Eric Schwarz is the Co-Founder and CEO of Citizen Schools At a time of growing innovation but also growing inequality, Citizen Schools is poised to scale our impact with Larry Summers, President Emeritus at Harvard University and former Treasury Secretary of the United States, as our new national board chair. Summers has seen Citizen Schools up close through his work with the Dever-McCormack ELT school in Boston, where his daughter Ruth serves as an AmeriCorps Teaching Fellow, and at our annual WOW! Bowl flag football competition. He has a compelling capacity to explain our work in the context of history and economic trends.

On March 6, I was pleased to welcome business and finance leaders in New York City to hear Larry discuss education and the economy, and the key reasons why he believes Citizen Schools is a solution to our most pressing education challenges.

"I believe the battle for America's future, and its legitimacy, will be won or lost in its public schools," Summers said in his speech. "The approach being pioneered and driven by Citizen Schools is a remarkably effective approach, a remarkably scalable approach, and an approach consistent with the broad value of American society – that Americans are people who pitch in with a sense of community to solve problems."

To read Larry's full speech and learn more about his perspective on closing the opportunity gap click here.