« Preston Smith on Joining Teach for America After Graduating College »

In Chapter 3 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "Why Did You Join Teach for America After Graduating College?" Smith shares how growing up in a low income community with underperforming schools helped him connect to the Teach for America mission. He finds the program an opportunity to make a community impact right after college. The program helps him pay back his student loans and leads while making a difference and finding inspiration to build an education career. Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows.