News & Weekly Letters

The World of Work is back for its eleventh season at The École in 2024-2025! We are delighted to welcome a variety of industry experts to meet our 8th Grade students in their classroom and share their professional experience, values, background, and knowledge with them.

Over the years, Laurence and I have intentionally remained discreet about our private lives and my professional career. One reason is that I have worked for 27 years (more than half my life) as a partner at Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund that is more than discreet—it is completely opaque and mysterious when viewed from the outside. Renaissance is, however, legendary in the world of finance for its outstanding performance over the decades.

“William the Conqueror didn’t want to be called ‘the Conqueror,’” writes Michel Foucault, because the nickname betrayed the fact that the power he exercised over the English did not come from a legitimate dynastic claim. We know that history is always written by the powerful, by those who have the privilege of choosing on behalf of others what is important and what is not.

I’ve said it before and’ll say it again: a school should be a memory-making machine.  For its students, of course, but for the adults in the community, too! We should also have the right to experience moments we will treasure for years. Ever since I started out as an educator, I have strived to organize and contribute to motivating projects for students that I can enjoy as well.  I have always considered it a recipe for success, which probably explains why I love my job so much!

The World of Work is back for its tenth season at The École in 2023-2024! We are delighted to be welcoming a variety of industry experts to meet our 8th Grade students in their classroom—either virtually or in person—and share their professional experience, values, background, and knowledge with them.