Prep for Prep

Prep for Prep was founded in 1978 by Gary Simons, a public-school teacher in the Bronx,{{cite web|title=Prep for Prep: Spotlight on Education|url=http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/race_class/edu-melanie.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706044253/http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/race_class/edu-melanie.htm|archive-date=2009-07-06|accessdate=2008-11-12}} starting with 25 students from diverse and low-income backgrounds{{Cite news |date=1993-07-07 |title=Prep Schools and Minorities: A Place at the Table |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/07/education/prep-schools-and-minorities-a-place-at-the-table.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |issn=0362-4331}} and three teachers known as "Contingent I". During Prep for Prep's first year, eleven independent schools committed places for Prep students and 22 students matriculated from those schools. Within a year of inception, the acceptance rate had fallen to 12%.{{Cite news |last=Brozan |first=Nadine |date=1979-12-02 |title=Innovative Program Prepares Minority Pupils for Prep School; 300 Recommended, 37 Chosen |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/02/archives/innovative-program-prepares-minority-pupils-for-prep-school-300.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |issn=0362-4331}}

In 1988, Prep for Prep expanded its mission to independent boarding schools, launching a program known as "PREP 9" under the leadership of Peter Bordonaro.{{Cite news |last=Abdullah |first=Halimah |date=1997-07-16 |title=Class Notes |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/16/nyregion/class-notes.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-01 |title=Supporting Letter |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/4.6.21%20-%20Prep%20for%20Prep%20Letter%20for%20Clarke.pdf |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=United States Department of Justice}} PREP 9 helps the brightest and most hardworking minority students in New York City and the metropolitan areas of Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut prepare for success at leading independent boarding schools across the Northeast. The selection process begins in the 7th grade, when students apply to PREP 9 for entry into boarding schools in 9th grade. Space in the PREP 9 program is reserved for students who demonstrate very strong academic performance and high financial need, and as such, PREP 9 considers family income and financial assets as part of its application process.

In 1989, Contingent I students complete undergraduate studies,{{Cite news |last1=Carmody |first1=Deirdre |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1988-10-26 |title=EDUCATION; The Cream Of the Crop Gets a Lift To College |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/26/us/education-the-cream-of-the-crop-gets-a-lift-to-college.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |issn=0362-4331}} graduating from Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Northwestern, Oberlin, The University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton.{{Cite web |title=About Prep for Prep |url=https://www.prepforprep.org/about/about-prep |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Prep for Prep}}

In 2000, the Goldman Sachs Foundation granted Prep for Prep over $1mm to expand the organization’s program and prepare significantly larger numbers of high potential underrepresented youth for selective colleges.{{Cite web |title=Goldman Sachs {{!}} Press Releases |url=https://www.goldmansachs.com/media-relations/press-releases/archived/2000/2000-06-20.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Goldman Sachs |language=en-US}}

In 2002, founder Gary Simons was succeeded by Aileen Heffernan.

By 2011, over 1,000 Prep for Prep students had graduated from college. and by 2018, over the number had increased to more than 3,000 Prep for Prep alumni.

In 2020, the Board of Trustees selected Ruth Jurgensen to succeed Aileen Heffernan after 25 years leading the organization.{{Cite magazine |last=Cunningham |first=Vinson |date=March 2, 2020 |title="Prep for Prep and the Fault Lines in New York's Schools." |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/09/prep-for-prep-and-the-fault-lines-in-new-yorks-schools |magazine=The New Yorker}} In 2023, in partnership with advertising firm TBWA\Chiat\Day, Prep for Prep introduced a new slogan: "Success is Better Shared."{{Cite web |title=Prep for Prep {{!}} Success Is Better Shared |url=https://www.prepforprep.org/success-is-better-shared |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=www.prepforprep.org}}

Today, the Prep for Prep community includes over 3,500 students and alumni, having matriculated 45 contingents since inception. Each year, Prep for Prep hosts a charity gala called the "Lilac Ball" which is regularly attended by famous patrons.{{Cite web |last=Heyman |first=Marshall |title=The Lilac Ball, and Celebrating a Singer Who Couldn't Sing |url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lilac-ball-and-celebrating-a-singer-who-couldnt-sing-1465945310 |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=2015-06-09 |title=Scene Last Night: A-Rod, Teixeira, Blitzer, Narcisse, Sawhney |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-09/scene-last-night-a-rod-teixeira-blitzer-narcisse-sawhney |access-date=2023-02-24}}{{Cite web |date=2014-07-18 |title=SNAPS: Financial leaders raise more than $2M to fight cancer |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/20140720/ARTS/718009999/SNAPS%3A-Financial-leaders-raise-more-than-%242M-to-fight-cancer |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Crain's New York Business |language=en}}

Each year, a citywide "talent search" selects about 125 minority students, including 95 fifth graders and 30 sixth graders.{{Cite magazine |date=2020-02-29 |title=Prep for Prep and the Fault Lines in New York's Schools |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/09/prep-for-prep-and-the-fault-lines-in-new-yorks-schools |access-date=2023-02-24 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}} To qualify for recruitment, 5th graders must have a scaled score of 330 or above on the English Language Arts (ELA) test administered during their 4th grade school year, or have scored in the 90th percentile on any standardized reading test administered in that school year. 6th graders must have a scaled score of 335 (90th percentile) or above on the ELA exam administered during their 5th grade school year.{{cite web |url=http://www.prepforprep.org/prepforprep/talentsearch_prep.asp |title=Prep for Prep Web Site |accessdate=2008-11-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20040606075756/http://www.prepforprep.org/prepforprep/talentsearch_prep.asp |archive-date=2004-06-06 }} Applicants then undergo a series of interviews and further standardized testing to determine admission into the program. Fifth and sixth graders are admitted into Prep for Prep and earn spots at leading day schools in New York City.

Admitted students undergo a rigorous 14-month academic course known as the "Preparatory Component"{{Cite web |date=1998-09-30 |title=Prep for Prep |url=https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/Initiatives/OneAmerica/Practices/pp_19980930.6544.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=The White House}} before their sixth or seventh-grade year, which includes two intensive seven-week summer sessions and after-school Wednesday and all-day Saturday classes during the intervening school year. Courses range from History, Algebra, Pre-Algebra, Research, Latin, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Literature, Writing Conference, and Science, which includes biology, physics, and chemistry, Invictus, a sociology and psychology-based course, PIMAS (Problems and Issues in Modern American Society), term paper research, and newly added Computer Science in 2021. An average of 60 percent of students successfully complete this program and are placed in schools chosen from among three dozen leading New York City independent schools. These 36 schools commit places, especially for Prep for Prep students, and almost $12 million annually in scholarships. Throughout the program and past high school graduation, students also receive personal and academic counseling, college counseling, and career counseling, and participate in leadership and community development activities as well as parties and special trips for alumni.

The program continues to help the students post-college with placement into positions at prestigious firms such as Goldman Sachs, Google,{{Cite web |title=Build for Everyone - Google Careers |url=https://careers.google.com/stories/dale-allsopp-giving-back/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=careers.google.com |language=en}} and J.P. Morgan Chase{{Cite news |last=Bellafante |first=Ginia |date=2013-08-23 |title=A Chance at Learning |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/nyregion/a-chance-at-learning.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |issn=0362-4331}} through corporate partnerships designed to expand diverse talent pools on Wall Street, in engineering, and across business.{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Reed |title=These 4 young people are working to make Wall Street more inclusive by mentoring and empowering others |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/young-people-diversify-wall-street-lgbtq-inclusion-finance-2021-7 |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}

Prep for Prep day students are commonly placed at some of the nation's leading independent schools as Allen-Stevenson School, Berkeley Carroll, The Brearley School, The Browning School, The Buckley School, Calhoun, Chapin School, Collegiate, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, Dalton, Fieldston, Friends Seminary, Horace Mann, The Kew Forest School, Marymount School of New York, Nightingale-Bamford, Packer Collegiate, Poly Prep, Riverdale Country School, Rye Country Day School, Grace Church School, Sacred Heart, Saint Ann's, St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School, St. Bernard's School, Spence, Town, Trevor Day School, Village Community School, Hackley, Trevor Day, and Trinity School NYC.

PREP 9 boarding students commonly enroll at prestigious schools such as Choate, Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, Taft, Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, The Hill School, Loomis Chaffee, and Middlesex.

Prep for Prep works with students to help with placement into top-tier universities such as colleges in the Ivy League and NESCAC. Students have regularly attended Amherst College, Brown University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (including the Wharton School), Princeton University, Stanford University, Yale University.{{Cite web |title=Prep for Prep {{!}} College Guidance |url=https://www.prepforprep.org/program/college-guidance |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=www.prepforprep.org}}

Prep for Prep has had numerous notable people associated with the organization since its inception, including judges, attorney generals, actors, educators, entrepreneurs, and bankers.

The following people were students of the Prep for Prep or PREP 9 programs:

• Kimberley S. Knowles — Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia{{Cite web |date=2010-08-26 |title=Prep's First Judge Appointed |url=https://www.prepforprep.org/news-detail?pk=632322 |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Prep for Prep |language=en}}
• Kristen Clarke — Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice
• Darrin Henson — choreographer, dancer, actor, director and producer{{Cite web |title=Apple TV |url=https://tv.apple.com/us/person/darrin-dewitt-henson/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Apple TV |language=en-US}}
• Rob Brown — actor{{Cite web |title=Rob Brown throws touchdown with 'The Express' |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/rob-brown-throws-touchdown-express-article-1.301858 |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=New York Daily News}}
• Angela Yee — radio personality{{Cite web |last=Ogunsola |first=Jennifer |date=2018-04-03 |title=I Got A Story To Tell: Angela Yee Got the Juice |url=https://www.bkmag.com/2018/04/03/angela-yee-got-the-juice/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Brooklyn Magazine}}
• Jabari Brisport — activist and former public school teacher{{Cite web |last=Conn |first=Megan |date=2021-02-23 |title=Jabari Brisport Eyes Leadership Role on Families in New York Senate |url=https://imprintnews.org/politics/jabari-brisport-eyes-leadership-role-families-new-york-senate/51760 |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=The Imprint |language=en-US}}
• Amina Gautier — writer{{Cite web |title=2008 Annual Report |url=https://docplayer.net/9579860-Message-from-the-chief-executive.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Prep for Prep}}
• Naima Coster — novelist{{Cite book |last=Coster |first=Naima |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMjFAQAACAAJ |title=Halsey Street |date=2017 |publisher=Little A |isbn=978-1-5039-4117-5 |language=en}}
• Taha Abdul-Basser — Chaplin at Harvard University{{Cite web |title=Family Ties: 2015 Prep for Prep Annual Report by Prep for Prep - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/prepforprep/docs/pfp_2015_ar_web |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=issuu.com |language=en}}
• Evette Rios — television host

The following people have served on the faculty or as staff members at Prep for Prep:

• Eva Moskowitz — CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, former civics teacher at Prep for Prep{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=Alia |date=2017-09-22 |title=The Most Polarizing Education Reformer in New York City |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/09/the-education-of-eva-moskowitz/540690/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}

The following people have served on the Prep for Prep board as trustees or associate council members:{{Cite web |title=Associates Council |url=https://www.prepforprep.org/about/trustees--associates-council/associates-council |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=www.prepforprep.org}}{{Cite web |title=Board of Trustees |url=https://www.prepforprep.org/about/trustees--associates-council/board-of-trustees |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=www.prepforprep.org}}

• Arun Alagappan — Founder and President of Advantage Testing Foundation
• Jake Chasan – television personality known for Wahl Street{{Cite web |last=Yadav |first=Shweta |date=2023-07-21 |title=Wahl Street Season 3 Release Date: Is Netflix Giving Fans Another Season Of Their Beloved Show? |url=https://wbsche.org/wahl-street-season-3-release-date/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723005228/https://wbsche.org/wahl-street-season-3-release-date/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 23, 2023 |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=Wbsche.org |language=en-US}}
• James Cole Jr. — Deputy Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama{{Cite web |date=2013-06-10 |title=President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/10/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=whitehouse.gov |language=en}}
• Martin Lipton — lawyer, founding partner of law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz{{Cite web |last=vCard |first=Download |title=Martin Lipton |url=https://www.wlrk.com/attorney/mlipton/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=WLRK |language=en-US}}
• Daniel S. Loeb — hedge fund manager, Founder and CEO of Third Point Management{{Cite news |date=2013-05-14 |title=Third Point's Dan Loeb – shrewd trader from a young age |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2383fda2-bc6d-11e2-9519-00144feab7de |access-date=2023-02-24}}
• Harold McGraw III — CEO and Chairman of McGraw Hill Companies (now S&P Global){{Cite web |date=2014-10-01 |title=President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/10/01/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=whitehouse.gov |language=en}}
• John Vogelstein — venture capitalist at Warburg Pincus{{Cite web |title=John Vogelstein - Team - Warburg Pincus |url=https://warburgpincus.com/team/john-vogelstein/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=warburgpincus.com |language=en-US}}

• Gifted education
• Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO)
• Goldman Sachs Foundation — one of the major benefactors of Prep for Prep

• [http://www.prepforprep.org/ Prep for Prep Official Website]

Category:Education in New York City

Category:Gifted education