1.

Your background o Your most significant professional accomplishment(s) o What key experiences have contributed to your commitment to education o How you came to your decision to become a system-level leader in education 2. Your plans o What you hope to achieve in your career as a leader in education o Where you see yourself in ten years Statement of Purpose (1500) On June 24, 2010, New Heights Academy Charter School in New York City graduated its first high school class. As I watched my former 9th graders walk across the stage and collect their high school diplomas, I realized that my decision to become a founding member of this charter school was the most important decision I had ever made. It was also one of the easiest. In February of 2006, I was a recent graduate of New York Universitys masters in education program. I attended a charter school job fair at Columbia University, fully ready to commit to the charter school ideals and missions. My excitement and passion for the charter school initiative slowly began to sink as each table I visited seemed to rely on the bells and whistles of their flashy computer logos and various corporate sponsorships. By the time I reached Stacy Winitt, I was programmed to ask, And who are you backed by? Ms. Winitt cocked her head to one side, her eyes twinkled with her understated humor, and she responded with: No one. I then realized that Ms. Winitt was seated behind a table with nothing on it but a few business cards and a handful of pamphlets. I immediately felt at home. Ms. Winitt and I went out to dinner later that week to discuss New Heights Academy Charter School. I learned that the school would begin its first year in September with a 5th and 9th grade and would eventually grow into a 5th through 12th school. They did not have a building. They did not have a staff. But they did have a clear vision, an approved charter, and the most intelligently dedicated woman I have ever met leading the charge. I left that dinner wanting to be part of the foundation of what I knew would become a successful school serving a population in dire need of another option in education besides their severely failing district schools. I believed in New Heights Academy, and I was overjoyed when Ms. Winitt believed in me. I became the first official hire of our school. It was clear that our building on 150th street and Amsterdam Avenue would not be ready for the first day of school on September 5, 2006. I thus spent the first three months of my teaching career in an old church space with nothing but a pack of magic markers, a flip chart, and a class set of novels. I somehow got my 96 9th graders to buy into their first year of high school English. We acted out the novel, we relied heavily on discussion and independent work, we argued and debated, and we free wrote and journaled often. By the end of that first year, we had a brand new space with a SMART board in every classroom,

and we looked back fondly on the days of that church space with nothing but a half wall separating English from math class. My most significant professional accomplishment was this past June 24th when I watched my first 9th grade class, the first class of New Heights Academy, graduate from high school. 87% of our seniors received a high school diploma, an immense achievement in New York City public education. As a founding member of what is now the largest charter school in New York City, the four years I have spent dedicated to the growth and evolution of our school is what has committed me to education. I have written my own entire curriculum, I have led numerous committees, I have run countless afterschool programs, and I have been consulted on policy decisions that have allowed our school to endure and succeed through growing pains. My unique experience in the forming and developing of a successful charter school as an unwavering dedicated teacher is what has opened my eyes to the career of becoming a system-level leader in education.