News & Events 
KIPP: "Knowledge is Power Program"
ABC7, Aug. 2003
Aug. 13 - We want to bring you up to date tonight on a story we first reported a year ago, when an alternative public school opened in Oakland. It features long hours, strict discipline, and a commitment from parents. The combination has shown remarkable results, and now the idea is spreading. Lyanne Melendez has this Assignment7 report .
It's the second day of school at KIPP Bay Academy in San Francisco.
KIPP Bay Academy is part of a nationwide network, 32 middle schools in 13 states. Each is run independently, but all the principals are trained by an organization called KIPP, which stands for "Knowledge Is Power Program." Seventeen of the schools are brand new this year, including Bay Academy.
Teacher: "How do we show respect to our partner when we are working in groups?"
In addition to strict discipline, KIPP schools feature much longer hours. Seven thirty in morning to five in the afternoon. There's school every other Saturday, and for three weeks in the summer.
Sacha, 5th Grader: "It's different from other schools because it puts more hours into learning and I want to go to college."
Students and parents sign a contract agreeing to the schedule and behavior rules.
Freddie, 5th Grader: "Before, kids used to be really really bad, and here they are good."
KIPP schools go from fifth to eighth grade. They are free public schools, open to any child, but they target low income students from low performing schools.
Lydia Glassie, Principal: "We visit every home to form a relationship with the parents."
Right now, the principal estimates only about ten of the 75 fifth graders are doing grade level work, but there are tremendous expectations.
Lydia Glassie, Principal: "By the time our students are in 8th grade, they will be taking classes that 9th and 10th grade graders are taking at other schools."
Across the bay in Oakland, this KIPP school, called Bridge College Prep, has already been open a year. These students started as fifth graders, and are back for their first week as sixth graders.
Tony Cuevas, Teacher: "It's summer and we had 100 percent show up on time. We had 100 percent show up in uniform, and we had 100 percent show up with homework done."
State test scores are not in yet, but the school's own assessment shows strong results.
David Ling, Principal: "Over a four-month span from December to March, they grew, the average student here at KIPP, grew one grade level in reading."
Crystal Childress says the school has been great for her daughter.
Crystal Childress, Mother: "Each and every one of the teachers really cared about her academic success."
Dilecia, 6th Grader: "I feel good about it, and it's tiring, but I know I have to do it because that's what you have to do in school."
The commitment expected from teachers is also huge. They work long hours and carry cell phones so students can always reach them.
Teacher: "Remember you can call me."
In return, KIPP teachers make 15 to 20 percent more money than the average public school teacher. KIPP officials admit the program is not for every teacher...or every child. But KIPP programs in other states have shown significant improvements in reading and math, and they are hoping to do the same here.
Teacher: "We've got a lot of work to do, please pass up your papers."
KIPP is opening two new schools in San Francisco, one in San Lorenzo, and another in Sacramento. All of them, and the existing Oakland school, are still accepting 5th graders. For more information call 866-345-KIPP or visit www.kipp.org
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