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Click here to make a year-end gift today.
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Dear Friend,
With the 2010-11 school year off to an exciting start, KIPP LA reflects on recent highlights and gives thanks to those who have committed to supporting our schools and KIPPsters:
• Our two middle schools attended private screenings of Waiting for "Superman" and enjoyed the opportunity to share their impressions with the film’s director, Davis Guggenheim.
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Read on for all the details.
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Meeting the Visionary Director of Waiting for "Superman" |
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Davis Guggenheim’s Waiting for “Superman” has drawn the attention of audiences across the country. The film has sparked an important national conversation about the education reform movement by presenting compelling evidence that successful educational models like KIPP are closing the achievement gap in America. KIPP LA Prep was featured in the documentary for its work in proving that every child can achieve academic success given the appropriate learning environment.
Last month, through the generosity of Davis Guggenheim and Elisabeth Shue, our middle school students from KIPP Academy of Opportunity and KIPP LA Prep attended private screenings of Waiting for “Superman.” Students described seeing the film as a “thought-changing,” “inspirational,” and “moving" experience. Following the screening, our KIPPsters had the opportunity to engage in an open dialogue with Mr. Guggenheim. They were excited to learn that Guggenheim’s vision for the documentary was inspired by students just like themselves. The screenings also served as a meaningful opportunity for KIPP LA’s students, teachers, and school leaders to be re-energized about KIPP’s mission.
After watching the film and meeting Mr. Guggenheim and Ms. Shue, our KIPPsters wrote letters to the filmmaker and Ms. Shue expressing their gratitude and sharing their reactions to the documentary. One student was especially grateful for the opportunity “to come to the theater and experience an emotional yet wonderful movie... Everybody was born for an accomplishment, and their education allows them to fulfill that accomplishment.” Another student expressed how the movie made her, “proud to be a KIPP student. [She] learned how going to KIPP is going to make [her] a better person…in academics and also in life.”
By pledging to see the film, you will demonstrate your support for improving public education in America. 264,212 people have already joined the movement.
So what are you waiting for? Take the pledge! http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/pledge
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Davis Guggenheim and Elisabeth Shue pose with KIPP Academy of Opportunity principal Nickia Ross-Greene and KIPPsters at their private screening of Waiting for "Superman."
At KIPP LA Prep's private screening of Waiting for "Superman," excited KIPPsters greeted and high-fived filmmaker Davis Guggenheim.
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KIPP Empower Academy: Leading the Way in Technology-Infused Learning
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KIPP Empower students hone their computer skills.
KIPP Empower kindergarteners practice their phonics in small groups.
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We are excited to bring you an update on one of our new elementary schools, KIPP Empower Academy in South Los Angeles. KIPP Empower opened in summer 2010 and currently serves roughly 115 kindergarteners. The school will add one grade each year until it reaches capacity in 2014, with approximately 550 students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
KIPP Empower is the first KIPP elementary school to use a hybrid technology model. With 15 computers in each classroom, instruction takes place in small groups with students rotating on and off computers throughout the day. Teachers utilize adaptive software that directly assesses students’ learning needs and allows students to progress through the material at their own pace. Those students who are not on the computer receive small-group and individualized instruction from their teachers in the core subject areas of reading, writing, math, and science. Adaptive computer technology coupled with enhanced individualized attention from the classroom teacher means KIPP Empower students can go further faster.
KIPPsters at Empower have fully embraced this new learning approach and are becoming technology literate at a very young age; they are already on their way to developing the comfort with technology and the computer-based skills necessary to succeed in 21st century careers.
Similarly, teachers are enthusiastic about the hybrid model because it allows them to dedicate more time to individualized instruction in order to meet the diverse learning needs of their students. In addition to the significant educational benefits, KIPP Empower’s innovative hybrid-schooling model will result in increased operational efficiency and a savings of approximately $100,000 per year.
KIPP Empower’s innovative hybrid model has attracted the interest of many education professionals. KIPP LA was excited to welcome KIPP national board members Doris Fisher, John Fisher, and Carrie Penner on a school visit earlier this month.
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KIPP LA Awarded Grants from Previous and New Supporters |
Six generous organizations recently contributed to KIPP LA's schools, ensuring that our students will continue to receive a well-rounded, high-quality education.
On behalf of KIPP Academy of Opportunity, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to ACM Lifting Lives for their generous grant for musical instruments, which will allow our KIPPsters the opportunity to experience the joy of learning to play music.
The Broad Foundation awarded KIPP LA a generous grant to help fund our expansion effort. A leading supporter of KIPP LA, the Foundation is committed to helping us meet the demand for more college-preparatory schools in our communities.
We are truly grateful to the Carl E. Wynn Foundation, a prior supporter, for their recent grant to KIPP LA Prep.
The Goldhirsh Foundation's generous contribution will enable KIPP LA to continue pursuing our mission of preparing students from educationally underserved communities for success in school and in life.
KIPP LA wishes to recognize The Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation for their charitable contribution and their support of our schools and students.
On behalf of the KIPP LA "team and family", we would like to recognize the Weingart Foundation, a previous supporter of KIPP LA, for their generous contribution that will make possible technology infrastructure upgrades for our schools.
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“What Makes Charter Schools So Special?” | FOX 11 News video report, November 16, 2010
Los Angeles - Charter schools -- the conventional wisdom is that they're better than ordinary public schools. Are they? If they are, what makes them so special? Gigi Graciette has some answers in this video report. Watch the video for the full story.
"Regular Public Schools Start to Mimic Charters” | Education Week, November 8, 2010
Collaborations popping up across the country between charter and traditional public schools show promise that charter schools could fulfill their original purpose of becoming research-and-development hothouses for public education, champions of charters say. Read more…
“Schools Working to Increase Parental Involvement” | National Public Radio – Talk of the Nation, November 1, 2010
… [Mr. McDANIEL]: Well, KIPP is an inner-city college prep school. We happen to have a middle school here in Oklahoma City. And so our goal is to get these kids—they come in two and three grade levels below in reading and math, and our goal is to get them through college. And so we focus on that quite a bit, just to make sure they're getting through college. Click here to listen to the full story.
“Getting a Kid From Newark to Oberlin; A pioneer in the charter-school movement on what the best teachers are doing now” | Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2010
… We are achieving breakthrough results, and so are several other high-performing charter networks. Uncommon Schools, KIPP and Achievement First have worked to codify and share many of these techniques through Teacher U, a teacher-preparation program in New York. And this year, Teach For America—where Ms. Jackson started 17 years ago—drew applications from 12% of Ivy League seniors and 25% of all black Ivy League seniors. Read more…
“An Interview With the Co-Founder of KIPP” | The Texas Tribune, October 25, 2010
… The two teachers, who at the time were both going through the Teach For America program, called their innovation the Knowledge is Power Program, or KIPP. In 1995 they opened charter schools in Houston and the Bronx (as they continue to do today, Feinberg ran the former and Levin the latter) with longer school days, weeks and years, more focused instruction time and a strong emphasis on college-readiness. Read more…
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KIPP LA Schools is a non-profit organization that operates high-performing K-8 public charter schools in South and East Los Angeles. We are part of the nationwide KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) network, which is dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life.
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