Dan Ceaser, Head of School

Dan Ceaser is a nationally recognized school leader with over twenty years of administrative leadership experience. He is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and the Fisher School Leadership Institute at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Dan also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from American University and a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College. In addition, Dan has taught at the University of South Florida School of Education and has served as a Board Member on the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Principal Center Advisory Board, the Harvard Alumni Council and has worked to create professional development offerings for outstanding school leaders around the world.

Before being appointed the first Head of School at Community Day School, Dan was the Middle School Director at the Kentucky Country Day School, a coeducational, independent school for grades JK-12, located in Louisville, Kentucky. Under his leadership, the Kentucky Country Day middle school has become a national model for 21st century innovation and project-based learning. Dan established a partnership with Google to become the first independent middle school in the nation to implement a 1:1 Chromebook platform. A hallmark of Dan’s leadership is his daily connection to students and families. In addition to his administrative duties, Dan enjoys serving as a teacher, mentor and faculty advisor. He has worked closely with teachers and parents to design a program regarded for balancing academic rigor while supporting the social and emotional needs of children.

Prior to arriving in Louisville, Dan was the Executive Director and Founder of KIPP Tech Valley Charter School, the highest performing public middle school in Albany, New York. Notable highlights from his time in New York include the design and management of a successful student recruitment process culminating in the school’s full enrollment and admissions wait-lists. Dan also oversaw the establishment of multiple public-private partnerships securing philanthropic investments to support the growth and development of the school’s academic program. Additionally, he guest lectured at The State University of New York, Siena College, Bennington College and has written and presented case studies to graduate students at Harvard University. Prior to his work in New York, Dan served as Chair of the Teach For America Corps Member Advisory Council in Washington DC. While in DC, Dan also served on the inaugural Washington Post Teacher Advisory Board and contributed to curriculum for the Anti-Defamation League and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.