About KIPP Academy of Opportunity

KIPP Academy of Opportunity (KAO) opened in summer 2003 in South Los Angeles with 90 fifth-grade students, under the leadership of founder Mikelle Willis. The school subsequently expanded annually, reaching capacity with grades five through eight in fall 2006.

Over the past seven years, KAO has firmly established itself in the South Los Angeles community as a high-performing public charter school.

Our commitment to giving students more time in the classroom, setting high expectations, and focusing on results has enabled our students to make incredible strides. While KAO students typically enroll performing two to three years below grade level, they make dramatic gains during their middle school years. In 2009-10, KAO students outperformed their peers’ averages across LAUSD in all subjects, as measured by the California Standards Tests (CST).

KAO has placed 95 percent of our alumni in college-preparatory high schools, including several prestigious boarding, parochial, and independent day schools. For more on our results, click here.

KAO currently serves 380 students in grades five through eight. Ninety-one percent of students are African-American; nine percent are Latino. Eighty-two percent of students qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program.

To learn more about KAO and meet our students, please see our informational brochure or watch our video.