KIPP Launches College Counseling Institute For School Districts To Share Best Practices

New York, NY, February 11, 2022- Today, KIPP Public Schools is launching the College Counseling Institute (CCI), a 6-month executive program that aims to bring together diverse cohorts of school and district leaders to learn, develop, and reflect on postsecondary counseling practices. This year’s cohort of participating districts represents over 4,400 schools across all grade levels who impact 2.7 million students in their path to college, career and beyond.  

For more than a decade KIPP has continuously improved our postsecondary outcomes through the creation of trainings, tools, and resources. CCI will allow all participants to gain insight into what practices other districts utilize to drive results. The CCI will serve as an example that collaboration and partnership are critical to the success of the public education eco-system’s ability to serve all our nation’s students.  

“With the pandemic’s impact on college and career program enrollment, the mission to assist students on their path has never mattered more,” said Chris Reynoso, program lead and Manager of External Impact at KIPP Public Schools. “Together, school districts and public charters can move the needle on college and program completion so students can lead fulfilling lives.” 

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to connect with other school districts in establishing how we provide college and career support to students through our ‘new normal,’” said Jackie Pendergrass, District Manager of City Schools Persists at Baltimore City Public Schools who is part of the first CCI cohort.  

Leaders in college access across the nation will gain insight into KIPP’s approach to college and career program completion as well as help KIPP refine and improve the approach based on districts’ unique contexts.  

Our first CCI cohort will consist of leaders from the following 17 districts:  

  • Baltimore City Public Schools | Baltimore, MD   
  • Broward County Schools | Fort Lauderdale, FL   
  • Camden City Public Schools | Camden, NJ   
  • Chicago Public Schools | Chicago, IL   
  • El Paso Independent School District in partnership with CREEED & El Paso Community Foundation | El Paso, TX   
  • Houston ISD | Houston, TX   
  • Indianapolis Public Schools | Indianapolis, IN   
  • Newark Board of Education | Newark, NJ   
  • New York City Department of Education | New York, New York   
  • Partnership for LA Schools | Los Angeles, CA   
  • Rockford Public Schools | Rockford, IL   
  • San Diego County Office of Education | San Diego, CA   
  • San Marcos CISD | San Marcos, TX   
  • Selma City Schools | Selma, AL   
  • Spring ISD | Houston, TX   
  • St. Paul Public Schools | St. Paul, MN   
  • Tulsa Public Schools | Tulsa, OK   

The College Counseling Institute will occur over the course of four summits:  

  • Summit I: February 24th  

Cohort members will get an opportunity to meet and begin to create partnerships.   

  • Summit II: March 24th   

Cohort members will participate in a “Match 101” session where they’ll learn from KIPP Forward leaders on KIPP’s approach to match.  

  • Summit III: April 26th-27th   

Cohort members will convene to learn from our Data & Analytics team about the importance of data for postsecondary counseling, as well as get an opportunity to plan and develop a project to implement in their district.  

  • Summit IV: May 24th-25th   

Cohort members will engage in various sessions about making fulfilling lives possible through financial aid, career knowledge, and community engagement. They’ll continue to work on their project and get ready for implementation.  

Upon completion of the CCI, participating districts will have the opportunity to partner with KIPP to receive guidance and coaching to implement practices discussed in the program across their districts.  

This program is free to all participants and has been made possible by the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  

About KIPP: 

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of 270 public charter schools dedicated to preparing students in educationally underserved communities for success in college and life. KIPP schools are part of the free public school system and enrollment is open to all students. Started in 1994 as a middle school program, KIPP has since expanded to enroll over 115,000 students in all grades from PreK through high school. Nationwide, KIPP students complete their bachelor’s degree at three to four times higher rates than the average for students from families facing economic hardship.