At KIPP schools, more time in school translates into higher test scores

By Ellie Ashford

11/5/02 – If you train good teachers to run their own schools, give them complete authority to design a curriculum and hire teachers passionate about learning, keep students in school until 5 p.m., and impose a structured discipline system, students will perform at higher levels.

That's the idea behind KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools, and the concept seems to be working.

"There's no magic formula" responsible for the success of KIPP schools," KIPP co-founder Mike Feinberg says. "It's great teachers working longer hours in the classroom with kids."

There are 1,700 students in 15 KIPP schools. Ten of them are charter schools. The rest operate under a contract with the local school district. KIPP, based in San Francisco, plans to open 19 more next year.

Achievement gains

A study on three KIPP schools released Oct. 21 by New American Schools found significant gains in student achievement.

The study found that a year after KIPP's 3D Academy opened in Houston, its fifth graders on average passed the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills at a rate higher than the average fifth-grade student in regular Houston public schools.

Students at the KIPP DC/Key Academy in Washington, D.C., improved their average reading score on the Stanford 9 achievement test from about 34 to 46 from fall 2001 to spring 2002. Their average math score rose even more–from 41 to 65. These gains are more than twice the increases that students typically achieve from one year to the next, the study says.

Significant gains also were reported for KIPP Gaston College Preparatory in Gaston, N.C.

Following the release of the study, Doris and Donald Fisher, cofounders of Gap Inc., announced an $8 million challenge grant to increase the number of KIPP schools nationwide to 34 in 2003.

Feinberg and fellow co-founder Dave Levin developed the program after teaching in a Houston school as part of the Teach for America program.

KIPP began as an after-school and summer program for fifth graders. But it was frustrating, Feinberg recalls, because "no matter how good a job we did with the fifth graders, we realized it could all be undone in middle school."

Then, in 1995, Feinberg created the KIPP Academy in Houston, and Levin started KIPP Academy New York in the South Bronx. Both schools initially were restricted to fifth graders, then gradually expanded by 1998 to serve grades 5-8. That's the same pattern used in all KIPP schools.

KIPP Academy Houston has been named a Texas Exemplary School by the Texas Education Agency every year it has been in existence. KIPP Academy New York has been the highest performing middle school in the Bronx in reading, math, and attendance every year for the past five years.

In June 2001, three more KIPP schools were launched–in Washington, D.C.; Gaston; and Houston.

Ten more opened this summer–in Helena, Ark; Oakland, Calif.; Denver; DeKalb County, Ga.; Baltimore; Asheville, N.C.; Newark, N.J.; Oklahoma City; Memphis, Tenn.; and Austin, Texas.

KIPP schools have no set curriculum or instructional program, says Steve Mancini, KIPP's director of public affairs.

Richard Barrett, principal of the Sunshine Peak Academy in Denver, says he tells teachers: "This is what the standards are. You do what you have to do to get there."

KIPP students spend 60 percent more time in school than their peers, Mancini says. The school day is generally 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and students come to school about every other Saturday and for three weeks in July.

KIPP differs in fundamental ways from the private companies that manage public schools, such as the troubled Edison Corp. For example, while Edison is a public corporation out to make a profit, KIPP is a non-profit organization. "We don't manage schools," Feinberg says. "We train great teachers to manage their own schools."

Most students at KIPP schools come from poor families. At the KIPP DC/Key Academy, in Washington, D.C., more than 80 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches, 100 percent are African American, and 10 to 12 percent are in special education, says School Leader Susan Schaeffler. The school serves 160 students in grades 5 and 6.

Like many of those involved with KIPP schools, Schaeffler is a veteran of the Teach for America program. She taught in District of Columbia schools for nine years before opening the academy in June.

"Teachers who come to KIPP have a strong command of the subject matter and are passionate about it," Feinberg says. "A teacher who loves history, for example, will convey that passion to the students. Teachers know how to take that passion from their hearts and minds and transfer it to the hearts and minds of a 9-year-old."

Five pillars

While school leaders and teachers are given a great deal of latitude, the KIPP program stresses these "five pillars:"

• KIPP schools have clearly defined and measurable high expectations for academic achievement and conduct, and there are no excuses based on students' backgrounds.

• Students, their parents, and the faculty choose to participate in the KIPP program and must be committed to the school and to each other and must make the effort required to achieve success.

• An extended school day, week, and year provide students more time in the classroom to acquire the knowledge and skills they will need in competitive high schools and colleges.

• Principals of KIPP schools are effective academic and organizational leaders who have control over their school budgets and personnel.

• KIPP schools focus on high student performance on standardized tests and other objective measures.

Denver school board President Elaine Ganz Berman helped get her board to approve the charter for the Sunshine Peak Academy after hearing about the success of other KIPP schools.

Sunshine Peak Academy, serving 59 fifth graders, has only been open for two months, so it's too early to tell how it is doing, Berman says, but she is optimistic about the possibilities. "The school has a very enthusiastic staff."

Structured discipline

Barrett says students don't get restless sitting in a classroom for so many hours a day because they move around from class to class. In addition to the core subjects, there is a reading and writing workshop and a novel-reading group.

The Saturday sessions–held 20 times a year–are devoted to enrichment classes in such areas as musical instruments, sports, ballet, and cooking.

Like the other KIPP schools, Sunshine Peak Academy has what Barrett calls a "structured school culture," with consequences for students who get off track.

Students who misbehave in class or fail to hand in homework see money deducted from their weekly "paycheck." Students can earn a maximum of $20–or up to $25 if they have a job, such as being in charge of paper recycling–which they can use to buy pencils, notebooks, gel pens, or other supplies at the school store, Barrett says. If their parents approve, they can also use their earnings for such things as CDs or pizza for lunch.

Students who act up in class could be relegated to the "porch," for a social timeout at their own desk. These students are not allowed to talk to anyone or move around in class and might have to write apology letters to other students.

Other KIPP schools use the same technique. The KIPP DC/Key Academy uses a basketball analogy. Students who misbehave are confined to the "bench." These students "know they are still part of the team, but can't play," says Schaeffler.

At the KIPP Diamond Academy in Memphis, students who make trouble must sit in the "dugout" wearing a card around their necks stating "I'm working on it!"

Parent involvement also is a key part of the KIPP concept. School leaders make frequent calls to parents, and sometimes visit their homes. Parents usually are required to sign students' daily agendas and weekly progress reports.

"There are tangible and intangible benefits of working at a KIPP school," Feinberg says. "Teachers are paid overtime, so they get about 20 to 25 percent more than teachers at regular public schools." Many teachers already were working extra hours at other schools but weren't getting paid for it.

Teachers in control

In KIPP schools, "Every teacher has full control over his or her classroom," Feinberg says. All KIPP teachers have keys to the building, the supply closet, and Xerox machine, and they have a phone and computer on their desks, Feinberg says.

Last year, KIPP received 420 applications for its fellowship program to train school leaders and selected only 20.

These fellows will spend the next year developing their school, observing existing KIPP schools, and hiring staff. Mancini says KIPP has a staff of "trailblazers" who will work with local school districts to facilitate the charter approval or form district partnerships.

Like other charter schools, KIPP schools receive per-pupil funding allocations from the state, but the KIPP organization supplements those funds from a variety of sources, including a federal Gear-Up grant and grants from the Challenge Foundation and the Walton Foundation.

The original Houston and New York schools continue to support students who have graduated, Feinberg says, by helping them get into "the top public and private high schools with proven track records of getting kids into college."

According to Mancini, alumni from the two original KIPP schools have received more than $18 million in scholarships.

While gratified by the success of the program, Feinberg says, "The KIPP model is not truly successful until every kid receives a letter of acceptance to college."