UNC unveils KIPP partnership in Gaston

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UNC-Chapel Hill will become the first public university in the state to form a KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) partnership.

With this partnership, UNC-CH plans to enroll five qualified KIPP alumni in Gaston County beginning with the 2013-14 school year and address the full financial need of KIPP students and alumni who enroll. The University will also provide support with the transition from high school to college by helping KIPP alumni to secure housing, hosting on-campus events for KIPP students and their families

Currently, there are 19 KIPP alumni at UNC-CH.

KIPP schools serve to end the poverty cycle by helping students from poor families graduate high school and college.

According to 2010 U.S. Census data, 31 percent of Americans aged 25-29 have earned a college degree.

For students in the bottom economic quartile, only 11 percent complete college by their mid-20s. As of fall 2012, 40 percent of KIPP students have earned a four-year college degree after finishing eighth grade at a KIPP middle school 10 or more years ago.

KIPP’s college completion rate is above the national average for all students and four times the rate for students from low-income families nationwide. KIPP’s goal is to reach a college completion rate that is comparable to that of the nation’s highest-income students.