KIPP is the biggest U.S. charter school operator, which
started in 1994 on an experimental basis with 50 fifth graders in Houston’s
inner city. Today, the program represents 82 schools for poor and minority
children in 19 states. The success of the program relies on working overtime
towards student progress. Students often
spend 60% more time in class than public schools. KIPP schools have nine hour
school-days as compared to the usual seven, with classes held on some
Saturdays. Summer sessions are also held.
KIPP schools mostly serve minority children (almost 63% African American, 33%
Hispanic/Latino, 2% Caucasian, and 2% Asian) from poor families (81% eligible
for federal meals). In 2005, a study by Educational Policy Institute in
Virginia Beach, VA, found that on a scale of 0 to 99 on the Standardized
Achievement Test Series, the fifth graders in KIPP schools scored an average of
9 to 17 points higher in reading, language, and math than they had the previous
year elsewhere. The college matriculation rate in KIPP schools is 85% as
compared to 40% for low-income students nationwide.
Can this focused approach on preparing every child for
college be reproduced on a large scale, and perhaps in other countries?
There are some issues that need to be considered. About a
third of KIPP’s teachers and two-third of its principals are alumni of Teach
for America, a program that draws heavily from Ivy League and other highly
ranked colleges. It is important to examine the sustainability of this
approach, in case one cannot rely on the strong pool of teachers/administrators
to serve these schools. There are about 4,900 charter schools in U.S.
(including KIPP schools). These schools operate under contracts with school
districts or states and receive their operating funds from them. KIPP students
attend for free and are chosen by lottery. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and
the Walton Family Foundation also provide aid to these charter schools. KIPP had received $130 million from
philanthropies, out of which $64 million was donated by the founders of GAP
clothing chain, Don and Dorris Fisher.
Source: Peterson, Molly. 2010. Kipp: Learning a lesson from big business. Business Week. February 4.