The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation has awarded KIPP Philadelphia $75,000 in start-up funds in support of the first three KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Schools, to open in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
KIPP Philadelphia Schools (KPS) is a network of high-performing, public charter schools that enable students to succeed in all levels of K-12 education and college, giving them the freedom to shape their futures and positively affect their communities. The mission of KIPP Philadelphia Charter School is to develop the character, knowledge, and skills of their students to prepare them for top-quality high schools, colleges and the competitive world beyond. KIPP Philadelphia Charter School is part of a nationwide network of 67 KIPP Schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Research shows that there is a significant and persistent achievement gap in our country between white students and their African-American and Hispanic peers. As explained on the Education Week website:
While National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results have shown that, over time, black and Hispanic students have made great strides in narrowing the breach that separates them from their white peers, that progress seems to have come to a halt since the mid-1980s. For example, in 2003, while 39 percent of white students scored at the proficient level or higher on the 4th grade reading exam portion NAEP, only 12 percent of black students and 14 percent of Hispanic students did so. Forty-two percent of white fourth graders scored at the proficient level or above on the mathematics exam compared with just 10 percent of black students and 15 percent of Hispanic students (U.S. Department of Education, 2003).
KIPP schools were created in the early 1990s with the idea that four years of intense schooling from grades five through eight could reverse these effects. And KIPP has had great success in this effort, both nationally and locally. KIPP's success in educating low income, minority students has been documented on 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show and PBS.
The achievement gap is demonstrated even during the first years of a child's educational journey, but what begins as a modest gap widens as the years progress. In an effort to work strategically toward an even greater reduction of the achievement gap in their schools, KIPP Philadelphia will follow in the footsteps of other KIPP regions, and start the first KIPP Philadelphia Elementary School.
To learn more about KIPP Philadelphia, please visit here.