Meet Prep for Prep CEO, Ruth Jurgensen

What attracted you to this opportunity? 

I began my teaching career in 1996, the summer after finishing graduate school where I earned a degree in literature. Among my first students were Prep for Prep students, and as I was one of very few teachers of color and one of the only Black teachers, students of color were drawn to my classroom, my advisory, and any opportunity for students I led. Prep for Prep students stood out for their engagement in their learning, their desire to be leaders in the school community, and for their academic abilities. I loved seeing them participate with excitement in the classroom and take on the challenges of being in an independent school with unwavering confidence. I wanted to be like them, and work on their behalf. 

When I moved into administration, I was thrilled to be in the room that worked to admit Prep students, to work with their counselors (student advocates) when placed at LREI, and to graduate them, and see them head off to terrific college and university opportunities that further provided the runway from which they would soar. The experiences I had as an administrator at an independent school, particularly being an Associate Head of School for an independent school in Chicago, allowed me to take my appreciation and admiration for Prep students and the staff and combine it with professional experience which resulted in my appointment as CEO for which I am grateful, joyful, and humbled by.

What is your hope for future students, and how does your vision align with those hopes? 

My hope is that students who represent BIPOC communities are allowed the educational opportunities that reflect their abilities regardless of zip code, income, or background. Access to a quality education that provides the skills first, and opportunities second, needed to succeed on a trajectory that leads to higher education should be available to all kids. Yet we have seen systemically created and supported barriers to BIPOC students getting the opportunities needed to distinguish oneself, a lack of materials to even engage appropriately with core concepts, a lack of time allocated for learning, and now a pandemic that impacts students of color disproportionately, particularly in educational access and engagement. I am endlessly focused and passionate about identifying inequalities and what every person can do to care about educational access, and make a difference, being in conversation about the "playing field" and providing opportunities to expand who is in those conversations, ensuring teachers are included as true 'front line workers.' 

My vision for Prep students is that they  are prepared to participate confidently in every area of their school, learn early to align their choices with the vision they have for themselves, see themselves thriving in school and ultimately college or university, and, as they make their way through the resulting world of work and increase their opportunity and access, they make sure they pave the way for others.

How does your experience as an educator, administrator, and now CEO influence your views?

As a teacher first, I have enjoyed having the privilege of engaging with students talking about literature as equipment for living, and I have enjoyed weaving real life lessons into the teaching of literature. It was a really difficult decision to apply for a position in administration and have to relate to students in a different way, but I thought I would be able to translate my connection and vision for students school-wide, impacting more students and amplifying the culture of belonging at school. 

Prep for Prep is designed to identify opportunities for students of color through a comprehensive preparatory component, and placement in independent day and boarding schools.  This work has allowed us to see just how generation-changing a robust, rigorous educational opportunity can be. And our partner schools have abundant resources which translate into opportunity. Yet the populations that have historically had easy access to such schools have been exclusive and elite with educational opportunities for students of color inadequate and inequitable. As a woman of color, as a Black woman, educator and professional, and parent, I have to do something to change this.  It has become more and more essential that I spend my time solely focused on communities of color, and I feel humbled to be able to fulfill this goal.

What are the benefits of these partnerships and how do they work? 

I’d like to think there are more intellectually curious and gifted students than programs which support them. Working together to identify who these students are and set them on a path to continued engagement and opportunity should be the goal of every school. Being engaged with every student, knowing them well enough to provide pathways should be the goal of every educator. Unfortunately, resources and time are limited to do so despite the best intentions. And so Prep is here to help provide a pathway for students but it benefits us all to work to identify talented and intellectually curious students whether or not they become a part of our program. 

Prep for Prep serves as an option in an inequitable society and in an education system that has more to do than the time and resources allocated allows, despite having some of the most dynamic and diverse staff who are so important to the development of all students. The work of public and charter school teachers, staff, and administrators does not go unnoticed. I am particularly grateful as the parent of a child who attends public school. 

I have come to find that Prep for Prep is able, through our relationships with independent schools,  to better understand the ways in which we can develop programming  that further supports the great efforts of teachers in these spaces to reach all students, not just students who are recommended for Prep for Prep. We will continue to develop opportunities as we work with these schools. We sincerely care about all of the educational spaces we partner with.