Dear Duke Ellington Family,

I hope that you enjoyed your summer and that you and your family have had an opportunity to relax and spend some quality time together. It is with immense pride and excitement that I write this letter as we continue our journey in the 2024-2025 school year. I am looking forward to having an opportunity to work with each of you and want to thank you in advance for your partnership in our shared cause -setting all our students on a path to college and career readiness. Our goal at Duke Ellington is to raise standards for our students’ work to equip them with the skills they will need to succeed in life.

Duke Ellington is an innovative and progressive school with a character education curriculum focusing on our mission to develop lifelong learners who embark on an ongoing, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. We are a school with an atmosphere of high expectations through strong partnerships with all school community stakeholders. Learning never stops for our scholars. We must be vigilant in keeping rigor high and motivating our students to be lifelong learners! I am honored to lead this charge with such committed, dedicated, and caring staff. I am grateful that we are all continuing or working towards this common goal.

I am excited and inspired by the work to be done. To succeed in college, in 21st-century careers, and in life, our students need to master basic skills—but they also need to learn to think creatively, solve problems, make effective arguments, and engage in debates. Each day, when I enter the school’s doors, I am encouraged that one day, our students will become doctors, lawyers, artists, mechanics, Olympians, or even teachers— and will have a profound impact on society.

The work we do is life-changing both for the students we serve and for each of us. I will start by thanking you for your daily commitment to our children. I am confident that our work in the classroom will result in richer instructional experiences and robust student learning. As a great equalizer, education has been less about where one comes from and more about where one is going. We have a chance to change the lives of our students, to develop and hone the necessary skills for them to compete and become productive members of society.
Thank you for everything you do for our children. I look forward to working closely with you for another impactful school year.