I caught this on the ASCD feed and it connects directly with what’s been crawling around my brain non-stop lately, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers! I’ve already posted on Gladwell’s reasoning as to why Asians are good at math, but there’s a lot of good stuff in Outliers and I’m sure I’ll do a few more posts on it.
What’s KIPP?
Wikipedia says,
KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a nationwide network of free open-enrollment college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. KIPP schools are usually established under state charter school laws.
At the writing of this post, KIPP’s website said it had 66 schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia with over 16,000 students. And, they’re growing, starting summer school programs across the nation and the time addressing the needs of low-income minorities; over 90% of its students are African American or Hispanic/Latino while more than 80 percent are eligible for federally funded or reduced lunches.
KIPP’s Results
KIPP offers several pages of their website about what makes a KIPP school different from other schools, but what stands out most is KIPP’s results. They are impressive:
- on average, entering fifth graders are at the 40th percentile in math and the 32nd percentile in reading; after four years, they are at the 82nd and 60th percentiles, respectively.
- less than 20% of low income kids go to college nationwide; at KIPP, it’s 80%.
- 100 percent of KIPP eighth grade classes are above their district averages; when they began KIPP, they were all at least a year behind in performance.
KIPP’s philosophy
The school has what it calls its Five Pillars:
- High Expectations
- Choice & Commitment
- More Time
- Power to Lead
- Focus on Results
Gladwell puts it more simply: the key to the success of KIPP’s students is the fact that they work virtually non-stop. Classes typically run from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday with classes every other Saturday, too. After school, there’s hours of homework. On top of all that, a huge chunk of summer vacation is taken out, so kids are working hard while their peers have free time. To Gladwell, KIPP schools resemble Asian schools in the hours and hours of class time followed by hours of homework. The daily rigor ends up meaning that a child lives, breathes, eats and sleeps school. Is it any wonder they have good grades?
Is this what we want?
The above mentioned ASCD article best exemplifies the mixed feelings towards KIPP in the educational community. The title, “KIPP Praised, But Questions Linger” in itself is telling. The post finished with a sounds question: are KIPP schools “the most promising schools in America”?
I believe a lot of people read this question as, “do I want my school to like KIPP?” I’ve never been to one, but I believe many people imagine they are comparable to Asian schools. I personally don’t hold this view, but reading some of the criticisms does make it seem like KIPP schools discourage independent-mindedness. Maybe, in the end, we are just too attached to summer vacation.
Western values vs Asian results
As Westerners, we pride ourselves on individualism and cooperation, not authority and hierarchy. Yet, we admire the achievements of Asians in math and would like our students to emulate those successes. Perhaps you just can’t have one without the other?
In a way, KIPP proves that this is not true. We learn that Western students, no matter what level they start at, can make up for their disadvantages if they want to and are given the opportunities. At the same time, is that which helps low income students the same thing that will let all students success?
One size fits all?
When ever we enter debates like this, there seems to be an unstated assumption that if X model of school succeeds, then all other schools will follow suit. Should all students be offered the same education or should students be given a chance to accelerate in a specific topic over other subjects? Is there a “right” way to educate our kids? No, of course not! Perhaps KIPP is great for lower income kids, but maybe it wouldn’t be so successful with higher income kids (maybe they don’t need the extra edge it gives low income kids because they already have a different edge).
The main focus of KIPP seems to be about one thing: giving opportunity to those who may otherwise not have it. KIPP gets kids to a point where they can be accepted and compete in college, a dream the parents’ of these kids have for them. It’s clear that KIPP is successful, but the big question is if the KIPP model is sustainable for years to come. Any thoughts?
Related Links:
- New Outliers in Urban Education
- Malcolm Gladwell’s secret of success – Chron.com
- School Matters blog
- Quick and the ED
Tags: education, high expectations, kipp school, Knowledge Is Power Program, low income, Malcolm Gladwell, minorities, Outliers, school reform
