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Strengths And Weaknesses Of Kipps

Decent Essays

KIPP is a network of charter schools started in 1994 that focus on extended learning time and teacher excellence. Today, there are 209 KIPP schools across the country creating statistically significant educational gains for its students.
Strengths
One of KIPPs strengths is the underserved community it is addressing: low income and minority students who are not reaching their full potential in traditional public schools. Nationally, KIPP contains 95% African American or Latino and 11% Special Education students. Additionally, 88% of their students qualify for Federal Free or Reduced Lunch.
Research has shown that the number one school influence on student achievement is teachers. KIPP makes hiring excellent teachers a priority through selective hiring practices and training programs. Teachers provide homework help to students after school by phone, and reach out to parents to encourage engagement. KIPP also ensures teachers are set up for success through continual guidance. Teachers are given access to instructional ‘toolkits’ that cover key classroom practices such as Instructional Coaching. Furthermore, KIPP fosters collaborative learning among their teachers through regularly scheduled teacher group meetings. To ensure teachers are maintaining high quality teaching, instructional coaches conduct classroom observations, videotape teachers, and provide feedback.
KIPP’s decentralized organizational model is another strength. KIPP is broken up into 31 regional

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