After nearly 10 years as executive director of Thrive Academy, Sarah Broome will resign from her post effective June 30, 2020, the school announced today.
Broome, who founded the charter school in 2011 and welcomed the first class of students in 2012, informed the board of directors during its October meeting of her decision to resign, which she describes in a prepared statement as “the most difficult decision of [her] life.”
“I have loved every moment of starting and growing this organization and seeing our students develop into amazing young adults. However, after nearly 10 wonderful and exhausting years, the time has come for me to relinquish the reins,” Broome says. “I have always wanted Thrive to be an ever-evolving organization, and the time is right to bring in a fresh set of legs to continue that work.”
During her tenure, Broome oversaw the growth of the school from an initial class of 20 students to its current enrollment of 180. She also led the effort to develop and build a permanent campus on Brightside Drive that features a 180-bed dormitory and a recently completed Academic Center, which includes a gym, cafeteria, classrooms and health care center.
In 2016, Broome led the charge to convert the school to a statewide model through legislation sponsored by then-State Rep. Steve Carter.
Broome was named one of Business Report’s Forty under 40 in 2012 and a member of the 2017 class of Influential Women in Business.
To begin the process of hiring a new executive director, the Thrive Academy board of directors has formed a search committee to help interview potential candidates. SSA Consulting has been selected to lead the search.
