By Erica Blackburn
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The birth of ‘Knowledge is Power Program’ (KIPP) can be credited to two teachers: Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin. In 1994, they launched a fifth-grade public school program in inner-city Houston, TX. In 1995, Feinberg remained in Houston, while Levin returned home to New York City to establish KIPP Academy in the South Bronx.
“Today, KIPP has 99 schools, 27,000 students in 20 states, which goes from Pre-K to the 12th grade,” says Director of KIPP Public Affairs, Steve Mancini.
Currently, 30.6 percent of all Americans ages 25-29 have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. For students from low-income families, the college completion rate is even lower: only 8.3 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s. While America is first in the world in the percentage of adults ages 55-65 with a two- or four-year degree, our ranking slips to eighth in the percentage of 25- to 34-year olds who have completed college.
“The national average for low-income students (who have bachelor degrees) is about 40 percent,” says Mancini. “But KIPP is over 85 percent, so we doubled the national Average. Thirty-three percent of students who completed a KIPP middle school 10 or more years ago have graduated from a four-year college,” says Mancini.
This means the original KIPP students—who are 95 percent African American or Latino, with more than 85 percent of them qualifying for federal free or reduced price meals—have a higher college completion rate than average Americans across all income levels. KIPP’s college completion rate is four times the rate of comparable students from low-income communities across the country.
So how does KIPP provide low-income children high quality education for free? KIPP schools share a core set of principles known as the “Five Pillars”. The “Five Pillars” are 1) high expectations, 2) choice and commitment, 3) more time, which means KIPP schools know that there are no shortcuts when it comes to success in academics and life, 4) power to lead, and 5) focus on results. The principals of KIPP schools are effective academic and organizational leaders who understand that great schools require great school leaders. KIPP schools relentlessly focus on high student performance on standardized tests and other objective measures. Just as there are no shortcuts, there are no excuses.
Brandon Wong, who is a part of the communications team at KIPP, says that KIPP’s mission has a direct and indirect impact.
“Directly,” says Wong, “we want to make sure all underserved children have the knowledge to succeed to and through college.”
Indirectly, KIPP wants to show what’s possible in public education. KIPP possesses elements, such as focusing on college and longer school days, in hopes that these elements become adopted by traditional public schools. KIPP believe that the quality education their students receive will determine the opportunities they have to participate in a multicultural society.
A KIPP graduate, Remington Wiley, who is now a KIPP Academy MS 5th-8th Spanish teacher, describes her experiences at KIPP. “I first found out about KIPP when I was in the fourth grade. I was at a standard public school, and my mother told me I would be switching schools next year,” said Wiley.
Wiley’s mother decided that KIPP would be a better school for her daughter, because she felt the teachers would be very involved in her learning. “My mother was one of those mothers who was involved in the Parent-Teacher organizations. She was always at school helping out and was very visible,” says Wiley.
Wiley believes that one of the components that differentiate KIPP from other schools nationwide is the institution makes it mandatory for the parents to be involved in their child’s education. “From my experience, I think what really distinguish KIPP from other public schools is the dedication of all three parties: the teachers, the students, and the parents,” she says.
“I went to KIPP in middle school, I volunteered at many KIPP schools across the country in high school and in college; and I think across the board, everybody is involved. It’s everyone’s job to help the student get to and through college,” says Wiley.
So it won’t appear like it’s the parent’s fault that a child does not complete his or her homework or it’s the teacher’s fault a child is failing his or her classes, she stresses that: “it’s on everybody, and that collaborative union they have is really what I think sets KIPP apart and holds everybody accountable for KIPP’s success.”
The United Negro College Fund recently partnered with KIPP to increase college access and college completion for our students. Currently the two are creating an initiative to help parents establish savings accounts for their child.
“By making a savings account for their child now, and when the child attends college, that money saved up can help them with their college tuition,” Wong says.
Ultimately KIPP hopes to double its size and increase they number of students they serve. “By 2015, we are aiming to double the 99 schools we have today so we can serve 55,000 students,” says Wong.
As KIPP opens new schools across the country, it’s obvious that KIPP needs the money to do so. “So financial support is very helpful,” says Wong. “Also, we want talented people to apply to KIPP. We are always looking for talented and motivated educators to apply to KIPP.”
What YOU Can Do
Make a donation to KIPP.
Erica Blackburn, a sophomore at Hampton University, is an intern for emPower magazine.
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