KIPP Schools: A Mindmap of Innovative Education

So often we hear of African-American and Latino children not doing well in school.

But what about those who are doing well?  Where are their stories?  When you hear grim statistics like “fewer than one in five low-income students attend college nationally” you need to ask yourself how did that ONE do it?  What is their story?

We all say we want better schools.  We say we want to see students do better.  Yet  we often focus on the negative.  We focus on what’s not working - instead of what IS working.

This post is about what IS working.

One innovative program that is working are KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) Schools.

Given the constant bombardment of negative news, here’s something that will surprise you:

“KIPP began in 1994 when two teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, launched a fifth-grade public school program in inner-city Houston, TX, after completing their commitment to Teach For America. In 1995, Feinberg remained in Houston to lead KIPP Academy Middle School, and Levin returned home to New York City to establish KIPP Academy in the South Bronx. These two original KIPP Academies became the starting place for a growing network of schools that are transforming the lives of students in under-resourced communities, and redefining the notion of what is possible in public education.

Since their founding, the two original KIPP Academies have sustained track records of high student achievement. While fewer than one in five low-income students attend college nationally, KIPP’s college matriculation rate stands at more than 80 percent for students who complete the eighth grade at KIPP. In 2007, nearly 95 percent of KIPP alumni went on to college-preparatory high schools; collectively, they have earned millions of dollars in scholarships and financial aid since 2000.”

Now that’s something you don’t hear everyday!  I think if we are serious about the education of young people, especially those from low-income communities, we need to take a close look at programs like KIPP and replicate them.

If it is true that “fewer than one in five low-income students attend college nationally” - then let’s see what that one student is doing and turn it into 2 in 5, then 3 in 5, then 4 in 5.  Until the “one” is the one that doesn’t attend college, instead of the “one” that does.  Why can’t we do that?  If we follow the example of KIPP, we can.

Here is a mindmap about KIPP Schools:

Here’s the KIPP Welcome Video:

Also, read the op-ed article by KIPP co-founders   Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin in The Washington Post, Friday, January 9, 2009:  “What ‘Yes, We Can’ Should Mean for Our Schools”

For more information on KIPP, click here.

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