Greg Schermbeck Teaches, Serves, Creates, Innovates – and Education is Better for It
Written by Meg Seitz · Photography by Julia Fay
Greg Schermbeck thinks Charlotte has the resources and the people to be the most innovative city in the world for education. And – I gotta tell ya – I believe the guy. {continued below}
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Schermbeck graduated from The College of Wooster with a BA in Urban Studies and a minor in Economics; he moved to Charlotte shortly thereafter to teach science at West Charlotte High School for Teach for America. And he did it well. He was ranked in the 95th percentile for all teachers in North Carolina. 90% of his students passed the state Physical Science exam. He moved students two grade levels in just one academic year.
As much as he loved that process of education, he was equally frustrated by it. ‘It’ was the lack of high-quality education for all students, the idea that stale and stagnant tenure beat out real-time achievement, the politics and lip-service.
As much as he loved that process of education, he was equally frustrated by it. ‘It’ was the lack of high-quality education for all students, the idea that stale and stagnant tenure beat out real-time achievement, the politics and lip-service.
Where some would just throw up their hands, Schermbeck found the frustration inspiring.
After three years with TFA, Schermbeck felt inspired to try new things in education. He left Charlotte to support the team opening Nashville Prep Charter School in a low-income community in North Nashville.
“Opening a school from scratch in an under-resourced community or in a new community was really exciting to me,” he shared recently from Hygge’s Third Ward. The school opened with 100 5th graders. Today, Nashville Prep is a 5 to 12 high-performing, charter school. As they grow, they add 100 students and a grade level each year.
Following his M.Ed from Vanderbilt University, Schermbeck returned to Charlotte. He launched a firm that lives and breathes that which makes him tick – teaching, service, and innovation.
“Opening a school from scratch in an under-resourced community or in a new community was really exciting to me.”
That firm is SchermCo, a social impact implementation firm that drives innovation and education in schools and communities across the U.S. They’ve worked across over a dozen states since they launched in 2014. The firm has experienced great success in Charlotte. Most recently, the firm finished a parent engagement program that involved Ashley Park PreK-8 School and Movement School.
SchermCo’s natural feel for innovation runs both deep and wide; and, at the same time, it’s personal and approachable. They’re fresh and informed eyes committed to systems-wide change, respect for each student’s abilities to perform better when given the right opportunities, and layers of support designed to empower parents, families, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. They believe in good work and good people.
That’s all Schermbeck’s leadership.
Which ironically makes him one of the resources and people who can make Charlotte one of the most innovative cities in the world for education.
Meet the Author: Meg Seitz is the Founder and Managing Creative Partner of toth shop, an agency with one goal: Elevate your brand’s content through powerful writing, creativity, and strategy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor with Queens University and Founding Partner of the children’s book series, “Bea is for Business”.
She’s an English major with an MBA, so she can talk Homer’s “The Odyssey” just as well as she can talk sunk costs – though she’d much prefer the former.
Meet the photographer: Julia Murray, owner of Julia Fay Photography, feels most at home behind a camera with a story to tell on the other side. Her business began during her sophomore year of college, while majoring in radio and tv broadcasting. Now residing in Charlotte NC, she primarily shoots weddings and other local small businesses like her own. Her favorite part about her job is the connection it brings between art and people.
