This Exec Plays Matchmaker for Baltimore Schools, Donors

Roger Schulman expected to live in Baltimore for two years. At least that was the plan when Schulman accepted a Teach for America gig at West Baltimore Middle School in 1992.

“The kids I was teaching had real challenges in their lives, challenges I had not experienced growing up,” he said. “But they were smart kids who wanted the same things out of their lives that I did.”

Now the CEO of a nonprofit partner to Baltimore City’s public school system, Schulman said he saw quickly back then that the difference came down to options. “I didn’t understand what a profound effect seeing the disparities and access to both opportunities and resources would have on me,” he said. “And that is what sort of changed the trajectory of my plan and kept me in Baltimore for the next 32 years and counting.”

The Baltimore Business Journal spoke with Schulman about the challenges of educating children in poor communities, teacher recruitment and retention, and the Fund's latest study.

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Source: Baltimore Business Journal