Summer Vacation Means Back To School For Kipp Ascend

Aug. 7, 2008 - PRLog -- While most students are still hanging out by the pool, KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) students are back at school:  learning.  Monday marks the beginning of the new school year- one month before most Chicago students return to the classroom.  The year kicks off with a free, mandatory three-week summer session that provides enrichment opportunities and a head start on academics.  Since the school opened its doors its 2003, results show that KIPP Ascend students have made impressive academic gains, proving that KIPP’s “no shortcuts” philosophy pays off.  KIPP Ascend charter school’s free, mandatory summer session runs weekdays from August 11- August 29 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  The school is located at 715 S Kildare Ave, just south of I-290 and Kostner.  

KIPP Ascend is a free, open-enrollment, college-prep public charter middle school.  KIPP’s program of discipline and structure combined with more time in the classroom for academics and extracurriculars has proven to be a formula for success.  One hundred percent of KIPP Ascend alumni have been accepted into college preparatory high schools.  KIPP alumni have earned over 2.4 million dollars in scholarships to attend top local and national high schools.   100 percent of KIPP eighth graders met or exceeded standards in math and 94 percent of KIPP eighth graders met or exceeded standards in reading, according to the 2007 Illinois Standards Assessment Test (see chart below).  While KIPP is non-selective, the 8th grade composite ISAT scores were higher than two-thirds of Chicago’s selective magnet schools.

“The hard work and dedication of our students is proving that demography does not have to define destiny,” says founding school principal Jim O’Connor. “Our results demonstrate our teachers’ dedication and the extra time spent in the classroom.”

Founded in 2003, KIPP Ascend Charter School is an open-enrollment, public college prep middle school serving 320 students from the West Side of Chicago. 99 percent are African-American, and 90 percent are low-income.  With an extended schedule (over 70 percent more time in class than traditional public schools), high expectations, and a relentless focus on results, KIPP Ascend is proving that the achievement gap can be closed for traditionally underserved students.

Students at KIPP Ascend not only commit to a three-week summer session, but also attend school from 7:25 am to 5:00 pm during the regular school year and complete up to two hours of homework each night.  Dedicated teachers are available by cell phone after-hours for homework help and questions from parents.  In addition, they participate in academic and extracurricular classes such as music, karate, African drumming, dance, art, and photography on alternating Saturdays.  

About KIPP
Two idealistic teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, started KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) in 1994 in Houston, TX after completing Teach For America.  In 1995, Levin founded KIPP Academy New York in the South Bronx.  KIPP has grown to a national network of 65 public schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia.  Nationally, over 80 percent of KIPP alumni have matriculated to college in communities where less than 20 percent report having plans to do so.  The success of KIPP has been featured in national news outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, People, Reader’s Digest, US News & World Report and ABC World News.  In April 2006, Oprah Winfrey profiled KIPP as a solution to education in America and described the program as “a revolutionary new school system.”  For more information, visit www.kipp.org.
                     
Contacts:    
Carol Hill:  KIPP Chicago; 773-208-3058; chill@kippascend.org
Debbie Fine:  KIPP schools; 415-505-3069; dfine@kipp.org