About
Detroit Prep is a free public charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade students.
Detroit Prep exists to provide a world-class, equitable education that will give all students a foundation of academic excellence and character development while fostering a love of learning and passion for exploring and fulfilling their extraordinary potential as learners, leaders, and world-changers.
Detroit Prep is proudly located on the east side of Detroit in Pingree Park. We opened our doors in 2016 with 40 kindergarten and first graders. We’ve grown a grade level every year and currently serve 450 students in kindergarten through 8th grade.
We are so grateful for the students, educators, families, and community members who make Detroit Prep such a special place.
Detroit Prep’s work is urgent and focuses on holistically educating each student. Our work is guided by these four principles:
Our work is active.
We learn by doing and getting our hands dirty. Students are scientists, urban planners, historians, and activists, investigating real community problems and collaborating with peers to develop creative, actionable solutions. Adults are active guides of student learning and active members of their professional learning community.
Our work is inclusive and equitable.
Students and adults celebrate the diverse backgrounds of their peers. School leaders work to recruit and attract a population of families and faculty that represents different socio-economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.
Our work is excellent.
Students at all levels are pushed and supported to do more than they think they can. Excellence is expected in the quality of their work and thinking. School leaders, teachers, students, and families share rigorous expectations for quality work, achievement, and behavior.
Our work is reflective.
Students and adults reflect as they triumph and as they stumble. Students and adults offer direct and sensitive feedback to their peers. Trust, respect, responsibility, and joy in learning permeate the school culture.
Meet the Team
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Jen McMillan | Co-Founder & Head of School
Jen McMillan is honored to be the Head of School, alongside the best team ever! As second grade teacher at Detroit Achievement Academy, our flagship school, Jen led her students to 2.22 years in reading and the 99th percentile for growth nationally in both reading and math. Jen was named Michigan Charter School Teacher of the Year in 2015. Born and raised in metro-Detroit, Jen spent seven years in the San Francisco Bay Area teaching high school and middle school, and working in teacher support and development with Teach For America and The New Teacher Project. She earned her BA in Psychology from Harvard University in Massachusetts and her Masters in Education from Alliant International University in San Francisco. Jen loves the environment of constant learning at DP (for kids and adults!), nurtured by our partnership with EL Education--being with our crew brings so much JOY! In her free time, Jen likes running, reading, doing yoga, eating ice cream, and drinking lots of coffee. You can often find her doing all of these things with her husband while snuggling her two baby boys!
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Sarah Paone | Interim Head of School
Sarah is really excited to be a part of the Detroit Prep crew as Director of Primary for another year! Sarah is one of Detroit Prep's founding teachers! She earned her BS in Elementary Education in 2011 from Central Michigan University. She majored in English Language Arts and double minored in Child Development and Elementary Education. She has her Masters in Educational Leadership from Grand Valley State University. Prior to becoming an administrator at Detroit Prep, she taught in kindergarten - 2nd grade classrooms for eight years. Sarah is excited to motivate students to become engaged and excited about their learning experience, and support teachers along the way.
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Ryen Odom | Director of Elementary
Ryen is thrilled to be returning to the Detroit Prep Crew as Director of Elementary for another transformational year. She graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor in 2014 with a BA in Psychology and Women’s Studies. After graduating she joined Teach for America and has been teaching since. She is also a TFA Detroit Leads Fellow. As she embarks on her 10th year in education, she is excited to continue inspiring students and educators to achieve their wildest dreams. Ryen also holds a Master’s of Education in Community Health Education and an Education Specialist Certificate in Administration and Supervision (K-12) from Wayne State University. She is also currently pursuing her Doctorate of Education in Education Leadership and Policy Studies also at Wayne State University. When she’s not working, she’s cooking or binge watching shows on Netflix. Ryen loves to workout, cook, grill, travel, shop, and spend lots of time with her family and friends and two dogs Jackson and Dakota. She also really enjoys game nights with family and friends.
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Mallory Fiske | Director of Upper School
Mallory Fiske (she/her) feels so lucky to be the Director of Upper School for another year! She has 14 years of experience teaching high school and working in teacher coaching & development. Mallory holds a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a Master’s degree in Education Policy & Leadership from Stanford University. When she’s not at Detroit Prep, Mallory enjoys reading, spending time with her family, and trying (unsuccessfully) to clean up her children's Legos.
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Ms. Candace | Interim Director of Primary
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Ms. Stephanie | Kindergarten
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Ms. Paige | Kindergarten
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Ms. Deondra | Kindergarten
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Ms. De'zha | First Grade
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Ms. Chanelle | First Grade
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Ms. Jackie | First Grade
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Mrs. Rebecca | Second Grade
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Ms. Emily | Second Grade
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Ms. Isabella | Second Grade Long Term Substitute
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Ms. Alexis | First & Second Grade Long Term Substitute
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Ms. Kyla | Third Grade
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Ms. Gloria | Third Grade
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Ms. Candice | Third Grade Specialist
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Ms. Abbey | Fourth Grade
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Ms. Desirae | Fourth Grade
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Ms. Ika | Fourth Grade Long Term Substitute
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Mr. Ben | Fifth Grade
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Ms. Susan | Fifth Grade
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Mr. Charles | Sixth Grade
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Ms. Jillian | Sixth Grade Math
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Ms. Campbell | Sixth Grade Specialist
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Ms. Coe | Seventh Grade Math
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Ms. Vicky | Seventh Grade ELA
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Ms. Johari | Eighth Grade Math & High School Transition
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Mr. Nate | Eighth Grade ELA & 4-8 Specials
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Ms. Darcie | Special Education
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Mrs. Kyle | Special Education
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Ms. Briana | Social Work
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Mrs. Aly | Social Work
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Ms. Demetria | Kindergarten-Second Grade Assistant & Substitute
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Ms. Keri | Fourth-Eighth Grade Science
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Ms. Jillian | Art
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Mr. David | Music
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Ms. Alyce | STEAM
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Ms. Nia | Dance
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Ms. Erin | Expert Guest Teacher
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Mr. Chad | Operations Manager
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Mr. James | Operations
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Ms. Natasja | Operations
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Mr. Miller | Lunch Aide
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Kyle Smitley | Co-Founder & Executive Director
Kyle Smitley is the Founder and Executive Director of Detroit Achievement Academy and Detroit Prep, both of which are small, incredible nonprofit charter school communities opened in 2013 and 2016, respectively. Kyle manages the schools' budgets, partnerships, fundraising, and all things external. Kyle's previous experience is in business, where in 2009 Inc. Magazine named her among the 30 Coolest Entrepreneurs Under 30 and Forbes named her a Top Ten Entrepreneur to watch. She earned her JD in 2019.
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Alexa O'Brien | Chief Operating Officer
Alexa is proud to be the COO of the Detroit Achievement District! She moved from Atlanta to Detroit in 2013 to begin her teaching career. After five years in the classroom, she began working at Detroit Prep as an Academic Interventionist in 2018, and soon shifted onto the Network Team. She has her Masters in Education, holds an Ed. Leadership certificate, and raises her two kids just a few miles from Detroit Achievement Academy with her husband.
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Brigette Wright | Director of Development
After living in Texas and Colorado, Brigette is so happy to be back in Michigan as a Detroit resident! After working for Playworks, she joined the Detroit Prep Crew in 2020 as their fitness teacher before transitioning to the Network Team to focus all of her energy to fundraising. In her spare time, she loves to dance and go on walks with her weiner dog named Dave.
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Ms. Jess | Projects Assistant
Our School Board
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Lewis Butler earned his BS in Economics from Hillsdale College, and his MA in Economics from George Mason University while working at the Mercatus Center, a DC based think tank. While there he worked on various topics, including, small business access to capital, midnight regulations, and governmental transparency. He has done political consulting and is currently teaching economics at Hillsdale College. Outside of economics, he enjoys running, tamales, and consumer technology.
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Jared Stasik is Vice President at Detroit Venture Partners, an investment firm focused on growing high-tech startup companies in Detroit. Prior to DVP, Jared spent five years as a consultant at ZS Associates, a leading global consulting firm in sales and marketing strategy. He earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley, graduating with high honors and receiving the distinction of Most Outstanding Graduate Instructor. He completed his Bachelor’s degree from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
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Sarah Beaubien graduated magna cum laude from Siena Heights University with a BA in English Communications, and earned her law degree by graduating cum laude from the University of Toledo College of Law. After completing law school, Sarah was admitted to the bar in Ohio and Michigan. Sarah is currently an associate and Rohrbachers, Cron, Manahan, Trimble & Zimmerman Co. L.P.A. in Toledo, Ohio, where she focuses her practice on civil defense and business litigation matters. In her spare time, she is the varsity softball coach at St. Mary Catholic Central in Monroe, Michigan, and is active in the Toledo Bar Association.
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Gregory M. DeMars, CFA is a Chief Financial Officer for middle-market technology companies, primarily in cyber security, marketing technology, and financial technology. He lives in Grosse Pointe Woods with his wife and two children. He earned an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and a BS from the University of Dayton. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
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Lenora Hanks was born and raised in the Detroit area and attended the University of Michigan, earning degrees in French and Political Science. She went on to an 11 year career in Democratic politics, working on both of President Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, and helping to lead Hillary Clinton's 2016 primary campaign as as an early staffer in Iowa. Following the 2016 campaign, she became the COO and Finance Director of Serve America PAC, a political organization that helped recruit leaders with national service and military backgrounds to run for office in 2018, and supported their campaigns strategically and financially. She recently left politics to join her family business - The Associated Management Company, which was founded by her grandfather on the East Side of Detroit in 1970 with a goal of providing quality affordable housing to the people of Metro Detroit. Aside from politics and real estate, Lenora is passionate about 90's hip hop and R&B and every dog she's ever encountered.
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Trevor Duke works as a Property Manager in Farmington Hills, at the Thomas Duke Company. Trevor attended Hillsdale College, and majored in Economics. After graduating, Trevor co-founded a few small businesses before returning to Detroit. As a Property Manager, he is involved in the financial/development strategy, as well as the ongoing 'nuts and bolts' needs of the physical assets. Prior to joining the board, Trevor worked on the landlord side for developing another charter school in Metro Detroit, converting a dark office building to a functioning school in 5mos. In his spare time, he can be found boating around Charlevoix.