Dear Friends,
When we founded the first Prospect school over a decade ago, we had a humble vision in mind: to build a school that would serve a diverse student body and be known for its excellent teachers and strong academics. We set out on that journey never anticipating that our school would grow to five or that our founding team of educators and families would expand into such a dynamic community with much to be proud of. To say that we are grateful for what Prospect Schools has become would be an understatement.
It is with this gratitude that we plan for the future of our organization. After deep contemplation and reflection, we believe it’s time for new leadership to guide Prospect Schools to our next chapter. We write to share with you today that this school year will be our last as CEO and Deputy CEO of Prospect Schools. Both of us are embarking on new chapters in our lives: Dan will move to Beijing with Melanie, Celia, and Morton to become the Head of School for the International School of Beijing, while Penny is retiring after 14 rewarding years to spend more time with her first grandchild, Charlotte Penelope.
Our goal in making this announcement now is to allow enough time for a smooth and successful transition. At the same time, we know there are many immediate challenges facing our community, and we are fully committed to continuing to lead our network through them. The Prospect Schools Board is launching a national search to identify the next leader of Prospect Schools and the process will include opportunities for community input. We strongly believe it is time for the senior leadership of Prospect Schools to be more diverse and will be advocating for that as much as we can. Please read the letter from our Board Chairs, Kate Eberle Walker and Jill Inbar.
Prospect Schools is ready for this change. We laid its foundation; now it’s time for new leadership to build upon that work and keep moving us forward. We believe the organization we’ve built together with all of you is incredibly strong and we share enormous confidence in the future of Prospect Schools. Our network leaders, Principals, and school leaders have extensive expertise and their commitment to our core values of curiosity, care, persistence and passion will guide the entire team as they work to shape Prospect Schools in the years ahead.
We are intensely proud of every student, teacher, leader, team member and family who has walked through our doors over the years, and we are confident in the future of Prospect Schools because of the combined strength and dedication of our team. You are the glue who holds our community together and your spirit, energy and passion for learning make our schools the special places they are. We stand in awe of how our Ops leaders have guided us through the pandemic and the systems they’ve built to gracefully provide space for teaching and learning. Our school culture teams are unmatched in their commitment to the wellbeing of our students, emotionally, academically and physically. Our Prospect Professionals have persisted through unfathomable challenges to give our students and families the high quality education they deserve. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
With love, respect, and friendship,
Daniel Kikuji Rubenstein | Co-Founder & CEO, Prospect Schools
Penny Marzulli | Deputy CEO, Prospect Schools