For more information, contact Steve Mancini, Public Affairs Director, at 415-531-5396

The Columbus Dispatch - “Serve students' needs; Board should approve plan to lease buildings to two charter schools”

Editorial
March 2, 2008

The Columbus Board of Education has the chance Tuesday to help itself and students by initiating a partnership with two of the most promising charter schools to come along. By approving agreements to lease vacant school buildings to the nascent KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) Academy and the Charles School, the board can provide more choices for students and gain a wealth of ideas and experience.  Read more ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - "No shortcuts. No excuses."

Editorial
January 31, 2008

There are about 2,900 third-graders attending classes in St. Louis Public Schools, 8- and 9-year-olds blissfully unaware that they could be members of the high school graduating class of 2017.  Read more ...

The Detroit News - “Bring Detroit students proven school alternative”

Editorial
November 5, 2007

An explosive, new grassroots interest in charter school creation is building in Michigan -- a hopeful trend amid the mostly troubling education news this year. From Detroit to Lansing, educators, religious leaders and others have been meeting with charter school operators; working on obtaining buildings and studying best school practices to create high quality charter schools in poor neighborhoods.  Read more ...

The Oklahoman - "Just do it: KIPP wants more students"

Editorial
October 10, 2007

Go ahead and tell Mike Feinberg no. He won't let someone else's doubt stand in the way of better educating children. Neither should our communities. Feinberg is co-founder of a network of schools called KIPP, which stands for the Knowledge is Power Program. The name is pretty self-explanatory: Help kids living in mostly poor communities get a college-preparatory education that cements the foundation for a better future. The tactics aren't revolutionary. Above all else, hard work will get you where you want to go. And yet KIPP and its leaders are nothing short of visionary.  Read more ...

San Jose Mercury News - “2007 STAR test results reveal troubling achievement gaps; Racial disparities are difficult subject for educators, parents to tackle”

Editorial
August 16, 2007

In 57 years, all California students will be proficient in reading. Math will take longer. Progress on STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) has slowed. The 2007 results released Wednesday showed 43 percent of students statewide are proficient or better in reading, a gain of one point from the previous year; math proficiency held steady at 41 percent.   Read more ...

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - "Another expansion at the Good Education Factory"

Editorial
August 6, 2007

Who says no good news ever comes out of the Delta? The KIPP charter school in Helena-West Helena, Delta College Prep, is practically a Good News Factory. Even better, it’s a Good Education Factory—and the factory is expanding.  Read more ...

Baltimore Sun - “Dead end for a good school”

Editorial
July 13, 2007

The closing of KIPP Harbor Academy just outside Annapolis after the resignation of Principal Jallon Brown this week is sad news, mostly for the students who have benefited from the school and their parents who have invested so much energy and hope in it. There is surely enough blame to go around in this woeful tale, but the failure of Anne Arundel County school officials to offer meaningful, timely help is especially lamentable.  Read more ...

The Washington Post - "Spaced Out; Anne Arundel school officials couldn't be bothered to find room for a program that works"

Editorial
July 8, 2007

A pioneering KIPP charter school may have to close down in Anne Arundel County. Not because it failed students and not because parents were disaffected but because it couldn't find space for its thriving program. That county school officials sat on their hands until it was too late speaks to the antipathy many traditional educators have for charter schools. The losers will be minority and low-income children.  Read more ...

The Capital (Annapolis, MD) - “Opinion: No excuse for KIPP closing”

By Eric Hartley
June 25, 2007

Something is seriously wrong if a community has room for hundreds of luxury condos, gleaming office towers and a spanking new Whole Foods and Target, but can't find a place to educate 200 poor kids.  Read more ...

San Jose Mercury News - “Charter school accreditation process shows movement is maturing; Standards will encourage schools to excel”

Editorial
May 17, 2007

KIPP Heartwood and Downtown College Prep have a new seal of approval. The San Jose charter schools are among the first in the state to pass a rigorous, third-party evaluation that the California Charter Schools Association will demand of its 650 members. The Certified Charter Schools Program signals the charter school movement's maturity and willingness to set clear standards and to sever ties with those that can't achieve them.  Read more ...

The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) - “Accentuate college's positive, not rap's negative”

By Dr. Michael L. Lomax - Opinion
April 22, 2007

True or false: A college education is more important than ever. True or false: There are more African-American men attending college today. True or false: There are more college-age black men in prison than in college.   Read more ...

Charlotte Observer - “Knowledge is power; KIPP schools, extended day programs help at-risk students”

Editorial
March 28, 2007

The opening of a KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) charter school in Charlotte next fall is sparking legitimate excitement here -- and optimism. KIPP schools have had phenomenal success nationwide in improving the academic performance of low-income minority students. Students at the only other KIPP school in the state, Gaston College Prep in northeastern North Carolina, outperform white and middle-class peers on N.C. reading and math tests.  Read more ...

Houston Chronicle - “Gifted and talented; KIPP expansion is great news for 21,000 lucky youngsters — and should be for others as well.”

Editorial
March 26, 2007

Mike Feinberg, cofounder of the Knowledge is Power Program charter school, gets mixed feelings when visitors think KIPP's high-achieving, low-income students must have been hand-picked for motivation. The nationally praised KIPP schools, he insists, help create rather than just capitalize on ambition.  Read more ...

The Oklahoman - “Thinking big: KIPP schools plan expansion”

Editorial
March 23, 2007

Down in Houston, the founders of one of the nation's most impressive charter school networks have announced big plans to educate more children. We will be watching closely, as will many others intrigued and impressed by the Knowledge is Power Program's success.  Read more ...

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - “Charter flight Why not Arkansas? Why not now?”

Editorial
March 23, 2007

There Houston goes again. No, not that Houston. (Can't Gentle Reader quit thinking about the Razorbacks, Houston Nutt and The Program for one second?) This time, we're talking about the other Houston, the one down in Texas. You know, that big traffic jam of a city you have to go through before you hit the beach at Galveston or Corpus Christi.  Read more ...

The Star Tribune (Twin Cities, MN) - “KIPP school is coming to town; School for disadvantaged urban students set to open in 2008.”

Editorial
November 28, 2006

Within the next two years, Twin Cities-area urban students will have another school option: The nationally renowned "no excuses" KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) will sponsor a school locally.  Read more ...

The Columbus Dispatch - “Gap is persistent; Extra efforts to raise students’ achievement levels remain worthwhile”

Editorial
November 26, 2006

Reports that black and Latino students still perform much more poorly than whites on standardized tests is a reminder of why something like the No Child Left Behind education law was needed. Those reports also can be seen as a cautionary note that closing the gaps significantly will take more time and work than anyone expected.   Read more ...

The Seattle Times - "Getting our children ready for school, college and work"

Guest Column: Bill Gates
November 15, 2006

My wife, Melinda, and I have heard the tragic stories time and again. In Washington and other states, we learn about talented high-school students who don't fulfill their promise — not because they fail at school, but because our schools fail them. They study hard, do well and get into college. But in college, instead of the good grades they're used to, they get D's and F's. They take remedial classes, but still they can't keep up — so they quit.  Read more ...

The Oklahoman - “KIPP students find new challenges”

Editorial
October 8, 2006

Without a small school that operates quietly on the second floor of the former Moon Middle School in northeast Oklahoma City, neither Ravonne Nevels nor Casey Muse would be learning at two of the country’s most prestigious boarding high schools. KIPP Reach College Preparatory changed their lives. Their successes are just the first chapters of a school story that continues to impress.  Read more ...

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - “KIPP, KIPP hooray! Congratulations-and many moooore . . .”

Editorial
August 9, 2006

This was last fall at Helena's almost-famous KIPP charter school, officially styled Delta College Preparatory. The occasion? A school-wide assembly to celebrate yet another honor and award.   Read more ...

The Topeka Capital-Journal (Topeka, KS) - “Program focuses on kids”

By Glenda Overstreet
August 4, 2006

Interested in quality education for students? Now that the funding question has been resolved, at least to some degree, perhaps we can look at the operational structure of our school system. A revolutionary school system has been introduced recently - KIPP: the Knowledge is Power Program. It is an education network that offers free open enrollment and seriously prepares students for college even at an age when most aren't thinking of college.   Read more ...

Baltimore Sun - "Model middle schools"

Editorial
June 13, 2006

Baltimore's school system is taking some major steps to reform its middle schools, the glaring weak link in overall school improvement plans. There are some strong reform models, particularly among charter schools, but systemwide changes are not happening quickly enough. If achievement gains being made in elementary schools are to be sustained and if more students are to graduate from high schools with the necessary skills to pursue college or work, then middle schools must be tackled with a greater sense of urgency.  Read more ...

The Fresno Bee - “'Be nice, work hard'; Fresno charter school sees strong results from its take on schooling.”

Editorial
May 2, 2006

School leaders at KIPP Academy, a 2-year-old Fresno charter school, have had great success with their back-to-basics approach to schooling. Students at KIPP, which stands for the Knowledge Is Power Program, attend class 9 1/2 hours most days of the week. They have at least an hour of homework each night and attend Saturday classes twice a month.   Read more ...

The Oklahoman - “KIPP students eye high school options”

Editorial
February 25, 2006

Tracy McDaniel never dreamed the likes of Casady School and some of the nation's most prestigious boarding schools would be knocking on his door. That simply didn't happen in the northeast Oklahoma City neighborhoods where he grew up.   Read more ...

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR) - "Helena’s big plan KIPP, KIPP Hooray!”

Editorial
February 6, 2006

A few weeks back, we spent a day in Helena with some of the smartest, most interesting, creative and confident folks we've met in way too many years of newspapering. And get this: Most of 'em were bankers. Yes, bankers. Yes, creative. Yes, interesting. And, no, Dave, WE'RE NOT MAKING THIS UP.  Read more ...

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR) - "The little school that can"

Editorial
November 13, 2005

"Our students stay [at school] until 5 p.m. every night. They must complete homework every night while their friends are outside playing. They must come to Saturday school and summer school, and they are expected to adhere to a code of discipline that is often times unfamiliar to them. Because of this they are teased, ridiculed, tested, challenged and questioned at their bus stops, in the streets, in the stores and sometimes in their own homes. Yet they come, day in and day out, attempt to climb the mountain to college."-Scott Shirey, director and founder of KIPP: Delta College Preparatory School.  Read more ...

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) - "Chester Upland's needs"

By Robert Maranto and Ed Mitchell
October 10, 2005

With a new superintendent who promises reform, the Chester Upland School District - Pennsylvania's worst - has reason to hope that this year, things are going to get better.  Read more ...

The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN) - "School raises bar, students rise to it"

Editorial
September 15, 2005

Our position: Local charter is one model for reforming middle schools -- and stemming dropouts.  Read more ...

The Mercury News (San Jose, CA) - "KIPP scores big in Alum Rock: In first year, stellar scores show potential of charter middle school"

By John Fensterwald
August 30, 2005

One year doesn't make a trend. But the KIPP Heartwood Academy's performance on state standardized tests in its first year in the Alum Rock Elementary Union School District is nothing short of remarkable.  Read more ...

The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, IA) - "Unlike Washington, governors trying to get things done"

By David Yepsen
July 19, 2005

The contrast is stark. Look at politicians in Washington. What are they doing? Squabbling. Obsessing over what Karl Rove said, or didn't say, and to whom. Energy bills, health-care reform and retirement changes are all languishing while they haggle over things like a Supreme Court nomination that hasn't even been made.   Read more ...

US News & World Report - "A Teacher Success Story"

By David Gergen
July 4, 2005

With tribal warfare spreading in politics, corporate chieftains heading to jail, the news media sinking, and casualties rising in Iraq, it's easy these days to be discouraged. No wonder over 60 percent of Americans think the country has swerved off track. But hold on. To lift your spirits, just spend a little time with leaders of the younger generation.  Read more ...

The Washington Post - "Fixing what ails the schools"

By William Raspberry
April 25, 2005

A week ago the New York Times delivered a long and dismaying examination of New York's public schools, two years after the launch of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's widely ballyhooed plan to improve them.   Read more ...

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) - "Innovation goes to New Orleans"

Editorial
March 31, 2005

Add to the list of ones that got away from the School Board in East Baton Rouge Parish, a KIPP Academy. The acronym stands for Knowledge is Power Program. KIPP is a nationally recognized program that brings excellence in teaching and an enviable reputation of success in inner-city schools. The schools hold classes nine hours a day and on Saturdays.   Read more ...

The New York Post (New York, NY) - "New schools for New York"

Editorial
March 14, 2005

The New York State Board of Regents' charter-school committee meets today to consider applications for a batch of new charter schools in New York City.   Read more ...

The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK) - "KIPP school needs chance to grow"

By Christine Watson
January 13, 2005

When his first foray as a principal ended up being baptism by fire at a troubled inner-city middle school, Tracy McDaniel didn't give up. Backed by Oklahoma City school officials, he took a year off from the classroom to participate in a program that promised to turn committed educators into dynamic school leaders.   Read more ...

The Mercury News (San Jose, CA) - "Why a school succeeds"

By John Fensterwald
October 25, 2004

The 78 fifth-graders at KIPP Heartwood Academy in East San Jose walk silently, in a straight single file, from class to class. They raise their hands and answer politely, ''Yes, Mrs. Jackson.'' Students who tease one another, lie or cut up in class must wear their school jerseys inside-out, eat by themselves for a few days and write an apology to their classmates and their teacher.   Read more ...

The Capital (Annapolis, MD) - “Our say: Charter schools could encourage innovation”

October 14, 2004

When county school board members toured Ujima Village Academy in Baltimore this week, were they looking at the shape of educational things to come in Anne Arundel County, at least for some students? Possibly.   Read more ...

San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, CA) - “Charter schools are driving needed change”

By Peter Thorp
September 21, 2004

The Chronicle's recent reporting on charter schools begs the question: Are charter schools contributing to the improvement of our system of public education? Let's review. Two years ago, The Chronicle editorial page weighed in, saying, "When they were first proposed a decade ago, charter schools were supposed to become centers of innovations, and to stimulate competition in regular public schools. That has not happened, in part because there aren't enough of them to drive change."   Read more ...

Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) - “Off the Charts: Reward good charter schools, close bad ones”

August 20, 2004

Some states may be having serious second thoughts about charter schools since news reports this week raised questions about how charter students stack up against other public school children in test scores.  Read more ...

The Boston Globe (Boston, MA) - “The People’s Alternative”

By Adrian Walker
May 6, 2004

Roger Harris had a distinguished career in Boston public schools for years before he became headmaster of the Boston Renaissance Charter School in 1998. Ask him about one of the cherished claims of the critics of charter schools - that they have too little state oversight and accountability - and he laughs.  Read more ...

The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) - “Rewarding Progress: State should bolster successful charter schools”

April 12, 2004

If you are looking for examples to put in the outside-the-box category, then by all means put charter schools in there.   Read more ...