Update Sent to the KIPP DC Community on July 11, 2022:
I’m writing today to share a disappointing update about KIPP DC’s next president. Dr. Lin Johnson has let us know that he is unable to fulfill his commitment and will not be joining the KIPP DC team as president later this summer for personal reasons. I wanted to pass a long a brief note he shared with us:
I’m sorry to share that I regretfully will not be able to join the KIPP DC team as President this fall. I’ve decided to withdraw my acceptance of the role. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make because it is a very personal decision. Unfortunately, I will be unable to balance my family’s needs right now with the attention, focus, and dedication that KIPP DC students, families, and educators deserve in their next President. Throughout the selection process, I was so energized to meet many incredible educators, leaders, parents, and community partners in the KIPP DC community, and your work profoundly inspires me. Please know that I am rooting for you as you head into the new school year, and I have great faith that you will continue to do remarkable things with the students of Washington, DC.
This is unfortunate news but we want to respect the difficult decision Lin had to make. I am confident that we’ll be able to find another incredible leader to step into the president role and am excited to continue to meet with the amazing leaders that want to call KIPP DC home.
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Original Announcement on June 16, 2022:
Over the past few months, we worked with an external executive recruiter who has deep ties to our local community and KIPP DC to conduct thorough engagement with staff members, board members, and advisors to define the candidate profile, job description, and selection process for our next president. We received applications from more than 100 candidates from a national pool with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. We conducted a rigorous selection process including multiple rounds of interviews, a performance exercise, school visits, and conversations with parents, teachers, principals, headquarters leaders, and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Coalition members.
We are thrilled to share that Dr. Lin Johnson III has accepted our offer to be KIPP DC’s next president! Lin comes to KIPP DC with more than 18 years of experience in education leadership, community engagement and responsiveness, and finance and business operations for high-performing schools. This spring, he earned a doctorate of education leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and most recently served as a K-12 Education Program Officer at the Charles & Helen Schwab Foundation and as the Deputy Superintendent of Finance and Business Operations of Shelby County Schools, the largest school system in Tennessee. Prior to that, he worked at the Tennessee Department of Education, the DC Public Charter School Board, and Standard & Poor’s. In addition to his doctorate from Harvard, Lin holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, an MBA from MIT Sloan of Management, and a BA in economics from Reed College. He currently lives in Chicago, but will be relocating to DC with his family this summer. Lin will step into the role in mid-August.
I asked Lin to share a couple of reflections about why he’s excited to join the KIPP DC team, and here’s what he had to say –
More than ever, we cannot relent and adjust to an environment of inequities, injustices, and low expectations for our students. We must re-engage our students, families, and educators; re-invigorate excellent learning; and reimagine the student experience. I know that our collective knowledge, expertise, and talents will write the next chapter of progress because we will be focused on equity, academic excellence, and our students collectively.
This year has been filled with many challenges and many bright stars. Kudos to each of you and your resilience in guiding our students toward realizing their potential and full self. I’m ecstatic to collaborate with you and be committed to equity, academic excellence, and most importantly our students and families together.
We are excited to welcome Lin to the KIPP DC team and family!
Cheers,
Susan
Susan Schaeffler
Founder & Executive Director
KIPP DC Public Schools
