Thanks again to Sarah Usdin for getting us in touch with Delano Ford,
Chief Operating Officer of KIPP (
Knowledge is Power Program) New Orleans Schools. And thanks to Delano as well for his time in giving four of us a informative tour through a KIPP charter school.
While Dr. Palmer stayed in the minivan to grade papers, those of us that are working on a project to benefit the Kalamazoo Promise alongside with Associate Director of the Promise, went inside to explore each of the three levels of schools, ranging from elementary on the 1st floor to high school and the 3rd. Not only did we witness the school's condition considering the hurricane disaster, but we studied this school's environment, unfortunately after class had been let out for the day, and interviewed Delano with aspirations to bring back some of the spirit that school had, and some of their techniques; like the three prong commitment in which the teachers, parents, and students commit to do their best to get to and through college and use them for recommendations in the Kalamazoo Promise community awareness project. Parts of the community feel it really may be too good to be true. This reoccurring issue with the presentation of Kalamazoo Promise information and material may be a big part of the problem, and changing it is the solution. The way the Promise is sold to its customers, which include the parents, the students, and the teachers has to change is such a fashion that it appeals to them. Why is it that we want the KPS children to be awarded this college scholarship. What is it we believe; is it the children we believe in that will one day graduate from Universities in Michigan and make discoveries, advances, and changes in our community or to build a business. Many of the techniques used to prepare students in KIPP schools for college are applicable to our Kalamazoo Promise project in a way that if the New Orleans schools had the Promise for free of charge college tuition and/or increasingly more paid for the longer you have been part of their public education system, they would be growing exponentially faster compared to the leaps and bounds pace they are growing at now. I hope with that speculation, you may be saying to yourself, wow, Kalamazoo is privileged to have this opportunity, for its next generation to go on to University...and become part of the new Michigan academia.
In reference to how in which a student is readied for college and beyond, a constant element from the student's viewpoint is the teacher who is there everyday with them in the classroom. KIPP acknowledges that their teachers "feel it" more than anything, and that there is no identifier for a teacher's ability to get a student to and through college. It is also much about belief, in that if a teacher believes a student can learn at high levels despite where they come from, then as a teacher, you are going to put in your all because you believe in that student. Secondly, because as a teacher you are responsible for making sure the student is getting everything he/she needs, subsequently the ability to create a relationship with parents is very important, especially in explaining things that affect their child's college outcome, for example, how the student's ACT score needs to be at a certain level to earn a full ride to University, which means as a parent you don't pay, so making sure that their child attends an ACT prep class on a Saturday is crucial for both you and for the student. This parent-teacher relationship isn't just for telling parents when their child has cut class or gotten into trouble, but letting them what is going on with their child in the classroom, and how they are coming along. Bringing together all three of parties responsible for getting a student to and through college is a very smart thing to do because of the increased communication happening between all parties, and as a result of this increased communication is coming forth a more cohesive effort in attaining the desired outcome.
KIPP schools share a core set of operating principles known as the five pillars: high expectations, choice and commitment, more time, power to lead, and focus on results. From the very first year in school, kindergarten students know they will be part of a collegiate graduating class in 2*** (whatever year they are expected). From middle school on, rigorous education in preparation for college starts and in this schools case, classrooms named after colleges in which the teacher had attended. Testing and more generally measuring is both crucial and routine within KIPP schools. The readiness of a student for college is measured on their ability to 1: Succeed (GPA), 2: Pay (ACT), and 3: Persist (less measurable like extra curricular activities). They also strive to make standardized tests more fun for the students. KIPP feels that the earlier the students are exposed to the measuring that takes place from middle school on up, the better 'feeder' students they have coming into their middle and high schools. They reason that someone would care about this is because it has been measured that when students who aren't as rigorously trained enter a KIPP school, there is a gap in readiness and a period that follows in which teachers must catch up children who are not as adequately prepared as they would have been within an elementary using the same techniques pursued at higher levels.
One of the teachers' rooms in this particular high school we visited had something I found interesting; it was a more interactive working environment, more so than a normal teacher conference or lounge room might be. And this one had on the wall an entire records system where students are measured in various categories based on a scale developed themselves to which they could compare progress of each others' students. This idea was most fascinating to me because it allowed teachers to openly brainstorm solutions for their students with each other based on measurable figures and past experiences not necessarily measurable.
There is something about being a charter school that allows for natural selection to take place, and people find out which schools are the highest quality, and thus those schools have waiting lists and others lose enrollment.
I truly feel privileged to work both on the Kalamazoo Promise project and had been connected with the resources the team has been engaged with thus far in this semester. I think that the Kalamazoo Promise needs to discover a new way to motivate the community, especially the teachers, parents, and students in which people spread the word about why because kids graduating from Kalamazoo Public School (KPS) Systems will have potentially 100% of their in-state Michigan college tuition paid for. Furthermore, instead of essentially yelling at people the rules and benefits, the haves and have-nots associated with the Promise, in addition to explaining why the program is great, also explain how the program will administer scholarships. Lastly, and least important, let them know more broadly how much for each additional year in attendance at KPS tuition is covered in the scholarship. This idea of marketing to people in such a fashion as explaining why and how someone does what they do is a concept adopted by this man on the following video link (long video, but worth it).
(From left to right: The Fun-Vee, Tim, Chad, The Black Widow, Taylor, The Relaxi-Taxi, Louann & Marcus)
