Co-Founder and Director, KIPP Star

There is no question Maggie Runyan-Shefa, one of five founding faculty members and the director at KIPP Star (Knowledge is Power Program), is invested in her students' success. Although her students don't arrive until 7:30 a.m., many days Maggie is at her desk before 6 a.m. and doesn't leave until 9 p.m. Thoroughly tenacious in her approach, Maggie follows each student's progress. When she saw one student doing poorly, she tutored him on weekends in the local Starbucks.

The source of Maggie's dedication is deeply personal. As the child of a single mother, Maggie learned the impact an education has firsthand. Her mother held down two jobs and moved communities so they could live in a better school district, instilling in Maggie the belief that the means to a better life was achieved through education alone.

Why does KIPP Star work? A replication of KIPP Academy, a successful charter school in the Bronx, KIPP insists on a longer day and year (KIPP operates 1900 hours per year while typical schools operate just 1260) and make the process a whole family affair. Before the start of each school year, Maggie visits each prospective student's home and discusses the expectations of the school. With a philosophy of no shortcuts and no excuses, students are taught that knowledge is truly power. And with a goal of exemplary schools in urban and rural areas to be the rule, not the exception, KIPP is inspiring students, parents, community leaders and policy leaders to expect more.