La traducción al español está a continuación.
The following message is from Mike Rosskamm, DCI's new Interim Executive Director.
Dear DCI Community,
I feel so fortunate to join you all at DC International School. My family and I are thrilled to be moving down to DC from Brooklyn and to be joining such a vibrant community. My partner and two kiddos (5 and 6 ¾) are both eager to learn more about DCI though are potentially already sick of hearing too much (“Dad! You already told us that!”).
I am still getting to know DCI, but the incredible spirit of the organization has been abundantly clear from the minute I walked through classrooms and hallways for the first time a few weeks ago. Those of you I met were warm, kind, and absolutely in love with the unique mission and approach of the school. It is exactly this mission driven, collectivist community that my family and I were hoping to find in a move down to DC. We can’t wait to meet you all.
By way of introduction, I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland as the second of four boys in a well off Jewish family. My family’s origin story, however, starts with my grandmother, Oma, who fled Nazi Germany as a 12 year old girl and came to this country with her family and not much else. She married my grandfather, also a recent German Jewish immigrant, and started a company that with luck and hard work became successful. Our family lived the “American Dream” and that was the ethos under which I was raised. It wasn’t until I went to college that I understood that the Dream I envisaged was uniquely available to certain people in our society because of systemic racism.
It has been through my family's story that I have realized my purpose in life is to be an educator and to support people, especially children, in becoming the best versions of themselves while establishing the conditions for them to live out their own Dreams. I bring those mindsets with me to the work at DCI and will be honored to be in partnership with each of you.
For the last 11 years, I have been at Achievement First, a Charter Management Organization of 40+ schools, where I have been a Middle School Principal, Regional Superintendent and Network Leader (but I got my start as a HS Math Teacher in a NYC public school). I have loved that work and I am now eager to continue it in the more intimate setting of DCI. In addition, I am particularly motivated to pursue an approach that centers on multiculturalism, integrated disciplinary learning, and constant reflection as cornerstones.
As the Interim Executive Director, I have a lot to learn about DCI and plan to spend a lot of time in group and individual conversations with you all to learn more about your aspirations for the organization and any advice you have for me in my new role. I can’t wait to hear your answers to these questions and others: What are the best parts about DCI? What could be even better? If you had a magic wand and could change one thing, what would it be (I love that one)? Just as importantly, however, I want to get to know you all as people as I strongly believe that a community is made up of the individuals and relationships within it.
Thank you for creating and sustaining such a wonderful community and thank you in advance for your kindness, candor, and feedback as I take on this important role. It will be impossible for me to step in and fill Mary’s shoes - and yet I’m optimistic that with your support, we can build off of the work she has led and continue to move DCI forward in exciting and powerful ways.
Sincerely,
Mike Rosskamm