Dr. Stephanie Douglas

Rose School of Excellence will be an all-girls public charter middle school built around sisterhood, high expectations, and leadership development during a pivotal stage in young women’s lives. The school will pair rigorous, standards-aligned instruction with hands-on STEM exploration, designed to counter the well-documented drop in girls’ STEM confidence during adolescence, alongside career-connected pathways in business, the arts, and health sciences. Students will have the opportunity to explore their interests and build their identities as learners and leaders without being pushed into early specialization. Rose School of Excellence is rooted in the belief that every girl deserves a school built for her.

Dr. Stephanie Douglas, founder and founding principal of Rose School of Excellence, has been shaped by a lifetime of giving back to the students and the communities that raised her. Douglas began her career through Teach For America and has since served students and families nationally as a teacher, dean, instructional coach, assistant principal, principal, and adjunct professor. She has also volunteered in schools in Africa and South America. As principal of The Academy Middle School in Uniondale, New York, she led overall student proficiency from 39 percent to 80 percent in three years, a 105-percentage-point increase. She co-founded the Rose Daniel Legacy Scholarship, awarded annually to a student at Elmont Memorial High School, and the school’s name, Rose School of Excellence, will be a tribute to that same legacy of investment in young people. She also successfully ran for a seat on the Elmont school board and currently serves on its facilities committee.

Dr. Douglas earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Innovation at New York University. She is a graduate of Howard University, holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Loyola Marymount University, and has completed advanced leadership training at Harvard University.