Biography
Ron Fairchild is a nationally known expert on high-quality summer learning programs for children. He is currently the president and CEO of the Smarter Learning Group. Fairchild served as the founding CEO of the National Summer Learning Association and the executive director of its predecessor organization, the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University from 2002 to 2010.
Under Fairchild’s leadership, the National Summer Learning Association grew from a local program to a national intermediary organization working with a 50-state network of more than 5,000 summer learning providers that collectively serve more than 2 million children and young people annually. His earlier positions as the director of education programs for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and as education associate with the Public Education Network helped him see the breadth of organizations that could provide wonderful learning opportunities for children.
“Teaching was the hardest job I’ve ever done,” says Fairchild of the three years he spent as a classroom teacher. He also saw that the light bulb that comes on in the learning process is much more likely to stay on with help from outside the classroom.
Fairchild holds a B.A. in political science and history, and a Master of Education from Vanderbilt University. He lives near Baltimore with his wife and two sons.
Fairchild appeared as an expert in the Reading Rockets webcast, Summer Reading.
