Reflecting Back, Looking Ahead

Dear Friends,

Our 2010 Annual Report is out, and we’re excited to share with you the great strides that KIPP Delta’s students continue to make in climbing the mountain to and through college: Students are outperforming the state in most areas tested, and 100% of the Class of 2010 matriculated to college this fall. Our new elementary school, KIPP Delta ELA, completed its first year of operations, and KIPP Blytheville is up and running in northeast Arkansas. What a fantastic year to celebrate!

Looking ahead to 2011, our team is humbled by the challenges we face in providing our students the academic support and resources they need to reach the summit. Are we meeting our goals? Are we doing right by our students?  What challenges will next year bring, and how can we be ready? These are just a few questions at the front of our mind as we close out the semester, and we’re ready to tackle them head-on.

We hope you’ll take a moment to read our Annual Report and reflect on how you, too, can make a major impact on the lives of our students this year. Please consider contributing to our annual fund this December. You may even make a gift in honor or memory of a loved one during the holidays.

Thank you for your support and your interest in our students, as always.

With gratitude,

The KIPP Delta Team and Family

KIPP Delta Annual Student & Alumni Dinner: You’re Invited!

KIPP Delta Invites You to Share an Evening with Students and Alumni

Thursday, January 6, 2011

6:30 p.m.

Phillips Community College – Fine Arts Center

Helena-West Helena, AR

Catered by Peter Brave from the critically-acclaimed Brave New Restaurant in Little Rock, AR

Tickets: $50.00/person

Please RSVP by December 31 to ginny.blankenship@kippdelta.org or 870-753-9035.

KIPP Delta Highlighted in New Studies

KIPP Delta Public Schools has been highlighted in several recent research and policy-related publications. In a new policy brief, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) recognized KIPP Delta as one of the few public school districts in Arkansas that is making wise use of state National School Lunch Act (NSLA) poverty funding. The Arkansas Legislative Task Force on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunity’s final report also claims that “school districts should be required to spend the majority of their NSLA funding each year on programs proven to close the achievement, including … replicating successful programs in other public or charter schools (e.g., KIPP schools)”.

In addition, the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) highlighted KIPP Delta as a model of education reform in rural areas in a new article, “Meeting the Challenge of Rural Charter School Development”: “Rural charter schools often face obstacles such as raising expectations for education, marshalling resources, and recruiting staff, but for small communities they also provide a choice that can help improve students’ achievement.”

 

“[Transportation is] a fairly unique challenge,” KIPP Delta’s Executive Director, Scott Shirey, acknowledged. “The moment you don’t transport in a rural community, you’ve really limited your program to parents who have the ability to pick the kids up and drop them off,” Shirey said. “It would destroy our population.” Shirey said that meeting the challenges of running a rural charter school has its rewards, too. “I think it’s really cool that we run our own transportation team,” he said. “It’s like learning to drive a stick shift. It’s harder at first, but, once you do it, it’s better in the long run.” He said it provides flexibility and independence. The impact of the kitchen is similar, allowing the school to have a greater influence on students’ eating habits. While facilities are still expensive, land is cheap. Shirey said that it is gratifying to be able to influence a larger percentage of the student population than is possible for a single charter in a large city.

Kathy Smith of the Walton Family Foundation sees exciting opportunities that KIPP is creating in the Delta—and not just for our students: “”The unintended consequence of KIPP sitting in Helena is that we also have 70 teachers that would not have been in that community,” she said. “You’ve got this brain trust of young people that are literally carrying the community on their backs with this education option that they have.” She added, “These people never would have moved into Helena had it not been for KIPP.” See NCSRC’s website to read the full story.

Student Success Stories

Congratulations to the following seniors who have already received college acceptance letters this fall!

Deana Allen – Ouachita Baptist University

Keaira Hill – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Morgan Michel – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Alexandra Vann – University of Central Arkansas

Joseph Whitfield – Xavier University

Loretta Wilburn – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Roquel Williams – Ouachita Baptist University & University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Markeya Wilson – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

A Teacher’s Story: “Work Hard, Play Nice”

After our away basketball games, I am typically the last of the KIPP traveling party to leave the opposing team’s gymnasium. I like to double-check that the boys left our locker room better than they found it, and to soak up the kind words and handshakes of our gracious hosts. Hopefully, the day will come when the compliments are about our excellence in execution, but for now the superlative compliments with regard to our competitive spirit, sportsmanship,  and overall conduct have served as a soothing balm following our losses.

I exited the gym last Friday evening, following our best played and closest game yet, a 71-54 loss to the Maynard Tigers. We were a stone’s throw from the Missouri border, and I was eager to begin the long journey home. Suffice to say, I was not excited to see that a large group of our varsity basketball players had not yet made their way to the bus, but were rather gathered in front of the gym. I asked our Captain, Alex Vann, why the boys had not yet made their way down the hill to our bus. He replied “We asked #3’s Dad to tell him to hurry up so that we could talk to him. You know, compliment him for the way he played and to ask him what colleges he is looking at.”

Number three was no ordinary player. His 37 points were the definitive reason for our loss. When Dad and son emerged from the gym, our KIPPsters broke into a chorus of compliments and questions. “Hey, what schools are you looking at?” “Oh, you could start for them.” “I didn’t think you were going to miss all game.” “That play where you…” I lingered until all  the well-wishes, thank yous, and compliments were exchanged, and then followed our throng back to the bus. As I apologized to the rest of our riders for the delay, I couldn’t help but become overwhelmed with a feeling of pride. “Who does that? Who waits after the game to compliment the guy who pretty much single-handedly beat your team? I don’t know who else does, but KIPP does, and I couldn’t be more proud to be associated with this amazing group of people.” The commitment to kindness seems to never leave these boys, despite lopsided losses and heated competition. I don’t know when our first win will come, but I trust that game after game I will find no shortage of reasons to be proud of our boys.

- Mr. Mike Cummins

Teacher and Coach, KIPP Delta Collegiate High School

DCPS Receives Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth Award

KIPP Delta College Preparatory School (DCPS) was honored to receive the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth Award at the Arkansas Public School Resource Center’s annual conference earlier this month. According to the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), DCPS “showed evidence of impressive analysis and use of MAP data to improve student learning and to measure student growth in 2009-2010.”  Quarterly MAP data discussions were held, and weekly professional development sessions frequently focused on the use of data.

This spring, KIPP Delta College Prep reports showed that from 60–87% of their 5^th–8^th students made gains in mathematics that met or exceeded individual growth targets, putting their growth results well above the national average for school growth in these grades, with their 6^th grade mathematics growth comparable to that of the top 2-3 percent of over 6,000 schools in the NWEA 2009 School Growth Study.

We congratulate teachers and students at KIPP Delta College Prep for these exemplary results!

KIPP Delta’s Executive Director Scott Shirey receives a $2,500 MAP Award from APSRC’s Scott Smith.

The 2010 Chant-Off Results are In!

One of our favorite traditions at KIPP Delta College Preparatory School is the annual “Chant-Off.” For this competition, students work all semester to write new “chants” or songs to help them get excited about learning and remember concepts from reading, math, and other subjects. Then each grade level at the middle school competes to win the annual Chant-Off trophy. Chant-Off stands as an incredible demonstration that hard work and practice make all the difference.

One class recited a poem in sign language, “Phenomenal We”. Others rewrote the words to popular songs, like “Respect.” Congratulations to the Class of 2015 for winning this year. All students who participated can look back and be proud of their work.  “You did a GOOD job / A GOOD JOB!”

This year’s competition was particularly special, as our new students from KIPP Blytheville came down from northeast Arkansas to meet their KIPPster “cousins” in Helena and learn how the Chant-Off is done. You can find more photos on our Flickr page.

Annual public meeting on Nov. 9

Please join us for our 2010 Annual Public Meeting on Tuesday, November 9, at 5:00 p.m. The agenda will include a review of student performance, progress towards goals, and plans for the future. Refreshments will be provided. Hope to see you soon!

Calling All Party-Planners: Host a KIPP Delta “Thanks & Giving” Party

It’s hard to believe that the holiday season will quickly be upon us! As you make plans for the holiday season, please consider hosting your own “Thanks & Giving” get-together to benefit KIPP Delta Public Schools. It’s an easy, fun, and effective way to give thanks along with family and friends, and help raise money and awareness in the process. It can be as small or large, as simple or as fancy as you like: from a Saturday brunch in your home to a happy hour at your favorite restaurant after work. If this sounds like a fun way for you to give thanks, get involved, and perhaps start a new family tradition, please contact Ginny Blankenship at ginny.blankenship@kippdelta.org, and we’ll make it happen!

Student Success Stories

Three KIPP Delta Collegiate seniors–Deanna Allen, Keith Wade, and Joseph Whitfield–have been accepted to pre-college programs for underrepresented students at Colby College and Bates College in Maine. These students were accepted based on their academic achievement, school involvement, ACT scores, and essays. They will be given the opportunity to fly at no cost to visit these colleges, attend classes, interview for admission, and learn more about campus life.

In addition, Kyeshia Ward (Class of 2010) has won the Miss Stevens Award at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for an essay she wrote on why education is important to African-Americans.

Congratulations to you all!