Imagine this scene: it’s August 2021 and in just a few short days, Prospect Schools, like so many other schools across the country, will reopen fully for inperson learning. 2,220 students and 400 adults are excited, nervous and a bit anxious after 18 months apart. Leaders have many questions about what the school year ahead has in store. Will any of our 6 schools need to close again due to COVID? What will it feel like going to school five days a week again? Will students readjust to learning in person after learning virtually for so long? And, most importantly, will my school feel like it used to?
As incoming CEO of Prospect Schools, I knew that in order to have a strong and successful year, we needed to be intentional about helping students and adults emerge from the disruptions and traumas of the previous 18 months and connect again as a community. During our first summer staff kickoff event with staff masked and gathered for the first time since the pandemic, I read from a beautiful piece by Carina Cortese. I used her metaphor of “dandelions emerging from concrete” to describe the hope I felt for our resilient educators, students and families. I then shared our rallying cry for the year: “Emerge. Connect. Grow.”
The 2021-2022 school year wasn’t easy and it certainly wasn’t perfect. But we did emerge, connect and set ourselves on a path for continued growth. We are deeply proud of everything our community achieved. Accomplishments on that list include:
• Our caring educators rallied to give students the kind of academic and social-emotional support they needed, and our students came back to the classroom and rediscovered the places, people and connections that sparked their curiosity and love of learning.
• 100% of our Class of 2022 high school seniors were accepted into at least one college or university (and many into several), with half of the cohort earning scholarships.
• Prospect Schools became the first charter organization in New York City’s history to successfully merge with another and welcomed International Elementary School’s 423 students and their families into our community.
• On state tests administered in 2022, our students performed on par with — and in some cases even better than — their pre-pandemic counterparts.
We are confident that Prospect Schools will continue to flourish and grow in the years to come, and we hope you believe so too. In this report you’ll learn more about all the ways our students and adults have emerged from hardship to rebuild our community of six schools, and how our network is poised to reach even more families across Brooklyn. Thank you for your support on the incredible journey ahead.
Warmly,
Tresha Ward CEO, Prospect Schools
Prospect Schools is a K-12 college preparatory community where excellent teachers prepare a diverse student body to have a positive impact on society and a lifelong passion for learning.
2,136 60%
6 Schools plus 2 opening in Fall 2023
18% 2% 32% Students of students identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
of students have identified special needs
of students are English language learners of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch
6
Average Years of teaching experience
415 60% Teammates of teammates identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
Develop sound judgment and intellect by asking questions confidently and thinking critically
Support others by grounding every action in empathy while championing equity & inclusion in our work
Succeed by approaching challenges with excitement, enthusiasm and self-assurance
Grow and learn by solving problems with determination, creativity and tenacity
Since our founding in 2008, we have been preparing students from different backgrounds to become citizens of the world through our International Baccalaureate (IB) academic program. Students in all grades have access to a curriculum that encourages critical thinking and an appreciation for other perspectives, culminating in the prestigious IB Diploma Program in 11th and 12th grade.
We serve students from the day they enter kindergarten to high school graduation and beyond. We work hard to prepare our students for every stage of their K-12 education journey and leverage the advantage of having more than one elementary and middle school to make sure students are learning consistently and teachers are working collaboratively with their counterparts at other schools.
Our inclusive approach means we meet students where they are in their education journey and create a personalized plan to help them thrive regardless of race, class or ability.
Because our student population is intentionally diverse, we strive to have no racial or socioeconomic majority in our student body and we care deeply about how we equitably meet the needs of all learners from every background.
We place a high value on student voice and helping students connect what they’re learning in class to real-world issues. Through our International Baccalaureate curriculum, students grow into critical thinkers who care about the world and people around them.
Students in Ms. Easton’s 8th grade science class at Windsor Terrace Middle School researched solutions to common environmental issues before teaching classmates about what they discovered. Some chose to focus on fast fashion, creating their own upcycled clothes, while another taught themselves to use 3D modeling software to design more sustainable stormwater management practices on the Gowanus Canal.
Brooklyn Prospect High School 9th grader Charlotte said of her 8th grade science project:
“It really influenced me and made me think so much more about our world. I’m so thankful I got that experience last year.”
Students around the world experienced dramatic learning loss during the pandemic and the summer of 2021 saw a surge in teacher turnover across the country. However retention at Prospect Schools remained strong and our educators took on the challenge of beginning to catch students up last fall, paying particular attention to our students’ academic and social-emotional learning needs.
Last year was probably one of my hardest in eleven years of teaching. Our students were struggling to readjust to what school looked like in a classroom, and we encountered many challenges from large academic and social emotional gaps. In order to support students and propel their growth, I had to think of the school year as a year of catching up and a year of moving forward, covering almost 2 years of learning in one.
Lusdymer Pichardo 3rd Grade Math Teacher, Downtown Elementary School
The kids are something else. They are bright, observant, loving, goofy, and eager to learn. Each day of school is a gift.
75% 75%
In 2022, 75% of Middle School students at Prospect Schools are proficient in English Language Arts, reflecting a 10% increase since 2019 based on the New York State exam
Brooklyn Prospect High School was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best High Schools” in 2021.
80+% 80+% staff retention in School Year 2021-2022 and School Year 2022-2023 (out of 400+ staff members)
$1,800 $1,800
Invested per student on social-emotional recovery, an increase of $300 per student from School Year 2020-2021. Social workers and guidance counselors provided individual support for students, alongside school-wide programming led by School Culture teams.
* Increase was due in part to a federal School Emergency Relief Funds grant
of the 111 students in the Class of 2022 were accepted into college or university
100% 100% 9 9 scholarships awarded (47 of them full scholarships!)
average number of college acceptances per student
51 51
I was born and raised here in Brooklyn, but I’m fully Mexican. I attended Prospect Schools starting in 6th grade. My parents chose to send me there because they felt I had better chances of succeeding. They felt it was the perfect school for me because it was small and in a much better neighborhood. Luckily, it was the perfect fit for me. I had friends of all races, classes and ethnicities. I don’t think I really appreciated that as much as I should’ve, especially now being in college where there is a lot less diversity. The diversity really made me want to strive to better my education and reach for jobs that maybe at one point seemed impossible. — Emmanuel
95%
Percent of Prospect Schools Class of ‘22 graduates who enroll in a 2- or 4-year college or university
63%
Percent of New York City Department of Education schools graduates Class of ‘19 who enroll in a 2- or 4-year college or university
Source: New York City Department of Education College Readiness 2022 Report*
*Class of ‘19 is the most recent available data for NYC
This is the Class of 2023’s year. Current seniors like Mohamed are busy preparing for a future beyond Prospect Schools. The son of Yemeni immigrants, Mohamed started at Prospect Schools in middle school. In addition to playing on the Brooklyn Prospect High School varsity boys soccer team, Mohamed is an International Baccalaureate Diploma candidate and a finalist for a scholarship from the Posse Foundation, a nonprofit that provides full scholarships to students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential. Mohamed plans to study pre-med in college.
One of the big projects we’re excited to launch is our alumni support program. Through surveys and focus groups, we’re gaining a clearer sense of the kinds of things our current students, alumni, and their families would find useful, such as college counseling, support for navigating financial aid, and professional networking. Based on this feedback, we are excited to roll out some offerings to current
seniors in the Class of 2023 this spring. Over the coming years, this alumni program will evolve as we adapt it to best meet the needs of our graduates. As an organization that serves a diverse student body, we know that the needs of our students and families vary greatly when it comes to alumni support, so our goal is for this program to be practically, personally and professionally meaningful for all.
Every day we are challenged to think about how we can tailor our program and our individual counseling services to best meet the unique and varied needs of our diverse population. Our students enter our community from an incredibly wide range of experiences and resources, but are equally able to leave our walls equipped with concrete options for their future.
Enuma Menkiti Director of College, Brooklyn Prospect High School
In the fall of 2021, Prospect Schools completed a successful merger with International Charter School (ICS). Renamed International Elementary School (IES), the K-5 community of 423 students became our third elementary school. Prospect Schools was the first charter organization in New York City to merge with another, enabling us to grow significantly in just one year despite statewide restrictions on new charter applications.
Simone Narow joined ICS when her twins were in kindergarten six years ago. She and her husband were unhappy with the lack of racial diversity in their local elementary schools and sought another option: “It was like no one from the neighborhood went to the school. I wanted more diversity because I’m Black and my husband is white.” Simone said.
When the time came for her school to become part of Prospect Schools in 2021, Simone and fellow parents were excited about the change: “The schools had similar values and the merger has allowed our kids to continue learning within the little community that they had already formed.”
In fall of 2022, Simone’s twins matriculated to Prospect Schools’ Clinton Hill Middle School. Simone’s family has benefitted from our K-12 network and the sense of continuity students can have going into middle school. She adds: “We were very excited about not having to go through the race for middle school applications.”
Because of the merger, Prospect Schools has been able to provide families like Simone’s an opportunity to keep their child(ren) in a community they love while opening doors to a full K-12 pathway to college and beyond.
+14%
+16% +16%
2006
The vision for Brooklyn Prospect Charter School came to life.
2009
Windsor Terrace Middle School opens with 100 6th graders
2013
Downtown Elementary School opens, marking the beginning of elementary programming
2018
Prospect Schools officially forms as a network
2020
Windsor Terrace Elementary School opens
2008
State University of New York awards a charter to Brooklyn Prospect Charter School
2012
Brooklyn Prospect High School opens
2016
Clinton Hill Middle School opens in the fall; in the spring, the first class of seniors graduates from Brooklyn Prospect High School
2019
Prospect Schools celebrates 10 years of operation
2021
International Elementary School joins the Prospect Schools family, in the first successful merger of its kind in New York City
We have plans for our 6 schools to grow to 8 in the fall of 2023. Adding a new elementary and middle school to our network will allow us to bring our world-class education to more students who need it and it will strengthen our K-12 feeder pattern.
COMING SOON!
3rd Middle School. Grades 6-8, with capacity for 345 students
COMING SOON! 4th Elementary School. Grades K-5, with capacity for 507 students
By 2031 we hope to serve nearly 4,000 4,000 students, up from 2,200 in School Year 2022-2023
By 2025, Prospect Schools will become the leading network of intentionally diverse schools where all students and adults can learn, work and thrive.
Continue strengthening our program in the years following COVID
Deepen the relationships and sense of community that exist at Prospect Schools
Position Prospect Schools, its students, alumni, and employees for future growth and impact
Fortify the systems and structures that will enable us to become an enduring institution
As we look toward a year of growth, Prospect Schools remains committed to fiscal prudence to ensure sustainability and high-quality programming for every school we operate.
With the gift of hindsight, we can see clearly just how much Prospect Schools accomplished in the 2021-2022 school year. Those accomplishments were brought to life in the pages of this Annual Report and, when viewed as a whole, form a remarkable snapshot of our organization. Prospect Schools is thriving and last year was filled with many meaningful milestones.
But looking at these achievements individually brought a different kind of picture into focus: that of our people. This report told the story of Prospect Schools by telling the stories of our students, educators, and families. In more ways than could possibly be recounted here, the people of Prospect Schools pulled together in 2021-22 to bring our community into a new era, one shaped by the pandemic and led by a new Chief Executive Officer, Tresha Ward.
As the current and former leaders of the Prospect Schools and Brooklyn Prospect Boards of Trustees, we have great faith in the future of this ever-resilient community and we are excited to have you alongside us for the journey.
Thank you for your support.
Our two governing boards — Prospect Schools (PS) and Brooklyn Prospect Charter School (BPCS) Boards — play distinct roles in supporting our network of schools. The PS Board determines the long term strategic direction of the organization in coordination with CEO Tresha Ward and positions us for future success. The role of the BPCS Board is to ensure that our schools are achieving their mission and making continuous improvements to school programs.
All current board members come with years of experience working in education or related fields that support the mission of our organization. Board members also bring expertise in the areas of academics, finance, real estate, law and organizational growth strategy. Three members of the BPCS Board are school parents.
Gravelle Pierre, Chair
Maya Petrocelli, Secretary
Juliet Cullen-Cheung
Sara Keenan
Sam Koch
Angela Kurzawa
Michelle Ramirez
Sagar Desai
Joanne Garce-Rodriguez
Christine Burke (until June 2022)
Jill Inbar (until June 2022)
Ahmed Haque, Chair
Kate Eberle Walker, Treasurer
Penny Marzulli, Secretary
Stephen Bailey
Elizabeth Varley Camp (until June 2022)
Jennifer Benn (until June 2022)
Kevin Mole (until June 2022)
In 2022 we tragically lost Prospect Schools parent and Brooklyn Prospect Charter School board member Michael Echenberg. He was a dedicated father, husband and ardent supporter of Prospect Schools and will be dearly missed by all whose lives he touched.
Thank you to our incredible community of Prospect Schools individual donors. With your tremendous support, our schools were able to fund the expansion of extracurricular programming, provide financial assistance and scholarships for elementary afterschool, and host community building initiatives.
We offer sincere gratitude to our generous foundation partners, Bloomberg Philanthropies (through Summer Boost NYC), the Charter School Growth Fund, The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. Together these partners have enabled Prospect Schools to grow our network and serve more families while helping us make sure all students, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, excel in school.
Want to support or get involved? Reach out to info@prospectschools.org
Online at prospectschools.org/give –
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