History

About KIPP Academy

KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) began in 1994 when Teach For America alumni Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg piloted a fifth grade public school program in inner-city Houston. In 1995, Levin moved to New York to found KIPP Academy in the South Bronx, while Feinberg founded KIPP Academy, Houston.

With a staff of three teachers, KIPP Academy in the South Bronx opened its doors to 50 fifth graders from the surrounding neighborhoods. By the 1998-1999 school year, the school had grown to serve 200 fifth through eighth graders, and in 2000 KIPP Academy became a New York City Department of Education Charter School.

From the beginning, KIPP has been committed to the belief that there are no shortcuts to success and happiness in life. We promise to do whatever it takes to help our students succeed, and we maintain an unrelenting focus on results. We offer an extended day and an extended year, and we ask students and teachers to “Be nice” and “Work hard.”

Our results have been strong. On the 2007 New York state tests, 84% of KIPP Academy eighth graders scored at or above grade level in Mathematics, as compared to 46% in New York City and 22% in District 7, where KIPP Academy is located. In English/Language Arts, 82% of KIPP Academy eighth graders scored at or above grade level, as compared to 42% in New York City and 23% in District 7. Since 2003, KIPP Academy has ranked in the top 10% of all NYC public middle schools.

KIPP to College assists KIPP Academy students in the high school admissions process and provides alumni with academic and personal support throughout high school and college and beyond.

KIPP Academy is part of the KIPP NYC family, including four public middle schools (KIPP Academy, KIPP STAR, KIPP AMP, and KIPP Infinity), KIPP to College, the Shared Services Team providing development, operations, finance, and technology support to all schools and programs, and new initiatives including planning for the opening of KIPP NYC elementary and high schools.

About the National KIPP Network

In the spring of 2000, Don and Doris Fisher, co-founders of the Gap, Inc., made it possible for the two original KIPP Academies to replicate its success nationwide by funding the creation of the KIPP Foundation to recruit, train, and support educators of talent and dedication as they found and run new KIPP schools in high-need communities across the country. There are currently 57 KIPP schools serving a total of 14,000 students. Click here to see where we are.

All KIPP schools are open-enrollment public schools. Admission is determined by lottery, regardless of prior academic record, conduct, or socio-economic background.