KIPP Ujima Academy student Sharayna Phipps, second
from right, describes her school as the Rev. Al Sharpton, left,
student Joshua Woods, US Secretary of Educ. Arne Duncan
and former Congressman Newt Gingrich listen in.

In November 2009, we were honored to have Secretary Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich tour KIPP Ujima Village Academy. Eighth grader Joshua Woods sat between Sharpton and Duncan during a discussion about the school, and urged educators to create more schools like KIPP.

"It could really change not only the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland, but the whole nation," he said. Joshua added that the school requires a strong work ethic. "If you just want to play around, you're not gonna get it," he said. "You have to want to be better."

We have spent a full year working hard to ensure that the Charter Schools Program (otherwise known as Title Vb) allows for federal start-up funding to support the opening of all new charter schools. Previously, federal language prohibited the Title Vb funding for schools replicating on the same charter, which, therefore, limited funding to only six of our 18 new schools last year. However, over the past year the administration has crafted new language that allows for start-up funding for replication and provides discretion for the Secretary of Education to distribute a portion of the funds directly to groups like KIPP that have track records of success. This is a significant step forward, and we are now looking to further establish the program as a base of funding for all of our new, high-performing schools.

Congressman Polis (D-CO) recently introduced the All Students Achieving through Reform Act ("All-STAR Act"). The All-STAR Act would establish a new competitive grant program for states, local education agencies, public charter school authorizers, and eligible non-profit organizations to expand and replicate existing charter schools that have exceeded performance expectations such as KIPP. On February 24 the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine proposals that would expand access to quality charter schools. The attendees of the hearing specifically discussed the All-STAR Act. We are proud to support the All-STAR Act, which rewards educational entrepre-neurship, duplicates and expands success, and is intended to help close the achievement gap.

Finally, KIPP's co-founder Mike Feinberg, KIPP: DC's founding principal and CEO Susan Schaeffler, and I co-hosted a Congressional Staff Tour on February 18, 2009. During the tour we discussed KIPP's national growth plans and hosted a discussion about the policy barriers our schools face.

If you have questions on KIPP's advocacy efforts, please contact Courtney Phillips at cphilips@kipp.org.