Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 September 2005 — Page 2
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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
KIPP ► Continued from Page 1
In July an edition of U.S. News & World Report recognized KIPP schools as
“having achieved the largest and quickest
improvement in learning around the
country.”
our progress in this first year of operation. One of our primary goals is to get our students into top high schools in Indiana, so we’re working hard to make them ready for
that.”
KIPP Indianapolis, 3125 Concord Court, completed its threeweek summer orientation on Aug. 26 and began its second school year this week. One of (13) mayor-approved charter schools in In-
dianapolis, it currently enrolls 82 fifth graders and 81 sixth graders. Additional grade levels will be added each year until it becomes a full middle school. All of the students at KIPP Indianapolis are minorities (African American and Latino), and 94 percent qualify for the free and reduced meal program. “Our board of directors was just looking for another educational option for families,” Ola-Niyi said about the city’s decision to open a KIPP school here. “They really wanted a school in Haughville because there hadn’t been a neighborhood school here in 20 years due to the desegregation and students being bused to different schools and out of center townships. They just kind of wanted to bring back that sense
of school and community.”
KIPP schools are designed to form a unique partnership where teachers have room to be innovative in their classrooms, parents are encouraged to be involved and students are shown the value of excellence in their work. Students, parents, and teachers sign the “Commitment to Excellence,” a learning pledge that outlines the hard work necessary to
achieve lasting success.
KIPP students are in school at least nine hours a day. That compares with fewer than seven hours in regular public schools. Students are urged to call teachers after hours if they have questions about homework. Good work and behavior are rewarded with points toward various items from the student store or school trips, which is not available to students with low points. Active teachers include all children in lessons, and points are removed for not paying attention or failure
to turn in homework.
The result of this approach, Ola-Niyi said, is the maximization of academic achievement and the full utilization of the
/
student’s potential.
“We are very proactive in our recruitment and our communication with parents, families, students and teachers about exactly what KIPP is, what it means and what we’re all about,” she stated. “We also teach the students that there are no shortcuts and when you work hard you will reap the gains and be successful. We communicate that with our teachers as well, because we work longer hours, but there are rewards at the end.” Ola-Niyi added that the school expects the students to grow at a minimum of two grade levels in one school year, and has plans to raise that goal to 2.5 grades
this school year.
But growth has also been seen in other areas as well. KIPP students have been enjoying extracurricular activities at the school such as sports
(basketball, track, volleyball and soccer), dance, cheerleading, foreign language, creative writing and poetry. The school has been involved in a local anti-violence initiative, and students recently distributed cans of food to senior citizens
in the Haughville area.
“Although open only ayear, our compressive evaluations of all mayor-sponsored charter schools demonstrate that KIPP Indianapolis is already a superb school,” said David Harris, director of charter schools for the mayor’s office. KIPP Indianapolis is an open enrollment school that is available to students on a first-come, first-served basis. A few spaces for this school year are still available, and parents are welcome to come by and fill out an enrollment form for
the waiting list.
Two teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, started the first KIPP school in 1994 in Houston, Texas. Although some
IP*
Kipp 5th graders display excitement while learning multiplication tables through song and gesture memorization. Teachers in KIPP schools are encouraged to use innovation
in their teaching methods. (Photo/J. Hurst)
analysts are waiting to see more independent reports before fully endorsing KIPP, others have praised the program for narrowing the achievement gap in public education and getting more students adequately prepared for college. The success of KIPP Indianapolis coincides with a national survey of KIPP schools issued by the Educational Policy Institute, which showed that nearly 1,800 low-income Black and Latino fifth graders showed above average gains in reading, language and mathematics from 2003 to 2004. In July an edition of U.S. News & World Report recognized KIPP schools as “having achieved the largest and quickest improvement in learning around the country.” For more information about the KIPP Indianapolis College Preparatory School, call (317) 637-9780. For more information about KIPP schools nationally, visit www.kipp.org.
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POVERTY ► Continued from Page 1 another,” says Nick Arena, the Indianapolis-based grass-roots manager for RESULTS, a global antipoverty organization. He said, “What’s quite disturbing is that over 17,000 people - many just children - are dying each day from three diseases, HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, which cost just a few dollars to cure or prevent. Heck, if they (the Bush administration) would have spent the $9 billion that they cannot account for in Iraq on HIV/AIDS, TB and other global health problems, we would have saved millions of lives.” The U.S. anti-poverty commitments are contained in the Millennium Development Goals, agreed to by the U.S. and other global powers in 2000. That plan aims to eradicate global poverty by 2015, in large part through wealthier counties devoting 0.7 percent of gross national product to development aid. The U.S. current assistance level of 0.2 percent is among the lowest in the industrialized world. The backdrop for Bolton’s efforts is a Sept. 14 UN-sponsored summit of 175 national leaders, including President Bush, who were expected to attend and sign a new agreement to reinvigorate the anti-poverty campaign. Arena points out that the administration is also urging Congress to support a foreign aid appropriations bill that will cut funding for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria programs. “The people of the U.S. want something done to stop this and our government continues to let us down,” Arenasays. “I guess they think we’ve forgotten the promises or are not watching these actions. “Letting 17,000 people die each day when we have the means to save them is a crime against compassion, justice and humanity.”
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