For more than two decades, Deneen McDonald has been shaping futures through education, guided by a deep belief in opportunity and access. As a longtime NFTE educator, she brings entrepreneurship and financial literacy to life—helping students build the skills and confidence to take control of what comes next.
What inspired you to become an educator—and what keeps you passionate after all these years?
Growing up, my father always took me and my siblings to all the museums and monuments in DC and he’d always pressed upon us the importance of knowing our history, especially African-American history. Those words and many life lessons as a child stayed with me, so I felt like it was my calling to be an educator. I attended two HBCUs for my undergrad and graduate degrees and have been a middle school teacher at the same school for 26 years. In addition to knowing and understanding what’s come before us, what keeps me motivated all these years later is that although we can’t control what’s happening around us or in some ways to us, we CAN control how we prepare for our futures through education.
How did you first get involved with NFTE, and what drew you to entrepreneurship education?
I was introduced to NFTE in 2012 by my former principal, Corey Basmajian. At the time, I was amazed watching students learn about different types of businesses, travel to New York to shop in wholesale districts, and bring products back to school to launch retail pop-up shops.
When he became an administrator, I jumped at the chance to become a certified NFTE instructor. I loved everything about it, especially the resources and tools provided to teach the course. I fell in love with the Owning Your Future curriculum because it offers a blueprint for students to take control of their futures through entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
In 2014, I was named Baltimore City NFTE Teacher of the Year, and one of my students won the regional competition. I was later honored as NFTE’s Global Teacher of the Year in 2018, and my seventh-grade students have reached the national competition every year since. NFTE is my passion.
Why is financial literacy such an important focus for your students?
When I think about the financial literacy knowledge I gained in life, it didn’t come from the classroom—and certainly not in middle school. I learned through real-life experiences as an adult, and I have no doubt I’ve lost thousands of dollars in the process.
That’s why this work matters so much to me. Through NFTE and platforms like EverFi, Banzai, and Junior Achievement, students learn essential skills—how to balance a checking account, calculate net income and net worth, understand cost of goods sold, and determine break-even points.
These are real-world skills that will carry them far beyond my classroom. I also enjoy helping students understand how to pay for college through service learning and scholarships, and how to value their time—especially when calculating labor costs in their business plans. In my opinion, there’s no success in writing a business plan without that foundation in financial literacy.
What do you hope your students take with them long after they leave your class?
I want my students to know that even if they don’t become entrepreneurs, they are leaving with skills that will empower their futures. They’ll feel more confident taking risks, collaborating, speaking in front of others, and solving problems.
Most importantly, they’ll understand that failure is part of the process. Some of the greatest life lessons come from those moments. They’ll know they own their futures—in large part because they succeeded in a NFTE course I was lucky enough to teach.
Three words your students would use to describe you:
Challenging. No-nonsense. Passionate.
A mantra you live by:
There is no child I cannot reach. Sometimes students just need a reason to be in school—and at least one educator who believes in them and is willing to go to any length to ignite that spark.
In McDonald’s classroom, that spark is lit every day—and its impact will be felt long after her students move on.