Online Hours
Hours displayed in:Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Roles available at KIPP Charlotte
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
About
KIPP Charlotte is a free, open-enrollment, college preparatory public school currently serving more than 500 students in kindergarten and grades four through eight. KIPP Charlotte serves communities that are traditionally underserved and marginalized in education.
Next year, we will serve 750 students in kindergarten, 1st grade, and grades 4-8.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER PROGRAM
KIPP Charlotte is a member of KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are currently 162 KIPP schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia serving more than 59,000 students.
MISSION
The mission of KIPP Charlotte is to prepare all of our students to excel in the nation’s finest high schools and colleges by cultivating the habits of mind, character skills, and knowledge necessary for their success. We provide an education that will enable our students to lead full lives and empower our graduates to be the future leaders of Charlotte and agents of change in the world beyond.
Learn about the results of KIPP schools nationwide here: http://www.kipp.org/reportcard
VISION
Highly literate and articulate students will identify a need and actively take part in their democracy and meet that need. Middle school students will be empowered to apply skills and character to model and make changes in their community. We will produce the most well-rounded people in Charlotte.
EDUCATION
- Students attend school from 7:30 am to 4:15 pm Monday through Thursday and 7:30 am to 3:15 pm on Fridays
- All students attend a three-week summer session
- All instruction is geared towards preparing students for college
- Character development is integrated into all curriculum
- Students at KIPP Charlotte receive more instruction time than their peers at traditional public and private schools
- Teachers are available by cell phone after school for homework help
- KIPP Charlotte offers extracurricular activities like chorus, technology class, sports, drama, and student government
- Students are held accountable for behavior as well as academic success
At KIPP Charlotte, we believe that there are no shortcuts to academic success. Outstanding educators, more time in school learning, a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum, and a strong culture of achievement and support, help our students make significant academic gains and continue to excel in high school and college.
PROVEN RESULTS
View End of Grade test results and demographic information for each year that KIPP Charlotte has been open:
FIVE PILLARS
High Expectations
KIPP Charlotte has clearly defined and measurable high expectations for academic achievement and conduct that make no excuses based on the students’ backgrounds or demography. Students, parents, teachers, and staff create and reinforce a culture of achievement and support through a range of formal and informal rewards and consequences for academic performance and behavior.
Choice & Commitment
Students, their parents, and the faculty of KIPP Charlotte choose to participate in the program. No one is assigned or forced to attend the school. Everyone must make and uphold a commitment to the school and to each other to put in the time and effort required to achieve success.
More Time
KIPP Charlotte staff knows that there are no shortcuts when it comes to success in academics and in life. With an extended school day, week, and year, students have more time in the classroom to acquire the academic knowledge and skills that will prepare them for competitive high schools and colleges, as well as more opportunities to engage in diverse extracurricular experiences.
Power to Lead
The leadership team are effective academic and organizational leaders who understand that great schools require great school leaders. They have control over the school budget and personnel. They are free to swiftly move dollars or make staffing changes, allowing them maximum effectiveness in helping students learn.
Focus on Results
KIPP Charlotte relentlessly focuses on high student performance on standardized tests and other objective measures. Just as there are no shortcuts, there are no excuses. Students are expected to achieve a level of academic performance that will enable them to succeed at the nation’s best high schools and colleges.
HISTORY
KIPP began in 1994 when two teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, launched a fifth-grade public school program in inner-city Houston, TX, after completing their commitment to Teach For America. In 1995, Feinberg remained in Houston to lead KIPP Academy Middle School, and Levin returned home to New York City to establish KIPP Academy in the South Bronx. These two original KIPP Academies became the starting place for a growing network of schools that are transforming the lives of students in under-resourced communities, and redefining the notion of what is possible in public education.
Since their founding, the two original KIPP Academies have sustained track records of high student achievement. While less than 40 percent of low-income students attend college nationally, KIPP’s college matriculation rate stands at more than 85 percent for students who complete the eighth grade at KIPP. More than 90 percent of KIPP alumni go on to college-preparatory high schools; collectively, they have earned millions of dollars in scholarships and financial aid since 2000.
KIPP Charlotte began with Tiffany Flowers and Keith Burnam. In 2002, Burnam graduated Morehouse College with a degree in Psychology. Shortly after graduation Burnam was recruited for Teach for America and served two years as a corps member in Durham, North Carolina. It was during this time that Burnam discovered his love for teaching and passion for educational reform.
In 2003, Burnam joined KIPP Gaston College Preparatory, a rural KIPP school with a student body that is 90% African American and 70% students from low-income households. As a sixth grade math teacher at KIPP GCP, 100% of Burnam’s sixth grade class passed the state test and earned the 8th highest scale score in North Carolina in 2004-2005. While Burnam was Chair of the Math Department, 99% of all students at KIPP GCP passed the Math End of Grade (EOG) test and Algebra I End of Course Test (EOC) the following year. Burnam’s record of success as a teacher and leader helped make KIPP GCP the highest performing public school in Northampton County and one of the top performing KIPP schools nationwide.
Tiffany Flowers graduated from Spelman College in 2004 with a degree in Psychology. Upon graduation, Flowers began teaching 6th and 7th grade science at KIPP Gaston College Preparatory. Flowers then moved to Houston, where she taught 8th grade Social Studies and was the Social Studies Department Chair at KIPP 3D Academy. Flowers saw tremendous success in the classroom.
Flowers and Burnam have been acquaintances since college. Over the years they forged a strong working relationship that has proven to be the recipe for success and culminated in the vision of KIPP Charlotte. Today Flowers leads a phenomenal team of dedicated and exceptional people who believe in social change and that children can and will learn. No excuses.
