associated with this testing.

Policy Mapping: Colorado and Tough Choices or Tough Times, commissioned by The Piton Foundation and the Donnell-Kay Foundation, compares recommendations from the National Center on Education and the Economy to Colorado's current education policies.