In 2007, 80 percent of KIPP Academy fifth through eighth graders performed at or above grade level in reading, compared to 27 percent in the surrounding district. In math, 93 percent of the students performed on grade level, compared to 44 percent in the surrounding district.
Robin Hood Portfolio: Education
Website:
www.kipp.org
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All KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools are charter schools: tuition-free public schools that operate independently from the regulations of their surrounding school systems. The network now has over 50 schools nationwide, each dedicated to the principle that all children—regardless of race or economic status—can excel in school, go to college and compete with their more privileged peers.
In 1994, the first KIPP school was founded by David Levin and a fellow Teach for America alumnus, Michael Feinberg, in Houston, Texas. The following year, KIPP Academy in the Bronx (the second KIPP School) opened and immediately became the highest performing public middle school in the borough. KIPP Academy’s 180-piece KIPP String and Rhythm Orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall, Harlem’s Apollo Theater and across the country. The other three KIPP schools in New York City operate in Washington Heights, Harlem and Crown Heights.
The KIPP school year begins in July and runs for 11 months, from 7:25 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Saturdays, students either attend class or take field trips related to their coursework. These extended hours and days add up to six years of learning in the four-year timeframe of middle school. The rigorous curriculum, strict discipline policy, two hours of homework a night, focus on personal responsibility and strong leadership and staff create an environment where all that extra time has enormous value.
Robin Hood supports all four New York City-based schools, plus KIPP to College, an alumni support program that provides college counseling, college placement, academic support services, including PSAT/SAT preparation and individual tutoring, and internships. In addition, Robin Hood has launched two major initiatives in conjunction with KIPP and two other charter management networks, Achievement First and Uncommon Schools.
• Robin Hood is building two high schools—one in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and one in Harlem or the Bronx. This project was made possible by the generosity of Robin Hood’s donors and a matching grant from the Department of Education.
• In 2007, these three networks, in conjunction with Hunter College, the Department of Education and Robin Hood, established a teacher training institute to replicate the charter networks’ practices on a scale that will take teaching in our city’s schools to a new level.
KIPP Academy is featured on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Robin Hood Stories. To hear this or other Robin Hood Stories, visit www.sirius.com/robinhood.
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