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Greg White, CEO, LEARN Charter School Network, on Making a Difference on the Front Lines
Manage episode 303853206 series 2954728
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Greg White is the President & CEO of LEARN, a network of 11 high-performing public charter schools that serve more than 4,400 students in Chicago and Washington D.C.
After graduating from Harvard Business School, Greg worked at Salomon Brothers before eventually founding his own venture capital firm. He also taught at the Kellogg School of Management and served at the Chicago Community Trust before becoming CEO of the LEARN Charter School Network.
Asked why he chose the unique career path that he did, Greg replies that “I've always had a passion for education and a passion for entrepreneurship. This was a very entrepreneurial venture. We grew from 20 employees and 2 million in revenue to 550 employees and 70 million in revenue.”
Before joining LEARN, Greg says, he worked in a nice office with a beautiful view, and met with nice people all day long. But what he really wanted was to be in the community, on the front lines. “I was well aware of the problems with education. It just wasn't working for many students who looked like me. And I said, What can I do? How can I get involved, not just to set policy or raise money, but to work directly with students?”
Leading the LEARN organization has been hard, Greg says, but “It's been a joy because when you're all in, it's not exhausting work. It’s actually quite exhilarating.”
As to his approach to leadership, Greg brings up his “laser focus on talent”. He believes in hiring great people and encouraging them to embrace their autonomy when it comes time to make decisions for the organization.
Speaking on his current role, Greg says that LEARN ensures its students’ success by focusing on the whole child, and not just on their academic prowess. It is all about meeting the social, emotional, psychological, and physical needs of students. He expects LEARN staff to live the organizations values and create a safe and nurturing environment, not just drive great academic outcomes.
This focus on values, behavior, and social-emotional learning (SEL) is motivated by the fact that LEARN is located in some of the most challenged communities in Chicago. Greg says that the network purposely located in neighborhoods that have a great need for stronger education.
“If you can view public education as an investment which benefits society over the long term, there will be a substantial return.”
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