Prep for Prep: Alumni and The Future of the Program

Hello All, I am glad that the dialogue has begun. I just wanted to add an item that greatly concerened me. For the past several years, I have served as an Alumni Interviewer. Several years ago, Prep 9 increased the number of students to the prepatory component without obtaining an increased admissions committement from boarding schools. What this means is that approximately 20 extra students students are admitted to Prep 9 then cut after the first summer, regardless of how they perform. I highly disagree with this practice for many reasons. I was told that this practice was implemented by the Board. I am not 100 percent sure if my facts are straight, but I have heard this from more than a few people and I want it to be added to the list of items discussed. I plan to attend the stratefic meetings and raise it. Thanks, Damaris

Happy Birthday Tammy! Prep for Prep is what it is because of you

Please keep this prep alumni parent up to date.

12 years ago Featured

Prep for prep is a institution build on education and reforming the inherent discrimination in the American educational system. Without Prep for prep I would not have been able to attend and graduate from a top boarding school and Ivy League university. It forged the leaders of the future. To eliminate those personnel who were instrumental in the development of this great institution is a travesty and reeks of corporatism which was never the intent of prep for prep.

Help me out. You want us to stop supporting prep because of the seal even though they reached out to us about it like Teacher said. What does Gary have to do with anything b/c he left a long time ago? And I heard that prep will soon have an alumni leadership board like the one I sit on at my college. I cant support this b/c I don't know what you want or why you are upset.

12 years ago Featured

Ditto for delmas three questions. What process will alumnus use to elect these individuals? How do we ensure that they are in fact a proxy for alums as opposed to a rubber stamp for the greater board? From my understanding our trustees have to raise a min fundraising target per year...perhaps we could pool our resources into a trust which will then form our electees contribution to the pot contingent on their election to the board?

Thank you all for bringing these changes to the attention of the wider Prep community. I respect that the intentions of this petition are genuinely motivated by a desire to bridge the perceived disconnect between alums and Prep. However, I have to agree with Yu Hu and Teacher on the need to formulate a few specific actionable requests. This is especially the case given the gravity of the actions you are asking of alums (withholding donations and boycotting events). As an organization, Prep has to balance the evolving demands placed on it as the alumni body continues to grow. Naturally, one generation of leadership will at some point have to step down while a new leadership takes the reins. If the concern is that this new leadership isn't hearing the voices of the alumni, then Teacher's suggestion of having an substantive alumni trustees with voting power on the board would make sense as a concrete first step.

12 years ago Featured

I am saddened to hear that Prep has continued to make decisions that seem to run counter to its mission. Losing long time and esteemed members of the community has shaken my faith in the leadership. It is my hope that they hear the voices of the Prep for Prep family and right the ship posthaste. I can remember the first time that I used "posthaste" in an essay in Mr. Rayhill's class. This is the type of indelible mark that Prep has left of most if not all of us.

I don't know why I didn't think of this first. Thanks guys.

Prep for Prep must maintain a strong, wise, and competent leadership to protect the integrity and strength of the program. I urge all to do whatever is necessary to keep those values in place!

We are Prep

This petition needs concrete action items desired from Prep's leadership. What specifically should Aileen and the trustees do? In what concrete manner can they recognize alumni/ae as important stakeholders that can influence such changes?

Have to agree w Delma & Yu Hu. What specific actions are we asking the CEO & Board to take with this petition? If we're threatening to withhold funds, what action could Prep take to satisfy our demands? Another tidbit, I'd have to disagree about the change to the design of Prep's seal. The petition is inaccurate. There were definitely efforts to include alumni input. In an email from Aileen, dated June 5, 2012, Ed Boland notes that two dozen alumni had been consulted on the re-design and invites ANYONE to email him with feedback. That sentence should be deleted.

This petition is inaccurate. Do not sign.

12 years ago Featured

Thank you for writing this petition. I’d love to understand the rationale and context behind the recent restructuring decisions. I support this petition for its call to transparency. When I think of Prep, I think of Peter Bordonaro and Tammy Smalls and the huge impact they’ve had on my life trajectory and identity. To that end, I’d love to have more information on the following questions: 1. Why was Tammy Small pushed out of her role? 2. Why won’t Peter Bordonaro play a substantive capacity within the organization? 3. What is the future of organizational culture at Prep?

12 years ago Featured

For many of us, Prep is a family and not a program. I recently asked a younger member of Prep who her advisors were and she could not remember. I was blown away. My advisors were my heroes. This is a sign of an untimely departure from something that was so central to so many of us, and is still the core of who I am today. I wholeheartedly support this reclamation and hope I can be a part of it #GFunksKids (XVIII)

12 years ago Featured

Here's a thought on what the petition could request: 3 Young Alumni Trustee seats. Full voting members of the Board who serve three year terms. One trustee could be voted in every year, with one rotating off every third year. It'd be a way to ensure a seat at the table for vested alums who don't have the deep pockets of traditional board members.