Last week, Oprah Winfrey dedicated two episodes of her show to the crisis in American education, offering her millions of viewers aglimpse into the dismal performance of America?s public schools. She also made time for one of the brightest stories in American education ? the nation?s KIPP Academy schools.
In 1994, teachers Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg opened the first KIPP school for fifth-graders in Houston. Levin and Feinberg had just completed the Teach for America program and knew the pressing need for better schools, especially for low-income communities.
Today, 45 KIPP Academy charter schools operate in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
The KIPP (“Knowledge is Power Program”) schools are based on five operational pillars:
» High expectations. The schools embrace a “no excuses” philosophy designed to create a culture of achievement.
» Choice and commitment. No one is assigned to a KIPP school, and parents, teachers and students all must make the commitment required for success.
» More time. KIPP schools have an extended school day and school week.
» The power to lead. Principals and other school leaders have the responsibility to deliver success and the authority to do what they think it takes to get there.
» A focus on results. Students are tested regularly and pushed to excel. The KIPP mission says that students are “expected to achieve a level of academic performance that will enable them to succeed at the nation?s best high schools and colleges.” On this measure, KIPP schools are succeeding.
KIPP reports that 79 percent of its graduates attend college. This is particularly remarkable given that most KIPP students come from communities where a much smaller percentage graduates high school and that 4 in 5 qualify for the free and reduced school lunch program. Nationwide, low-income students generally perform well below their peers. For example, more than half of all school-lunch-eligible students scored “below basic” on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2005.
But KIPP schools regularly outperform schools in their district. For example, a KIPP middle school in Southeast D.C. was ranked highest in Washington, D.C., on combined reading and math scores on the Stanford-9 exam.
Another success story is KIPP Ujima Village Academy, a public charter school that opened in Baltimore City in 2002. At Ujima Village, 87 percent of the students are economically disadvantaged and 99 percent are African-American. In just three years, the school has become one of the best middle schools in Baltimore. It was one of two public middle schools in Baltimore City to meet adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind guidelines.
KIPP Ujima Village Academy?s test scores are the best in the city and better than the state average. Fifth- and sixth-graders at KIPP Ujima Village notched the highest scores on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program of any Baltimore public schools. Sixth- and seventh-graders are beating the state average on state reading exams, even as the school district as a whole scored more than 25 percent below the state average.
In 2005, another KIPP Academy opened its doors near Annapolis. The KIPP Harbor Academy welcomed its first class of fifth-graders last September. By 2009, the middle school will enroll 320 students in grades 5 through 8.
The KIPP success story should be remembered in the context of the recent political debate over the underperforming schools in Baltimore City. According to the Maryland State Department of Education, more than 50 schools statewide persistently fail to meet their goals, and most are in Baltimore City. Gov. Robert Ehrlich recently tried to take over 11 underperforming public schools, but the legislature overrode his decision, keeping thousands of students trapped in failing public schools at least for another year.
How about, rather than using education policy as apolitical football during an election year, leaders from both sides work together to expand the number of charter schools in Maryland and break down the irresponsible blocking of charters by local school districts. Maryland lawmakers should consider a simple question: Would students benefit if more KIPP academies and other promising charter schools were allowed to open in Maryland?
Dan Lips is an education analyst at the Heritage Foundation, www.Heritage.org. Last week, Oprah Winfrey dedicated two episodes of her show to the crisis in American education, offering her millions of viewers a glimpse into the dismal performance of America?s public schools. She also made time for one of the brightest stories in American education ? the nation?s KIPP Academy schools.
In 1994, teachers Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg opened the first KIPP school for fifth-graders in Houston. Levin and Feinberg had just completed the Teach for America program and knew the pressing need for better schools, especially for low-income communities.
Today, 45 KIPP Academy charter schools operate in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
The KIPP (“Knowledge is Power Program”) schools are based on five operational pillars:
» High expectations. The schools embrace a “no excuses” philosophy designed to create a culture of achievement.
» Choice and commitment. No one is assigned to a KIPP school, and parents, teachers and students all must make the commitment required for success.
» More time. KIPP schools have an extended school day and school week.
» The power to lead. Principals and other school leaders have the responsibility to deliver success and the authority to do what they think it takes to get there.
» A focus on results. Students are tested regularly and pushed to excel. The KIPP mission says that students are “expected to achieve a levelof academic performance that will enable them to succeed at the nation?s best high schools and colleges.” On this measure, KIPP schools are succeeding.
KIPP reports that 79 percent of its graduates attend college. This is particularly remarkable given that most KIPP students come from communities where a much smaller percentage graduates high school and that 4 in 5 qualify for the free and reduced school lunch program. Nationwide, low-income students generally perform well below their peers. For example, more than half of all school-lunch-eligible students scored “below basic” on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2005.
But KIPP schools regularly outperform schools in their district. For example, a KIPP middle school in Southeast D.C. was ranked highest in Washington, D.C., on combined reading and math scores on the Stanford-9 exam.
Another success story is KIPP Ujima Village Academy, a public charter school that opened in Baltimore City in 2002. At Ujima Village, 87 percent of the students are economically disadvantaged and 99 percent are African-American. In just three years, the school has become one of the best middle schools in Baltimore. It was one of two public middle schools in Baltimore City to meet adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind guidelines.
KIPP Ujima Village Academy?s test scores are the best in the city and better than the state average. Fifth- and sixth-graders at KIPP Ujima Village notched the highest scores on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program of any Baltimore public schools. Sixth- and seventh-graders are beating the state average on state reading exams, even as the school district as a whole scored more than 25 percent below the state average.
In 2005, another KIPP Academy opened its doors near Annapolis. The KIPP Harbor Academy welcomed its first class of fifth-graders last September. By 2009, the middle school will enroll 320 students in grades 5 through 8.
The KIPP success story should be remembered in the context of the recent political debate over the underperforming schools in Baltimore City. According to the Maryland State Department of Education, more than 50 schools statewide persistently fail to meet their goals, and most are in Baltimore City. Gov. Robert Ehrlich recently tried to take over 11 underperforming public schools, but the legislature overrode his decision, keeping thousands of students trapped in failing public schools at least for another year.
How about, rather than using education policy as a political football during an election year, leaders from both sides work together to expand the number of charter schools in Maryland and break down the irresponsible blocking of charters by local school districts. Maryland lawmakers should consider a simple question: Would students benefit if more KIPP academies and other promising charter schools were allowed to open in Maryland?
Dan Lips is an education analyst at the Heritage Foundation, www.Heritage.org.
