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SharePress Release: KIPP School to Celebrate Opening in Boyle Heights
02/25/09
– KIPP LA Prep Is the First New Middle School to Open in Boyle Heights Since 1926 –
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – February 25, 2009 – KIPP LA Schools, the operator of three high-performing KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools in Los Angeles, will host a Grand Opening for the new long-term home of KIPP LA Prep on Wednesday, February 25 at 8:30 am at 2810 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90023.
The event will mark the opening of the first charter middle school in Boyle Heights and the first new middle school in the community in over 80 years. The ceremony will feature remarks by Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar, Los Angeles Unified School Board President Mónica García, KIPP LA Schools Board Member Luis Sánchez, and KIPP LA Schools Executive Director Marcia Aaron, as well as student performances and a ribbon cutting ceremony. Student-led tours of the school will follow the ceremony at 9:30 am.
“I am delighted to welcome KIPP LA Prep to the Boyle Heights community,” said Councilmember Huizar. “Having a high-performing KIPP middle school in this neighborhood is sure to make a positive difference in the lives of Boyle Heights children for years to come.”
“KIPP schools across the country have established a track record of offering a high-quality education to all children,” said Board President García. “I am excited to welcome KIPP LA Prep to Boyle Heights – KIPP will have a major impact on this community by ensuring more kids graduate and go to college!”
KIPP LA Prep, which first opened five and a half years ago in Lincoln Heights, is part of the nationally renowned network of Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) public charter schools. More than 90 percent of KIPP students are African American or Latino, and 80 percent are low-income. While fewer than one in five low-income students attend college nationally, KIPP’s college matriculation rate stands at more than 80 percent for students who complete the eighth grade at KIPP. The success of KIPP has been featured in numerous national news outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, People, Reader’s Digest, US News & World Report and ABC World News. In April 2006, Oprah Winfrey called KIPP “a revolutionary new school system.”
KIPP LA Prep serves 325 students in grades five to eight. The new building is a former tortilla factory that was renovated to hold 18 classrooms, including one designed specifically for music and four for science classes.
KIPP LA Prep is operated by KIPP LA Schools (KIPP LA), a charter school management organization that runs three high-performing public charter schools in educationally underserved communities in South and East Los Angeles. KIPP LA Prep and our other middle school, KIPP Academy of Opportunity, were founded in 2003 and serve roughly 700 students in grades five through eight. Our new elementary school, KIPP Raíces Academy, opened this year and serves 100 kindergarteners; it will ultimately serve 500 students in grades K through four.
This school year marks the start of KIPP LA’s planned expansion, which will take us to 14 schools serving 6,000 students in grades K to eight by 2020. Ninety-seven percent of KIPP LA students are African American or Latino, and 84 percent are low-income.
KIPP LA schools feature a “no shortcuts, no excuses” philosophy. At KIPP LA schools, as well as at KIPP schools across the country, students are typically in class for nine hours per day, four hours every other Saturday, and two weeks over the summer, spending approximately 60 percent more time in the classroom than their peers in traditional public schools.
The majority of KIPP LA middle school students enter fifth grade performing two years below grade level in the core subjects. After four years at KIPP LA, our students make impressive gains across all subjects: From fifth to eighth grade, the percentage of students scoring at or above the national average has risen from 16 to 61 in reading and from 23 to 83 in math, as measured by the SAT-10.
In addition, ninety-five percent of KIPP LA alumni have been placed in college-preparatory public and private schools across the state. KIPP LA’s Class of 2012 (students who will graduate from high school and enroll in college in 2012) has collectively earned $3.1 million in four-year high school scholarships.
About KIPP LA Schools
KIPP LA Schools (KIPP LA) operates three free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools in East and South Los Angeles. KIPP LA schools are part of KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program), a national network of tuition-free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools with a track record for educating low-income and minority students. Nationally, 80 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college. For more information, go to www.kippla.org or www.kipp.org.
Contact:
Katie Braude
KIPP LA Schools
323-806-2869
kbraude@kippla.org
