DC Prep competitors

Hilary Darilek, Chief Executive Officer, came to E.L. Haynes in November 2015 from DC Public Schools (DCPS), where she served as a Deputy Chief and led the Principal Effectiveness division. In this role, she oversaw the systems design and operationalization of the recruitment, selection, development, evaluation, and retention of school leaders for all 113 DC Public Schools. Her pioneering work in this role garnered national recognition. Prior to DCPS, Darilek served as Managing Director of the DC Program of New Leaders, a leading, national urban principal training program working with both the district and charter schools of the city. She began her career as a high-performing middle school math and science teacher in Baltimore, Maryland and as an education researcher at the RAND Corporation. Darilek holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from the College of William and Mary, a master’s degree in teaching from the Johns Hopkins University, a second master’s degree from the London School of Economics in applied mathematics, and an executive master’s degree in leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. In 2017, Hilary was selected for the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship and joined the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She is a Washington, DC native and committed to her work in service of the city’s students.

Susan Schaeffler is the founder and chief executive officer of KIPP DC. She oversees all school leadership and academic programming, and plays a direct role in supervising the performance of students, staff, and the KIPP Through College & Career program. As an inaugural Fisher Fellow, Susan founded KIPP DC KEY Academy in 2001 and has since guided KIPP DC’s growth into the highest performing PreK3-12 school system in Washington, D.C. with eighteen schools educating 6,800 students. Prior to founding KIPP DC, Susan spent nine years in the classroom, first as a Teach For America corps member in Baltimore, Maryland, where she earned Teacher of the Year honors. In addition, Susan spent a year in rural Ethiopia working with the International Foundation of Education and Self-Help to train 180 new teachers at the Teacher Training Institute. Susan earned her bachelor’s in human development and family studies from Colorado State University and master’s in instructional systems design from the University of Maryland. Under her leadership, KIPP DC was a Race to the Top District grant recipient, and have won national distinctions such as the Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon School Award and the National Title One Distinguished School Award.

Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the primary/secondary education industry. Skilled in Instructional Design, Public Speaking, Curriculum Development, Teacher Training, and Program Development. Strong business development professional with a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) focused in Education Administration and Policy Studies from The George Washington University.