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February 03, 2021

Dear City Academy Family,

I am writing to share that Nikki Doughty has accepted a position at Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership. Nikki will be “graduating” from City Academy at the end of this school year, after 15 amazing years.

At Washington University, Nikki will continue the important work of removing barriers to transform lives through exceptional education, by working with multiple schools and districts. This will no doubt make our community and region stronger. I am pleased that Nikki’s new role at WU will allow her to continue to help broaden City Academy’s impact by building a collaboration between two amazing institutions, City Academy and Washington U, and helping implement our Strategic Initiative of building an institute for educators. Like our City Academy graduates, Nikki is fully prepared for her next exciting challenge. Nikki shares about her next steps in the video below.

Jeff Horwitz, our Interim Principal, will be our Interim Head of School for the 2021-22 academic year. We will not fill the Principal role. A search process will begin late this summer to identify our next Head of School.

Nikki has made a significant impact at City Academy since arriving in 2005. She served in various roles in development, admissions, placement and alumni support, before joining our Leadership Team and being promoted to Chief Operating Officer, then Head of School. Nikki has helped us “be our best” by building our STRIVE program, directing us through the completion of our Early Childhood building, leading our Strategic Planning process, guiding us through the world of COVID and more generally, helping us continue to build a culture of positivity and transparency. Nikki has endeared herself to the entire City Academy community with her boundless energy, her positive spirit, her empathy and humor.

Nikki has been a constant presence at City Academy over her 15 years, touching the lives of students, alumni, families, faculty, staff, trustees and supporters. She has made an amazing impact on our entire community. We are a better school for that, and we have all benefited from Nikki’s presence and her leadership.

City Academy’s ongoing success these past twenty-two years, has been because of our ability to continually attract amazingly talented, capable, committed people at all levels. From our start, we emphasized the importance of attracting “all-stars,” and we have! I am proud to watch team members grow and flourish, within our school and beyond. City Academy will continue our incredible work, tomorrow, next year and beyond, thanks to the strength of our people, the power of our Team and their total commitment to our mission and belief in children.

We will continue to share our plans for the Head of School search as we have them.

Please join me in wishing Nikki a heartfelt thank you and congratulations on her graduation!

Don Danforth III
President & Co-Founder