Tuesday, May 21, 2013

KIPP ready to grow in Charlotte, state

KIPP,  a national charter chain that strives to prepare low-income and minority students for college, is poised to expand its presence in the Charlotte region and at UNC Chapel Hill.

The Knowledge Is Power Program,  founded in 1995 in Houston and New York City,  has 125 schools across the country,  including a Charlotte school that opened in 2007.  Tiffany Flowers,  co-founder of that school,  was recently named executive director of KIPP Charlotte as the chain prepares to launch more schools in the region.


"As a KIPP regional organization, KIPP Charlotte will be eligible to grow and add more schools, serving hundreds more students in underserved communities in the Charlotte area,"  Flowers wrote when the new position was announced.  Proposals for new KIPP schools, like all other new charters,  must go through the state charter screening process.

Meanwhile, UNC has partnered with the national organization to recruit and support five KIPP alumni each year, starting with 2013-14.  For now, the focus is on KIPP Gaston,  the state's first KIPP school  (it's in the town of Gaston,  near the Virginia border,  not nearby Gaston County).  The oldest "graduates" of KIPP Charlotte,  which serves grades 5-8,  are still in high school,  but KIPP Gaston has alumni who are moving into college each year  (KIPP Gaston has its own high school).

Officials from UNC Chapel Hill and KIPP Gaston say the partnership meets a goal of both organizations:  Helping students from underserved communities complete college.  Chapel Hill is pledging to "address the full financial need"  of accepted alumni,  help them find housing and match them with mentors and other support. UNC Chapel Hill already has 19 KIPP alumni enrolled,  with one who graduated last year.  Nationally,  KIPP has partnerships with 22 other universities,  but this is the first in North Carolina.

For the most recent academic results from all the KIPP schools,  check the recently-released 2012 report card.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is good news! Anything that brings more options to the table for families who are trapped in CMS is a good thing. I hope KIPP's expansion & success further shines the light on the many issues CMS & their bloated bureaucracy.

Anonymous said...

No question if they can provide a product that is a option to CMS its a positive. The expansion of private school options along with Charters will continue in the Charlotte Region. I hope they can provide a safe and positive educational product for the region as a option. Keith W. Hurley

Wiley Coyote said...

Yet, CMS is projecting 3,000 more students next year.

VOTE NO ON CMS BONDS!

Anonymous said...

Wiley , Has CMS ever not projected more or state " we need money the sky is falling"? I am glad to see some schools that were closed and could not be leased out are no projected to open back up. All the revenue the interm superintendant was selling a year ago was complete nonsense. Of course many with knowledge of the numbers knew that at the time. In CMS math they could have 3,000 more students enrolling and 5,000 graduate yet it would be a increase. I just dont get the math I guess. Keith W. Hurley

Ann Doss Helms said...

I think you don't, Keith. CMS isn't saying there will be a total of 3,000 new students enrolling next year (they normally get 12,000+ kindergarteners). They're saying total K-12 enrollment will be about 3,000 more than this year.

Anonymous said...

Ann, I dont care if you have 50,000 new kid enroll. If 60,000 graduate and 100,000 leave for other options your loss is 110,000. Its a total calculated number and the above equation you would add any transfers so the number would never be a equal 0 number with all probablility. Keith W. Hurley

Ann Doss Helms said...

Exactly. There's no doubt that thousands will graduate (probably more like 7-8,000 than 60K) and thousands more will leave for various reasons. The new kindergarteners will arrive, along with other students who move to Meck or switch to CMS. You're plugging in numbers that result in a net loss, but CMS is saying there will be a net gain. They've generally been pretty accurate; this year the growth projections were actually a bit lower than reality.

Wiley Coyote said...

With the proliferation of charters, it seems inevitable to me that enrollment will start to level off and possibly decline.
.
The data to watch is demographics.

Anonymous said...

Nothing wrong with a little competition.

Anonymous said...

I think more Charters and private school options in certain areas of town face a huge hurdle in the future. Land cost and infrastructure will make it difficult for them to build new schools. No question if they were available more kids would leave CMS and lower the student population. Competition for students would be a great problem to have and maybe possibly CMS would raise its game up. They look like they may lose a good employee in Ann Clark which will not help their chances. Keith W. Hurley

Anonymous said...

Put CMS admin on a diet.

Anonymous said...

No questions about it that a downtown diet mixed with a LIFT diet will product a 3-4% raise for teachers. The fat must get cut from the downtown suits that Heath brought in. Dont worry the County will tell them that with Heath's ask of almost 30 mm. Fools Gold

Anonymous said...

Anne you really need to sharpen your pencils and start digging into this whole Common Exam MSL process CMS has implemented this past week. It is ripe with inconsistencies,it exemplifies the complete and utter lack of preparation by our district leaders to implement a process by which it will be equitable for all teachers, and perhaps most importantly it simply demeans the students efforts in course work across the board. You really need to open a forum where teachers can voice they're concerns. For a testing program that is supposed to be uniform across the state it is far from uniform from school to school within CMS let alone county to county. Get on it but be sure to wear your waders .

Anonymous said...

Their... For all you grammar police.

Ann Doss Helms said...

I'm finishing a story on those very exams, and yes, it is a mess. Expect to post it tomorrow and am quite eager to hear what teachers and parents have to say.

And it's Ann without an e, for spelling police :-)

Unknown said...

Ann, Thank you for helping to spread the word about KIPP Charlotte and KIPP's college partnerships! I wanted to mention that KIPP has also partnered with Davidson College and Duke University in NC. Those who are interested can see more information on KIPP's college partnerships here: http://www.kipp.org/8AD50D50-D4D0-11E1-9C4C005056883C4D