School was a refuge for Anthony Richardson as a child growing up in Lorain, Ohio. He never met his father, and his mother, who suffered from drug addiction, abandoned him when he was in fifth grade. He was homeless, bouncing between shelters and friends’ and relatives’ couches. But with the encouragement of teachers, he worked hard, made the honor roll, and had perfect attendance.
Now, having transcended those challenges, Mr. Richardson heads the Lorain Academic Distress Commission, created by the state to improve the city’s failing schools. He’s also a program officer at the Nord Family Foundation in nearby Amherst, where education is a key part of his work.
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