Jennifer Niles '98
Founder and Head of School
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
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Jennie Niles is the founder of the acclaimed and award-winning E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. E.L. Haynes' mission is for every one of its students to reach high levels of academic achievement and be prepared to succeed at the college of his or her choice. E.L. Haynes is the highest-performing charter elementary school in Washington, D.C., based on 2009 DC-CAS scores. In 2010, for the third year in a row, E. L. Haynes was named the recipient of a Silver-Gain Award from New Leaders for New Schools' Effective Practice Incentive Community grant program. The award, given in recognition of outstanding student achievement gains, ranked E.L. Haynes in the top 10 in a consortium of 150 charter schools nationwide. In April 2008, E.L. Haynes was chosen from among D.C.'s 56 charter schools as the recipient of Fight for Children's first-ever Quality Schools Initiative award, also given in recognition of outstanding student achievement gains.

In June 2003, Ms. Niles finished her fellowship with New Leaders for New Schools, an intensive, year-long program to prepare urban principals. New American Schools sponsored Ms. Niles through her fellowship, supported the development of the charter application, and housed the start-up of the school. Prior to New Leaders, Ms. Niles was the director of education initiatives at the Ball Foundation of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, an operating foundation that partners with school districts to increase student achievement through systemic reform. Before that, Ms. Niles headed the Charter School Office for the Connecticut State Department of Education, where she oversaw all aspects of the charter school program and led a multi-disciplinary team to create the accountability system. Ms. Niles also taught middle school and high school science and directed service learning programs at schools in California and Massachusetts. Ms. Niles holds a bachelor of arts from Brown University, a masters in public and private management from the Yale School of Management, and a masters of science in public administration with a focus on educational administration from Trinity University (Washington, D.C.). In 2010, she was named as a fellow in the Aspen Institute and NewSchools Venture Fund's prestigious Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Fellowship Program.