August 04, 2008 08:00 AM Eastern Time 

DPS Appoints Executive Director of Janus Education Alliance

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Denver Public Schools (DPS) today announced the appointment of Jennifer Stern as executive director of the Janus Education Alliance, a new initiative created to improve the recruitment, development and retention of high-performing teachers.

The hiring of Stern is a significant step in the development of the Janus Education Alliance, a public-private partnership launched this spring with a three-year, $3-million investment from Janus Capital Group. The company made its commitment, the largest corporate gift DPS ever received, after learning that nearly half of all urban teachers leave the profession within their first five years on the job, sometimes because they feel unsupported and unprepared for success.

Before coming to DPS, Stern was a vice president at the Broomfield-based Charter School Growth Fund, a national venture philanthropy organization designed to provide financial and strategic resources to replicate high-quality charter schools serving students from low-income households. Prior to that, she worked for the New York City Department of Education, where she developed the orientation process for 7,000 new teachers and improved communication channels between teachers and the department of human resources.

In previous jobs, Stern worked as a consultant at Bain & Company and at American Express as a small-business marketing director and as a director of investments in its strategic venture capital division. She earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics (magna cum laude) from Pomona College.

“Jennifer Stern is an educational entrepreneur who understands classroom issues and has a diverse set of professional skills that will help elevate talented new teachers,” Bennet said. “Under her leadership, I’m confident Denver will become a place where teachers come to perfect their craft.”

To minimize teacher turnover, Stern will work with organizations that recruit young teachers and mid-career professionals interested in teaching and provide them an alternate route to enter the profession at DPS. In collaboration with educational partners, the Janus Education Alliance will offer teachers a wide range of new professional development opportunities, including a year-long classroom “residency” that enables new teachers to work with DPS “master” teachers and receive the real-life training needed to succeed in the classroom.

About the Janus Education Alliance at Denver Public Schools

The Janus Education Alliance is a pioneering Denver Public Schools initiative to recruit aspiring educators and support them with a broad array of mentoring and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. Aimed at improving student learning by attracting and developing a highly skilled and knowledgeable educator workforce, this initiative was jump-started through a three-year, $3 million investment by Janus Capital Group, a Denver-based investment management firm. The JEA will create a teacher residency program and engage a wide range of partners to make Denver an academic destination for teachers seeking to perfect their craft.

About Janus Capital Group Inc.

Founded in 1969, Denver-based Janus Capital Group Inc. (“Janus”) is a recognized leader of growth and risk-managed investment strategies. Our commitment to deliver for investors is rooted in our research-intensive approach and relentless passion to gain a competitive edge.

At the end of June 2008, Janus managed $191.8 billion in assets for more than four million shareholders, clients and institutions around the globe. Outside the U.S., Janus has offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. Janus Capital Group consists of Janus Capital Management LLC and Enhanced Investment Technologies, LLC (INTECH). In addition, Janus Capital Group owns 30% of Perkins, Wolf, McDonnell and Company, LLC.