A growing network of academically oriented charter schools that has made its mark by serving disadvantaged middle school students is working to adapt its rigorous approach to fit its newest clientele: 4- and 5-year-olds.
As the closely watched Knowledge Is Power Program expands into the early-childhood arena, its leaders are aiming to build schools that are sensitive to the learning needs of young children, without deviating from KIPP鈥檚 mission to develop capable, college-bound students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to strike a balance between having high expectations and the developmentally appropriate environment,鈥� said Amber Young, the principal of KIPP Raices Academy, the organization鈥檚 first elementary site in Los Angeles.
That balance was evident on a recent morning at Raices, housed in a former Roman Catholic school east of the city鈥檚 downtown.
After finishing one side of her math worksheet, a girl with thick, dark hair created her own subtraction problems by drawing dots inside a circle and then putting an X over some of the dots.
鈥淥ne, two, three鈥攅yes on me,鈥� directed kindergarten teacher Stephanie Maggard as she prepared the overhead projector for another math lesson.
In another kindergarten class鈥攐ne of five here at Raices鈥攖he green-shirted, khaki-pants-wearing students practiced writing upper- and lower-case K鈥檚 in their workbooks as teacher Adriana Acero demonstrated on a whiteboard.
鈥淭hey are thrilled by their progress,鈥� Ms. Young said, but added she and her young staff are discovering that in the midst of all this academic activity, 5-year-olds also need some breaks. Sometimes a teacher just has to make time for a freeze dance, in which the children dance for a bit and 鈥渇reeze鈥� when the music stops.
鈥淭he kids were getting restless,鈥� said Ms. Young, who paused every now and then to receive a hug from a student or to check on another鈥檚 loose tooth.
Expansion Plans
As KIPP opens more pre-K and elementary schools, those are the kinds of lessons being learned.
The fact that many of KIPP鈥檚 elementary schools include pre-K classes when they open also shows that charter schools are becoming another provider of public pre-K programs, along with Head Start agencies, child-care centers, and traditional schools.
In addition to Raices, which means 鈥渞oots鈥� in Spanish, the organization has six other schools with early grades鈥�-three in Houston, two in New Orleans, and one in Washington. Another nine elementary schools are expected to open next fall.
And over the next couple of years, KIPP will be putting its energy into opening pre-K and kindergarten sites that can grow into elementary schools. In some communities, children will be able to begin preschool in a KIPP charter school and make the transition into a KIPP middle school in 5th grade.
鈥淲e want to make sure these kids don鈥檛 even know the achievement gap,鈥� said Katie Braude, the director of advancement for KIPP Los Angeles.
The expansion into the early-childhood arena is also being driven by a recent three-year, $5.5 million donation from the Rainwater Foundation, a Dallas-based charity that focuses on improving parental involvement and professional development in preschools and elementary schools. The Los Angeles-based Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation is also supporting the spread of KIPP schools here with $12 million.
Breaking It Up
The 15-year-old KIPP network has grown to 66 schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia. While each school has its unique features, they all set high expectations for students. They generally give leaders more freedom to make decisions and focus more intently on measurable results than in typical public schools.
But that model is being adapted to fit into an early-childhood environment.
For example, one of the organization鈥檚 core principles, or pillars, is longer hours in school. The typical school day at Raices, for example, begins at 7:30 a.m., with breakfast, and lasts until 4:30 p.m.
Some early-childhood-education experts question, however, whether so much structure is beneficial for young children.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like fertilizer; at what point are you giving too much?鈥� said Ellen Frede, the co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.
She added that playtime shouldn鈥檛 be just a break from academic work; it鈥檚 also a vehicle through which young children learn.
Ms. Young said that the longer day actually allows the staff the flexibility to respond to the children鈥檚 needs. Two of the classes still take an after-lunch nap, while others have built in a time for creative play.
Former 3rd grade teacher Veronica Palmer, now at Raices, said that she has had to adjust to younger learners.
鈥淚 learned how to break it up鈥� and, in addition to offering academically oriented activities, give the children time for Play-doh or pretending to be princesses, she said.
KIPP SHINE Prep in Houston, the first elementary school in the network, represents probably the biggest departure from the traditional KIPP middle school model. The school鈥檚 youngest students鈥�3-year-olds鈥攁ttend school only in the morning or in the afternoon. Learning through art and discovery and play is also emphasized, said the school鈥檚 founder, Aaron Brenner.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to have results,鈥� he said, noting that children who come from disadvantaged homes need specific teaching of sounds and letters. 鈥淏ut you can get the kinds of results we鈥檙e getting without being a Direct Instruction school.鈥� Direct Instruction is a reading instruction approach that is teacher-driven and known for scripted lessons.
On average, students at SHINE鈥攚hich stands for Seek, Honor, Imagine, Never Give Up, Every Day鈥攈ave reading skills above grade level by the end of kindergarten, according to results on the school鈥檚 Web site.
Both Ms. Young and Mr. Brenner also talk about the home visits they made to every new family before the start of the school year.
鈥淥ne of my students is a huge Johnny Cash fan,鈥� Ms. Young said. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have known that otherwise.鈥�
A Partnership
KIPP鈥檚 preschool classrooms also contribute to the overall growth of early-childhood classrooms in charter schools, suggests Sara Mead, a senior research fellow at the Washington-based New America Foundation.
鈥淭he charter school and universal pre-K movement have the potential to be important partners in improving education for America鈥檚 children,鈥� she wrote in a on the topic last year. 鈥淗igh-performing charter elementary schools are a promising source of pre-K capacity鈥攊f they鈥檙e allowed to access state funding streams that support pre-K.鈥�
Because charter schools鈥攚hich are public but largely independent operations鈥攁re financed through the same funding formula as regular K-12 schools, funding to support a pre-K program can take some creativity. State laws also differ on whether charter schools are eligible to offer state pre-K classes. (鈥淣ew Twist in Charter Schools: Preschool Programs,鈥� March 20, 2002.)
In New York, for example, charter schools have been excluded from offering state-funded pre-K classes. In the District of Columbia, however, charter schools with early-childhood programs are flourishing because they receive per-pupil funding for preschoolers.
Pre-K classrooms in charter schools are also 鈥渨ell established鈥� in parts of Georgia, Colorado, and Louisiana, Ms. Mead added.
As more KIPP elementary schools open, said Steve Mancini, a KIPP spokesman, the organization may produce students who end up ahead of their peers, instead of having to 鈥減lay catch-up鈥� with other students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really hopeful,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e think we will invert our storyline.鈥�
