K-12 Excellence

Literacy at KIPP

Our vision is that every child grows free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities, and we know that the ability to read and write well unlocks the doors to that future. KIPP’s English Language Arts curriculum is grounded in the science of reading, with rich texts that are affirming, build knowledge, and strengthen students’ literacy skills. All KIPP teachers are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and tools to strengthen literacy in their classrooms and beyond.   

Math at KIPP

Strong problem-solving skills are critical throughout students’ academic and career journeys. Across the KIPP network, math teachers receive ongoing training to best instruct students. Our math instruction emphasizes procedural and conceptual understanding, allowing students to explore multiple strategies to solve problems and show their thinking. KIPP schools use one of three nationally-recognized options for math curriculum: Eureka Math, Imagine Learning: Illustrative Math, or Open-Up.

High Schools at KIPP

Our mission is to ensure that all KIPP students are well-prepared for the challenges of college and beyond. KIPP high school principals and teachers have access to the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools, to ensure students have a strong foundation before pursuing college and careers. In every KIPP high school, we do what it takes to make sure students get off to a strong start in 9th grade, feel confident and prepared for pre-college exams, and are aware of the steps needed to apply for and enroll in postsecondary education.

Learn More About Postsecondary Support

2026 Award Winners

2026 Award Winners
- Hannah Deremo
  
  Hannah Deremo
  Hannah Deremo has spent nine years at KIPP One Primary in Chicago building a kindergarten classroom that transforms early literacy outcomes for her students. At the beginning of the year, 79% of her students were well below grade-level benchmarks on national early literacy assessments, but she cut that number in half by midyear. In decoding, the results are even more striking: she moved students from 96% below grade-level at the start of the year to 83% at-or-above benchmark by midyear. A KIPP veteran who mastered Spanish to better serve her multilingual students, Deremo also serves as Grade Level Lead and Literacy Instructional Chair.
  
  From her nominator, Michallé Fain, Principal of KIPP One Primary:
  
  “Hannah Deremo has spent nine years at KIPP One Primary doing what the best teachers do—meeting every child exactly where they are and lifting them higher than they imagined possible. Her results speak for themselves, but what you see when you walk into her classroom is something harder to measure: students who believe in themselves, take risks, and genuinely love to learn. That is Hannah’s work, and it shows up every single day.”
- Darricka Jackson
  
  Darricka Jackson
  Darricka Jackson, a third-grade ELA teacher and instructional coach at KIPP Harmony Academy in Baltimore, delivers exceptional results in her own classroom while helping to lift achievement across her entire grade level. In 2024-25, her students scored more than 11 percentage points above the Baltimore City average on Maryland’s state ELA assessment. A 10-year KIPP veteran, Jackson also founded her school’s first cheerleading squad, using it as a platform for student empowerment, self-advocacy, and community.
  
  From her nominator, Tieast Harris, Principal of KIPP Harmony:
  
  “Darricka Jackson is the kind of teacher who makes you rethink what is possible in a third-grade classroom. She holds every student to a high bar and then does whatever it takes to help them reach it—arriving early and showing up for families in ways that go far beyond the classroom. Her students achieve at remarkable levels, and they do it because they know, without question, that she believes in them completely.”
- Darbie Jean Baptiste
  
  Darbie Jean Baptiste
  Darbie Jean Baptiste, a sixth-grade ELA teacher at KIPP Academy Boston, is one of the most accomplished literacy educators in the KIPP network. By midyear, her students had already surpassed their full-year reading growth target — the kind of accelerated progress that puts children on a real path to academic excellence. Jean Baptiste’s classroom has become a national model for literacy instruction. The KIPP Foundation has filmed her teaching for use in professional development across the network, and educators from around the country have sought out her classroom to observe her practice firsthand.
  
  From her nominator, Zach Meisner, Principal of KIPP Academy Boston:
  
  “Watching Darbie Jean Baptiste teach is something that stays with you. She brings a level of craft to every lesson that is genuinely rare—and her students feel it. They push each other, own their learning, and leave her classroom believing they are capable of more than they imagined. That is Darbie’s doing, and it shows up every single day.”
- Rachel Leeds
  
  Rachel Leeds
  Rachel Leeds, a fourth-grade teacher at KIPP DC Promise Academy, consistently delivers results that far outpace citywide outcomes. In 2024-25, 75% of her students scored at level 3 or higher on DC’s annual ELA exams and 81% on math exams — exceeding city averages by 16 percentage points and 22 percentage points, respectively. A 10-year KIPP veteran, Leeds is known for her culturally responsive instruction, rigorous use of student data, and deep investment in the whole child.
  
  From her nominator, Monique Hardin-Simmons, Principal of KIPP DC Promise Academy:
  
  “What makes Rachel Leeds exceptional is not just what her students achieve—it is how they achieve it. She builds classrooms where students own their learning, hold each other to high standards, and develop a genuine belief in what they are capable of. That culture doesn’t happen by chance. It is the result of a teacher who is deeply committed to every child in front of her.”
- Fatima Minor
  
  Fatima Minor
  Ijnanya “Fatima” Minor, a kindergarten teacher at KIPP University Park Elementary in Stockton, California, has accomplished something remarkable: for two years running, every single one of her students has finished the year reading at-or-above grade level on early literacy assessments — in a classroom where fewer than 20% of students typically begin the year at that benchmark. A founding teacher at her school, Minor also serves as Resident Mentor and Grade Level Lead, helping her school finish the 2024-25 school year with the highest kindergarten literacy rate in KIPP’s national network.
  
  From her nominator, Javier Hernandez, Principal of KIPP University Park Elementary:
  
  “From the day she walked into KIPP University Park Elementary, Fatima Minor has set the standard for what teaching looks like at this school. She has built something remarkable in Stockton: a kindergarten classroom where every child finishes the year reading at grade level, and where students leave with the confidence and skills to keep climbing. That is Fatima’s gift, and our students and families are extraordinarily fortunate to have her.”
- Casey Ryan
  
  Casey Ryan
  Casey Ryan, a first-grade teacher at KIPP Believe Primary in New Orleans, has spent a decade transforming early literacy outcomes for the students who need it most. Intentionally assigned students who begin the year furthest behind, Ryan consistently more than doubles the percentage meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations on national early literacy assessments by year’s end, while cutting the percentage of students well below grade level by more than half. A Master Teacher who also serves as Grade Level Chair and leads K–2 intervention efforts, Ryan creates a space where all students feel successful.
  
  From her nominator, Jenni Seckel, School Leader of KIPP Believe Primary:
  
  “Casey Ryan is the teacher every child deserves. She takes on the students who need the most support and produces results that are nothing short of extraordinary — year after year. But what makes Casey truly special is the classroom she builds: one where six-year-olds know their goals and show up every day eager to learn. That culture is entirely her doing.”
- Priscilla Taoufik
  
  Priscilla Taoufik
  Priscilla Taoufik, a kindergarten teacher at KIPP Washington Heights Elementary School in Manhattan, has achieved something remarkable: for two years in a row, every single one of her students finished the year reading at-or-above grade level on national early literacy assessments. And she achieves this in a classroom where fewer than 15% of children typically begin the year on grade level. A 14-year KIPP veteran and child of immigrants, Taoufik brings a deep personal investment to the multilingual Washington Heights community where she teaches, and her classroom has become a model of what is possible in early elementary education.
  
  From her nominator, Yanet Lewis, Principal of KIPP Washington Heights Elementary School:
  
  “Priscilla Taoufik is the kind of teacher who makes you believe that anything is possible for children. She walks into her classroom every day knowing exactly what every child needs and never wavers in her commitment to deliver it. The results speak for themselves—but what you can’t see in the data is the love and precision she brings to every single lesson, and the way her students rise to meet her because they know she will never give up on them.”
- Luis Trejo
  
  Luis Trejo
  Luis Trejo, a first-grade STEM teacher at KIPP Connect Houston Primary School, has led his students to exceptional math outcomes: this year, more than 90% of Trejo’s students met their individualized math growth targets. He also helped lift achievement across his entire grade level as Math Department Lead, with all six first-grade classrooms seeing improvements on iReady math assessments during the first half of the school year. An 11-year KIPP veteran who grew up in the same Houston community he now serves, Trejo also coaches colleagues as Grade Level Chair, Department Chair, and Instructional Coach.
  
  From his nominator, Adam Kutac, School Leader of KIPP Connect Houston Primary School:
  
  “Luis Trejo is the kind of teacher who makes everyone around him better. He brings exceptional skill and genuine care to every child in his classroom—and then turns around and shares everything he knows with his colleagues. His students achieve at remarkable levels, and so do the students in every first-grade classroom he has influenced. That is the mark of a truly extraordinary educator.”
- Kathleen Vallejo
  
  Kathleen Vallejo
  Kathleen Vallejo, a seventh-grade math teacher at KIPP AMP Middle School in Brooklyn, has driven one of the most remarkable proficiency growth trajectories in the KIPP network. In 2024-25, 93% of her students passed the New York state math exam — more than double the 44% citywide pass rate — with 74% reaching the highest proficiency level. A former KIPP NYC student herself, Vallejo serves as Grade Level Chair and Dean, runs a daily lunch tutoring club, and brings an unwavering belief in her students that she experienced as a child in KIPP NYC schools.
  
  From her nominator, Omari Wiltshire, Principal of KIPP AMP Middle School:
  
  “Watching Kathleen Vallejo’s students grow over the years has been one of the great privileges of leading this school. What she has built in her classroom—the joy, the rigor, the belief that every student can reach the highest level—is reflected in results that are extraordinary by any measure. She is also a former KIPP student herself, and that history is not lost on her kids. They see in her exactly what is possible for themselves.”
- Lekeshi Wormley
  
  Lekeshi Wormley
  Lekeshi Wormley, a 10th-grade biology teacher at KIPP Bold City High School, has set a new standard for academic achievement at her school — delivering the highest pass rate on any end-of-course exam in the school’s history. In 2024-25, 71% of her students passed Florida’s rigorous end-of-course biology exam, 11 percentage points above the 10th-grade pass rate statewide. As Science Department Chair and advisor for the Health Occupations Students of America chapter at her school, Wormley also prepares students for high-demand careers in the health sciences, connecting them to professional networks and opportunities after graduation.
  
  From her nominator, De-Shazo Wilkerson, Principal of KIPP Bold City High School:
  
  “There are teachers who raise the bar for an entire school, and Lekeshi Wormley is one of them. Her students achieved the highest end-of-course exam pass rate in our school’s history — and she did it by building a classroom where every student is held to an extraordinary standard and given everything they need to reach it. She is a model for every educator in this building, and her students are the proof.”