My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been lucky to be involved with The Steppingstone Foundation since its founding in 1990. Starting and running an organization was never something I ever considered. My only career goal was to be a schoolteacher, because my teachers, each in their own way, were the most important people in my childhood. Not only did they awaken an intellectual curiosity, but they created an environment that made me safe enough to take what seemed like huge risks for an adolescent. If I succeeded, they encouraged me to build on what I'd done (with their tireless help!). When I fell short, these noble men and women, mostly in their late twenties, but a few were in their middle years, bucked me up, found something good to encourage me about, and then challenged me to do better. I loved them all and revered the profession, I was acutely aware that because of the dozen years I spent with these wonderful teachers, literally anything was possible. Yale, Oxford, and Harvard were far less a reflection of my academic brilliance, rather they were opportunities that were a matter of course given the preparation and support I was so lucky to have.

Great independent and public exam schools (like Bronx Science in NYC, Boston Latin in Boston, or Lowell in San Francisco, were nearly impossible for underserved children to succeed at. The academic and social transition is proved to high a hurdle for even the most gifted students from more difficult circumstances.

I decided, after a few wonderful years of teaching, to create a caring, demanding, high content, summer and after school program that had as its sole mission to prepare schoolchildren, regardless of circumstance, to get into schools that lead to college; get into a four year college, and graduate. In the intervening quarter century, over 2,000 Steppingstone Scholars have completed the preparatory program. Nearly all have graduated from high school, gone on to four-year colleges, and 80% have graduated within six years, which is many multiples better than their counterparts who didn't avail themselves of The Steppingstone Foundation.

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