KIPP preps new Halifax location
ByJohn Dixon
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Come August, parents of kindergartners will have a new education option in Halifax.
KIPP Eastern North Carolina is on track to open its new KIPP Halifax Primary School in August. The initial enrollment at the school will be comprised entirely of a class of 96 kindergartners and will grow by one grade level per year until it reaches its full 480 student enrollment that will encompass kindergarten through fourth grade. Students who enroll at KIPP Halifax Primary School will be able to continue their education at KIPP Halifax College Prep middle school and KIPP Gaston College Prep Pride High School. The middle school will share a 85,000-square-foot building, which will house classrooms, band rooms, science labs and more, with the new primary school at 9986 N.C. 903 North in Halifax.
Emily Cook Dwight, current principal of KIPP Gaston College Prep Primary, will act as the founding principal of the new primary school. Dwight founded KIPP Gaston College Prep Primary in 2012 after obtaining a Master’s in school leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
“We have seen firsthand in Gaston how much we can accelerate the journeys of our students when we have the opportunity to foster their love of learning from an early age,” Dwight said in a press release. “We are eager to fill the building with talented teachers and staff who will nurture and support our students on their path to college, careers and lives of joy and purpose.”
The middle school’s founding principal will be Marlo Wilkins. Wilkins said 90 slots are open for rising fifth graders and the higher grades will be pulled in from the current temporary location of KIPP Halifax on Becker Drive.
In addition to the 85,000-square-foot building, the new KIPP Halifax campus will have a soccer field with more outdoor athletic facilities to come.
“We are fortunate to be on a plot of land that will allow us to expand with time,” Dwight said.
Wilkins said she is excited to finally have room for teachers to have full-sized classroom in addition to a full-size indoor gym.