The Broad Foundation and U.S. Fund for UNICEF Announce $2.45 Million to Fund New KIPP Public Charter Schools in New Orleans
A year after Hurricane Katrina, The Broad Foundation and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF announced today a total of $2.45 million to fund two current and three planned KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) public charter schools in New Orleans. Based on a model that has improved achievement for students across 16 states and last year raised student achievement for New Orleans evacuees on average more than two grade levels in reading and math, the five KIPP New Orleans schools aim to eventually serve more than 2,400 students.
The Broad Foundation (pronounced “brode”) announced it will provide $2 million to fund KIPP’s two new, open-enrollment public charter schools, as well as KIPP’s expansion over the next four years of three additional planned schools. The first new KIPP school, KIPP Believe College Prep, is scheduled to begin serving students as soon as Tuesday, Aug. 29.
“KIPP is one of the country’s great education success stories,” said Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundation. “Across the country, and particularly last year with displaced students from New Orleans, KIPP’s model of teaching and learning has significantly increased student achievement, even in the most difficult circumstances. We are proud to support KIPP public charter schools as an important step toward rebuilding great schools in New Orleans.”
The U.S. Fund for UNICEF announced it will provide $450,000 to fund the two KIPP public charter schools opening this fall in New Orleans — KIPP Believe College Prep and McDonogh 15. In particular, $300,000 will go to McDonogh 15 to support renovations and extended learning time, and $150,000 will support extended learning time and a social worker at KIPP Believe.
“With this new support for KIPP schools, more children in New Orleans can safely return to schools and receive the quality public education they deserve,” said Edward G. Lloyd, senior vice president and CFO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
One of the two new KIPP schools, McDonogh 15, a pre-K through 8 school scheduled to open in September, will be led by New Orleans native Gary Robichaux and serve some of the same students as the Houston-based New Orleans West (NOW) College Prep. Last year, KIPP partnered with the Houston Independent School District and Teach For America to open NOW College Prep in Houston to serve 400 New Orleans evacuees. Students there made impressive grade level gains in all classes and in all grades, jumping an average of more than two grade levels in reading and math on the national Stanford 10 exam. Robichaux, who served as principal of NOW College Prep last year, and many of the teachers who relocated to Houston last year are returning to New Orleans to teach at McDonogh 15.
McDonogh 15 will sit in the historic French Quarter in a school building that endured wind damage during Katrina. Known in the community as the “little red schoolhouse” for its distinctive red exterior, renovations at McDonogh 15 have been ongoing over the past months.
“Investing in proven, high-quality KIPP public charter schools is a significant step towards creating first-rate educational opportunities for young people, which is vital to the recovery effort in New Orleans,” said U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La.
The other New Orleans KIPP public charter school, KIPP Believe College Prep, is located in the former McNair Elementary school building. Founded by Adam Meinig, KIPP Believe College Prep will start with a fifth grade this fall and add a grade each year until becoming a full fifth through eighth grade public middle school. McNair also sustained serious wind damage to the roof during the hurricane, and FEMA-sponsored renovations have been ongoing for the past several months. Together, KIPP Believe and McDonogh 15 will serve more than 500 students this school year.
“We are extremely grateful to the leadership at The Broad Foundation and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF,” stated KIPP Foundation CEO Richard Barth. “With this generous support, our model that raised student achievement in Houston can serve even more New Orleans students.”
KIPP was founded in 1994 in Houston by two idealistic teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, after completing their commitment to Teach For America. KIPP has grown to a national network of 52 public schools in 16 states and the District of Columbia. KIPP schools have been widely recognized for narrowing the achievement gap in public education and putting underserved students on the path to college. A report by The Educational Policy Institute in August 2005 found that KIPP made “large and significant gains” compared to traditional urban schools. More than 80 percent of KIPP students nationally are low-income and more than 95 percent are African American or Hispanic. KIPP schools use a combination of higher expectations, greater structure, more time in school, rigorous teacher training and even spirited songs to engage students in learning. The average KIPP fifth-grader enters at the 28th percentile nationally, and the average eighth-grader leaves at the 74th percentile. Nearly 80 percent of KIPP alumni who graduated from the eighth grade have matriculated to college in communities where less than 25 percent reported having plans to do so. KIPP’s Internet address is: www.kipp.org.
The Broad Foundation is a national education venture philanthropy, based in Los Angeles, established in 1999 by Eli and Edythe Broad. The Foundation’s mission is to dramatically improve student achievement in urban public schools through better governance, management, labor relations and competition. The Broad Foundation’s Internet address is: www.broadfoundation.org.
Founded in 1946, UNICEF helps save, protect and improve the lives of children in 156 countries and territories through immunization, education, health care, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicefusa.org.
To schedule interviews, visit a school or obtain b-roll of KIPP schools, contact: Justin Barra, KIPP Foundation, jbarra@kipp.org, 415-225-8698 Erica Lepping, The Broad Foundation, el@broadfoundation.org, 310-954-5053 Kini Schoop, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, kschoop@unicefusa.org, 212-880-9132