Education Week‘s political blogger Alyson Klein wrote yesterday about another one of Denver’s education reform leaders being exported to the nation’s capital:

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has a new teacher quality adviser … and he’s got a foot in both the merit pay and union camps.

Brad Jupp is formerly a senior policy adviser to Denver-schools-superintendent-turned-U.S.-Senator Michael Bennet. In that role, he worked on school and district performance improvement and accountability, teacher effectiveness, and school choice, among other issues.

After being on the short list for the job Duncan now holds, DPS superintendent Michael Bennet was appointed U.S. Senator. More recently, state senate president Peter Groff was appointed to direct an office in the U.S. Department of Education. Now Jupp joins Groff in the Department in the special role of teacher quality adviser.

I would be remiss not to observe that when it comes to Brad Jupp, Denver’s loss is D.C.’s gain. He has a tough job cut out for him — that’s usually the case when it comes to effecting change in the Beltway bureaucracy. But he brings a rare combination of professional experiences coupled with a keen mind, determination, and a track record of some success.

One final personal note: Without Brad Jupp, my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow‘s report on the Denver ProComp performance pay system (PDF) wouldn’t have been nearly so thorough or insightful.

In late January, Michael Bennet was replaced by reform-minded Tom Boasberg. Just this week, reform-minded Michael Johnston won a vote to take Peter Groff’s seat in the state senate. Inquiring minds would like to know who will fill Brad Jupp’s shoes. Who can fill his shoes?