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Published by
The Center for Education Reform
Jeanne Allen, President

For the last four years the students at KIPP Academy in Houston have earned the highest scores in the city on standardized tests and scored among top schools on Texas achievement exams. Some might assume that with results like that KIPP acad

emy is an upper-income, suburban private school. In actuality, it is a public charter school in the heart of the inner city. The students and teachers at this school prove that with the right support minority kids from disadvantaged backgrounds can thrive in a challenging curriculum.
          Houston’s hardest working students, as KIPPsters are called, are reminded daily that “there are no short cuts.” These fifth- through tenth-graders make incredible academic strides the old-fashioned way.  They study from 7:30 in the morning until 5:00 in the evening and take home a couple of hours of homework each night. They meet for four hours on Saturdays and through half the summer. The extraordinarily dedicated teachers keep the same hours and freely give out their home and cellular phone numbers so students can call them with questions in the evening.
          As a public charter school, KIPP is open and free to all students in the Houston school district. KIPP students, who are 96% minority and 95% impoverished, have freely chosen to make the commitment necessary for academic success and have signed a “commitment to excellence form” that clearly outlines their responsibilities. Equally committed parents agree to support their child’s learning however possible, check homework and read to him or her every night.
          When asked if there was a special approach or method that teachers use with their students, the president of KIPP Academy, Michael Feinberg, cites “the kitchen sink methodology.” They use anything that works. Most of all, they stubbornly hold to high standards. They offer a rigorous college preparatory curriculum and remind the students of the importance of college “about 50 times a day.” All the work and dedication pay off. In just one year of instruction KIPPsters routinely progress two grade levels on national standardized exams. Students who in the fifth grade could not pass basic skills tests are by the tenth grade contemplating prestigious colleges and ambitious careers.
          In 1997 KIPP was voted the best charter school in Houston.  The program has been replicated in the Bronx and there is talk of instituting similar programs across the Houston school district. With results like this, there is no wonder!

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