Susan Schaeffler

Susan Schaeffler, KIPP DC's founding principal and CEO, is an award-winning teacher, teacher-trainer and school founder. Under her guidance, KIPP DC has grown from one school in 2001 to four current schools serving over 800 students. KIPP DC’s projected growth plan is to serve over 3,400 students in 10 schools in the next decade. In 2001, Mrs. Schaeffler founded KIPP DC: KEY Academy after being selected as one of three inaugural KIPP Fisher Fellows. The Fisher Fellows program is a highly competitive program endowed to train school leaders with the skills to establish KIPP Academies across the United States. Her fellowship consisted of intensive executive business training at the Hass School of Business in Berkeley, CA and months of on-site training at the original KIPP schools in the Bronx and Houston. Under Mrs. Schaeffler's direction, KIPP DC: KEY Academy quickly surpassed expectations.

In its first year of operation, KEY Academy students made larger score gains on the SAT-9 than any other D.C. public middle school. Students entered KEY Academy in 5th grade 2 to 3 grade levels behind, and left outperforming their grade level. KEY Academy's success has been commended by President George Bush, the former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Forbes magazine, and the Washington Post, among many others. In 2005, Mrs. Schaeffler became KIPP DC's Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, she leads KIPP DC's organizational expansion, serving more families while providing the highest quality education. Under her guidance, KIPP DC has opened three new campuses: AIM Academy middle school, WILL Academy middle school, and LEAP Academy early childhood school. The KIPP DC network of schools is the highest performing in the city, recognized by the Washington Post in April 2007 as “the most celebrated middle schools in the area.” In order to continue providing the best education to students in D.C., KIPP DC will open three more campuses in 2009 - Discover Academy early childhood school, Promise Academy elementary School, and KIPP DC: College Prep high school. KIPP DC has received numerous awards including, the U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School award, the National Title One Distinguished School award, the American Star of Teaching award, and the Kinder Excellence in Teaching award.

Prior to founding KIPP DC, Susan Schaeffler spent nine years in the classroom. In 1992, she began her teaching career as a Teach for America corps member at John Howard Elementary School in Baltimore, MD. Her extraordinary teaching ability was recognized the next year when she won Teacher of the Year. During her three years in Baltimore City schools, Mrs. Schaeffler taught all subjects in a self-contained, 4th grade classroom, started an inner-city youth soccer league, and won the Superintendent's “Enterprise Award” for innovative community-wide programs. Beginning in 1995, Mrs. Schaeffler taught at Shepherd Elementary in Washington, D.C. While at Shepherd, she taught sixth grade mathematics, was a grade level chair, and worked on the school's restructuring. Again her success was recognized when, in 2000, she won The Outstanding Educator in Washington, D.C. from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for innovative teaching methods in the area of mathematics. In that same year she also received the Washington Post Grant to bring “Shakespeare in the City” giving low-income areas access to Shakespeare productions.

In addition to her outstanding teaching skills, Mrs. Schaeffler is a qualified teacher trainer. She spent one year in rural Ethiopia working with the International Foundation of Education and Self-Help to train 180 new teachers at the Teacher Training Institute. She also spent two summers training and evaluating new Teach for America teachers. Her expertise in curriculum development and teacher training continue to be invaluable to KIPP DC and the Washington, D.C. community. Mrs. Schaeffler was named one of the Washingtonian’s 2007 40 under 40, was a finalist for the 2007 Washingtonian of the Year, and was one of the 12 Who Might Steal the Spotlight in 2007 by the Washingtonian Magazine. Mrs. Schaeffler earned a B.S. in human development and family studies from Colorado State University and an M.A. in Instructional Systems Design from the University of Maryland. Parents and community leaders continually laud Mrs. Schaeffler for her efforts in reaching underserved families and her belief that every child deserves a high-quality education.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Back