Citizen Schools founder Eric Schwarz with students (photo by Paul Mobley)
Eric Schwarz made a lot of mistakes as a teenager. His great-great-grandfather had founded the iconic FAO Schwarz toy store in 1862, and successive generations of the family found success in New York, but Schwarz himself floundered amid a sea of opportunity—a fact he readily admits. He bounced through three high schools in three different states, faced multiple suspensions, racked up poor grades and regular “Eric is struggling” teacher conferences, and started drinking as a teen. “But every time I stumbled,” he writes, “I had a helping hand and a new chance.”
Both the tangible benefits and the powerful example of achievement that Schwarz’s family had provided—what he calls “scaffolding”—became clear to him after he landed a college job as a US Senate campaign intern for US senator Gary Hart. “I had grown up around power,” he reflects, “but now, as through transference, I was working with power.”
Schwarz connected this ascension from enriching childhood to enriching career—one that he says has become “too automatic” for certain classes—to the widening chasm he recognized between the opportunities afforded to upper-income children like himself and those available to less-privileged students. This impulse led him to found the nonprofit organization Citizen Schools in 1995. Through Citizen Schools, Schwarz aims to not only close the nation’s achievement and opportunity gaps, but also reinvigorate a national sense of shared public purpose, as well as refocus conversations away from the convenient scapegoats of teacher shortcomings, unions, and poverty, and more toward the positive change everyday citizens can deliver in education.
Now, in The Opportunity Equation: How Citizen Teachers Are Combating the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools, Schwarz draws from the founding story of Citizen Schools to show how mentors, diverse opportunities, and experiences build the “muscle memory of success”—an elusive, intangible set of skills and social capital that has typically been inculcated only in the middle and upper classes—but can be shared with at-risk students across the country and thereby close the country’s persistent achievement gaps. Schwarz shares personal narratives, from building a startup enterprise from scratch and holding onto ideals in the face of heated critics and heartbreaking setbacks, to growing up in an American dynasty, offering reflections on how privilege determines achievement in the US—more so today than ever before.
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS:
Don’t miss these opportunities to meet Eric Schwarz and hear firsthand the story of Citizen Schools and how increasing learning time while harnessing the power of volunteers can level the playing field for students from all income brackets. For more information about tour dates and events, please visit the official book tour page.
September 2, 6:00 PM: Book Launch Event: Brookline Teen Center
Thanks to Brookline Teen Center and dozens of enthusiastic community leaders for hosting the first public event of The Opportunity Equation book tour. Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Brookline from 6-8pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:45), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from the Brookline Booksmith.
We would appreciate it if you would take a moment to RSVP so we can plan accordingly to ensure a successful event. Thank you!
- Tuesday, September 2, 2014
- 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Brookline Teen Center (map)
- RSVP
September 4, 6:00 PM: Cambridge, MA Book Event
Eric will be speaking as part of the Gutman Library Distinguished Authors Series at the Harvard Graduate School of Education! Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Cambridge from 6-8pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:30), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.
- Thursday, September 4, 2014
- 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Monroe C. Gutman Library (map)
- RSVP
September 5, 5:15 PM: New York City Fireside Chat
*This event has reached capacity. Please see our new 9/26 event in NYC!
Thank you to Google and our group of community leaders for hosting the first New York City event of The Opportunity Equation book tour. Join Eric Schwarz, Moderator Richard Buery, and our group of hosts in Chelsea from 5:15-7:15pm for mingling, a fireside chat (starting at 6:00), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from McNally Jackson.
- Friday, September 5, 2014
- 5:15pm – 7:30pm
- Google NYC (map)
September 6, 11:30 AM: Amherst, MA Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of co-hosts at the Jones Library from 11:30am-1:00pm for mingling, a reading from the book, and discussion on the key themes raised in the book.Details regarding partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Saturday, September 6, 2014
- 11:30am – 1:00pm
- Jones Library (map)
- RSVP
September 6, 5:30 PM: Dedham, MA Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of co-hosts in Dedham from 5:30-7:30pm for mingling, a reading from the book, Q&A and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Saturday, September 6, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:30pm
- The Home of Jim and Kristen Atwood (map)
- RSVP
September 7, 11:30 AM: Harvard, MA Book Event
Thanks to Julie Klapper, Charles Sennott, and enthusiastic co-hosts for hosting The Opportunity Equation book tour. Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Harvard from 11:30am-1:00 pm for mingling, a reading from the book, Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book.
- Sunday, September 7, 2014
- 11:30am – 1:00pm
- The Home of Julie Klapper and Charles Sennott (map)
- RSVP
September 8, 6:00 PM: Washington, DC Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts at Jones Day in Washington, DC from 6-8pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:45), discussion surrounding the key themes raised in the book and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Monday, September 8, 2014
- 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Jones Day (map)
- RSVP
September 9 5:00 PM: Durham, NC Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Durham, NC from 5:00-7pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 5:45), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding venue, RSVPs, and partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Tuesday, September 9, 2014
- 5:00pm – 7:00pm
September 10, 5:30 PM: Charlotte, NC Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Charlotte at Bank of America Urban Garden from 5:30-7:00pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:00), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from
Park Road Books.
- Wednesday, September 10, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:00pm
- Bank of America Urban Garden (map)
- RSVP
September 11, 11:30 AM: Austin, TX Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts at KIPP Austin Public Schools in Austin, TX from 11:30am-1pm for a brown bag lunch and discussion of the themes raised in the book.Details regarding partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Thursday, September 11, 2014
- 11:30am – 1:00pm
- KIPP Austin Public Schools (map)
- RSVP
September 11, 6:00 PM: Houston, TX Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts at the United Way of Greater Houston from 6-8pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:45), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from
Brazos Bookstore.
- Thursday, September 11, 2014
- 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- United Way of Greater Houston (map)
- RSVP
September 12, 5:30 PM: San Francisco, CA Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts at Nextdoor in San Francisco from 5:30-7:30pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 5:45), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Friday, September 12, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:30pm
- Nextdoor (map)
- RSVP
September 15, 5:30 PM: Dorchester, MA Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz, Citizen Schools MA, and our hosts at the Dever-McCormack School, where the first Citizen Schools apprenticeship was held! We will be having refreshments starting at 5:30pm, followed by a reading from the book, a chance to engage in discussion surrounding the key issues raised in the book, as well as an opportunity to purchase a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.
- Monday, September 15, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:00pm
- Dever-McCormack Middle School (map)
- RSVP
September 16, 7:00 PM: Denver, CO Book Event
Thank you to the Tattered Cover Book Store and our group of community leaders for hosting the Colorado stop of The Opportunity Equation book tour. Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Denver from 7-9pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 7:45), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from the Tattered Cover!
- Tuesday, September 16, 2014
- 7:00pm – 9:00pm
- Tattered Cover Bookstore (map)
- RSVP
September 17, 5:30 PM: Twin Cities, MN Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in the Twin Cities from 5:30-7:30pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:15), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from
Common Good Books.
- Wednesday, September 17, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:30pm
- TIES Building (map)
- RSVP
September 18, 6:00 PM: Chicago, IL Book Event
Thank you to Google and community leaders in the greater Chicago area for hosting! Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Chicago from 6-8pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:45), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Thursday, September 18, 2014
- 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Google Chicago (map)
- RSVP
September 19, 6:00 PM: Horace Mann Social Entrepreneurship Conference
Thank you so much to the Horace Mann School for inviting Eric to speak at their annual Social Entrepreneurship conference. Eric will be speaking to a group of 300+ high schoolers and their parents about the story of Citizen Schools, US2020 and the issue of the opportunity gap. For more information about the conference, please consult Horace Mann's conference webpage:
http://www.hmsocialentrepreneurshipconference.org
- Friday, September 19, 2014
- 6:00pm – 8:30pm
- Horace Mann School (map)
September 20, 5:00 PM: New Haven, CT Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts at the home of Laura Pappano and Tom Lynch in New Haven from 5-7pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 5:30), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Saturday, September 20, 2014
- 5:00pm – 7:00pm
- 21 Highland Street New Haven, CT 06511 (map)
- RSVP
September 24, 5:30 PM: Providence, RI Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Providence from 5:30-7pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 5:45), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding venue, RSVPs, and partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Wednesday, September 24, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:00pm
- Providence, RI (map)
September 25, 5:30 PM: Newark, NJ Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Newark at the Newark Public Library from 5:30-7:30pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:15), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Thursday, September 25, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:30pm
- Newark Public Library (map)
- RSVP
September 26, 7:00 PM: New York City Book Event
Due to the popularity of our first NYC event on 9/5, The Opportunity Equation book tour will be returning to New York on the 26th. Join Eric Schwarz for mingling, reflections on the book, Q&A and a chance to purchase a signed copy of the book!
- Friday, September 26, 2014
- 7:00pm – 9:00pm
- New York, NY (map)
- Venue TBA
- RSVP
September 29, 5:30 PM: Memphis, TN Book Event
Join Eric Schwarz and our group of hosts in Memphis from 5:30-7pm for mingling, a reading from the book (starting at 6:00), Q&A, and a chance to buy a signed copy of the book from a local bookstore.Details regarding venue and partnering bookstore to be announced soon!
- Monday, September 29, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:00pm
- Memphis, TN (map)
- RSVP
October 1, 5:30 PM: Atlanta, GA Book Event
Join Eric, the AmeriCorps Alumni community and other enthusiastic community hosts for the last stop on the month-long The Opportunity Equation book tour!
- Wednesday, October 1, 2014
- 5:30pm – 7:30pm
- Atlanta, GA (map)
- RSVP