Thank You Karla Stallworth for 20 years with School 2 Career

Karla Stallworth never planned to get into education. And yet, she leaves behind a two-decade legacy of working with high school students as director of School 2 Career (S2C).

Ms. Karla, as her students called her, started her career as a bank officer. In the summer of 2001, she took some time away to find her passion and purpose in life.

A friend told her about a job opportunity at S2C, then a program of Breachmenders Ministries. Ms. Karla applied despite doubts that she was qualified to work with high school students.

Unsurprisingly, Breachmenders offered Ms. Karla the job. While she was mulling it over, a group of S2C students came to her home to help with yard work. She worked alongside them, to the surprise of one student. “Nobody has ever worked with us,” the student said. “You're the first person to talk with us when they send us out on these projects.” Ms. Karla took the job the next day.

In 2007, S2C became a program of OPDC when Breachmenders closed. “Coming to OPDC was huge for S2C—it allowed the program to grow.”

Ms. Karla redeveloped the S2C program, drawing on her time in banking and accounting. “In finance, you can't just jump to the end of the balance sheet—you need to ask yourself, ‘What are the steps? And how are you going to accomplish your goals?’”

An “honorary S2C student,” Ms. Karla was someone with whom the kids could identify: she attended an inner-city school, didn’t have parents who had experience applying for college, and lacked guidance for navigating the professional world.

“The students inspired me as much as I hoped to inspire them,” said Ms. Karla. “Getting to know them and seeing them grow was fulfilling. It's all about that 'aha' moment—the 9th grader who finally gets it.”

So what was S2C's biggest success story? Ms. Karla can't choose just one. “Success is still being written. The odds have been against our students from the beginning. Now, they’re determining their own path and definition of success. To see what they've accomplished and overcome has been incredible.”

The same can be said of Ms. Karla. Her uplifting legacy and curriculum will guide our work as we adapt OPDC’s youth programming to the changing educational landscape in Oakland.