The Columbus district was not chosen to sponsor schools.

Suburban News Publication

11/29/2006

Garth Bishop

It’s official: The Knowledge Is Power Program, known for its high-performing charter schools, is coming to Columbus.

Though it will not be sponsored by Columbus Public Schools, as some district officials had hoped, a program official said it is open to working with the district for mutual gain.

“Wherever KIPP has gone, KIPP has worked in partnership with school districts, teachers unions and school boards,” said Steve Mancini, director of public affairs for KIPP.

KIPP puts a great deal of work into training its school employees, and the program sees a possibility for a partnership with the Columbus school district for training and professional development, Mancini said.

“At KIPP, we don’t have a monopoly on good ideas or all the answers in public education,” he said.

The program will be sponsored by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based educational reform group.

Mark Real, president of KidsOhio.org, said it was a matter of know-how.

“They selected Fordham because Fordham had more experience in sponsoring charter schools,” Real said.

The Fordham Foundation already sponsors nine charter schools in Ohio, though none of them are in Columbus. The Columbus school district sponsors one that opened this year: the Academic Acceleration Academy, a school aimed at over-age students.

Whether Columbus will pursue some sort of partnership with KIPP has not yet been determined, Real said.

KIPP has chosen to expand in two cities this year. Columbus is the first; the other has not yet been selected.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the broad-based support in Columbus for increasing high-quality public school options for kids,” Mancini said.

“We believe that great education is a team effort, and clearly, in Columbus, there are individuals from a broad array of backgrounds who have been thinking about education reform for a long time and have a real commitment to improving public school options for kids.”

KIPP is known for its track record of high-performing charter schools and its extended amount of in-class time — classes are held on Saturdays and in July — as well as its tendency to serve primarily economically disadvantaged students.

“The bottom line is they have a track record of educating the neediest of children in communities to a very high level,” said Terry Ryan, Fordham’s vice president for Ohio programs and policies.

“It’s a great opportunity for some of the children that currently are struggling.”

The current goal is for KIPP to open at least one school in Columbus by 2008. However, the No. 1 priority for KIPP is finding someone to lead its schools, and when the first school opens will be heavily contingent upon that.

“It will take a … unique individual to lead this school,” Mancini said.

“Ultimately, we want to create a dream team of educators at KIPP that are going to set kids up for great opportunities in life.”

The program is now seeking individuals interested in leading a KIPP school. Only about 4 percent of applicants are accepted, and all must undergo a rigorous, year-long training program, including a six-week course at Stanford University.

The next priorities for KIPP will be finding a location for its first school and building a local board of directors.

KIPP has pledged to bring a whole network of schools to Columbus.

“Their commitment to Columbus is to eventually open five schools that will serve 1,500 kids,” Real said.

“I think it’s a very positive opportunity.”

However, the fact that the program will not be sponsored by Columbus schools — and will thus take away state funding from the district if students leave for a KIPP school — is a sticking point for some.

One of them is Rhonda Johnson, president of the Columbus Education Association.

“It’s a charter school and it’s not sponsored by the district, so we don’t really have anything to do with it,” she said.

The teachers union had hoped the district would be able to sponsor the program, Johnson said.