In this episode of Chalk and Code, host Theron Davis is joined by Benjamin Welbourn, CEO of Schola, a Phoenix-based edtech platform helping families find the schools that fit them best. What began as a startup helping parents navigate school options has evolved into a full ecosystem, streamlining enrollment, managing community programs, and even using AI to help schools build stronger relationships with families.
Ben shares his own experience as a learner who didn’t feel at home in traditional classrooms, and how that journey shaped his commitment to personalized, student-centered education. From hiking the Appalachian Trail to launching Virto Education and now leading Schola, his story is one of building bridges between students, systems, and meaningful outcomes.
This conversation explores how school choice, AI, community engagement, and human connection intersect and what it takes to make education feel less like a system and more like a fit.
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About the guest

Benjamin Welbourn
CEO, Schola
Benjamin Welbourn is CEO of Schola, a Phoenix-based platform that helps K–12 families find schools that fit their needs while helping schools streamline enrollment, retention, and community programs. Schola runs family experience audits and family outreach, and recently added tools that help schools fund and manage extracurricular and enrichment programs. Before joining Schola, Benjamin co-founded Verto Education, a freshman-year-abroad college pathway program.
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