KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are currently 109 KIPP schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia serving more than 33,000 students. About two thirds of KIPP students are African Americans.
Morehouse College and Spelman College, two historically Black educational institutions in Atlanta, have signed an agreement with KIPP schools to reserve slots for graduates of the 18 KIPP high schools across the United States. Beginning with the 2013-14 academic year, both Spelman and Morehouse will reserve 15 places in their incoming classes for KIPP graduates. The next year, 20 places at each college will be reserved for KIPP graduates.
Readers interested in learning more about the KIPP schools can download the organization’s annual progress report here.
Here is a video that discusses the KIPP program.
There are no miracles here. KIPP has a troubling underside to its ideology and beliefs about Black children. Folks would be wise to investigate them before jumping on the bandwagon. KIPP certainly has found a way to capitalize on the frustrations and limited options of Black parents. Visit a KIPP school when the cameras and media are gone to see what really goes on. The missionary mentality is alive and well in many of those schools. Some are better than others but they still share a troubling view of Black children.
A great step forward for Spelman, Morehouse, and KIPP. I am sick of detractors who only complain and NEVER enroll their children in these horrible public schools where everyone is tenured, test scores are pathetic and everyone continues to get raises each year.The JBHE has documented time and time again how black kids are not getting a competitive education. Give KIPP a chance and quit complaining !!!
David Matthews,
Please do your homework and check out KIPP for yourself. The “ends justifies the means” argument is not the only way to educate Black children. No one is suggesting that Black children only have access to bad public schools. But, if that is the reality, why should KIPP exploit Black parents and children? Please visit a KIPP school and don’t be swayed by headlines.
Mathprof is right, and I and HIGHLY disappointed in my alma mater for choosing to enter into this agreement. Why, exactly, Mr. Matthews, should we “give KIPP a chance” to experiment with our children while they are undermining equal access to public education.
Like mathprof proposes, I have visited a KIPP school when the cameras and media were not there. I was not impressed! KIPP like most all of the charter schools, equally (to use a concept from the article here) allows our kids to enroll in a lottery, and then quickly gets rid of the tough cases that don’t meet up with their ability to (academically) catch them up, keep them up, or match them up with their militaristic style of “teaching”. They do all of this while undermining the “public” part of the public school system by privatizing money and resources that would otherwise be available for ALL students and not just the ones cherry picked by the charter school scheme.
Morehouse and Spelman would do well to consider the fact that they are helping to booster a system that is helping to vitiate access to quality education for all students, and particularly to Black students in the inner city. This action directly contradicts the mission of both institutions as I understand them.
As a proud graduate of Spelman College and a member of the education community, the joint agreement between Spelman, Morehouse and KIPP does not contradict the mission of the schools. This is an excellent opportunity for inner-city students to be exposed to what Spelman and Morehouse have to offer.