An Ex-KIPP Bronx Parent Speaks Out

I would like to share this with the world. People have to know. I feel charter schools could be an excellent alternative to private school for the poor. But not the way they're doing it. They have to change with the times.

After reading an article about the entry tests that KIPP Baltimore was giving to incoming students, I became angry and I needed to share my story. I feel every child deserves a chance at KIPP with the proper treatment, help, and chance. It's not fair what they are doing.

As a parent of a former KIPP student, which I fought tooth and nail to keep my child at the NYC, Bronx area school because of the structure and academics, I must share with you that the school does many unethical things of which the outside world is not aware of. Students that are accepted and who have IEP's do not get the correct services and or help so that they can be successful. The school would rather make it difficult for both parent and child, leaving the parent frustrated and helpless forcing the parent to remove the child.

I was KIPPs worst nightmare and made sure that my daughter got the help and services so that she can have an excellent chance at being successful in her academics. Boy it wasn't easy. I have kept a log showing the hell the school put me through and the unethical behavior demonstrated towards my child and myself by the school for 4 years. For the amount of funding that the school gets, my child had no up-to-date science or math books during her 4 years. Everything was copies of book pages, or premath worksheets from long, long ago with problems out of a book. And sometimes, incorrect math work. But no books.

The activity that the school did that bothered me the most was the corporal punishment, having students write repeatedly 100 times what they should do right, and pulled students out of the classroom forcing them to stand outside of the classroom on the black line on the floor with their notebooks open to complete classwork for the entire period. I always showed up unexpectedly which gave me the opportunity to see many things that were not so nice. I would question them and remind them that that was against to law and everyone would ignore me.

The 4 years that my daughter was at the school I venture to say, were KIPP's worst years because there were many students that had academic challenges. I certainly did not let the school know that my daughter had an IEP because I knew they would find a way of not accepting her. I wanted them to see the academic potential in my child and I knew them knowing she had an IEP she would not have had to chance to attend KIPP. I can see where the testing [to weed out some kids] is now being used. They want perfect students. What do I mean by this perfect student? Well students who will not question the school's unethical behavior towards them. Who will not be discouraged when they are not given a chance to show their true character, when they are not allowed to vindicate themselves when the school is favoring a "good" student over them - a "bad" student. I can go on, and on.

Just to give you a picture of how students see KIPP, the true meaning of KIPP, as per the students is "Kids In Prison Program". I truly believe they have developed the testing to keep students who are somewhat academically challenged out of KIPP. But knowing them, they will find a way to show that is not the case.



The principal always invited me to take my child out if I did not like it. My response was always, "she has a right to be here (at KIPP) just like any other child who went through the lottery system and was chosen to be here and she will stay until she finishes."
There were two reasons why I kept my daughter at KIPP besides that she needed to learn how to deal with these types of "people" and each situation as it occurred, and that was the structure and their academics. My strong presence at the school made them think twice about things and how far they knew they could go with my daughter. My daughter spoke up and didn't allow them to mistreat her, but when it got bad, I stepped in and made sure I handled it in a professional manner that actually made them see their errors but which they would never admit to.

The students, even the quiet, high performing students knew that I would advocate for all of them, not just my daughter. I had repeated meetings with the principal, teachers, and even the superintendent when there was inappropriate teacher behavior directed at any student. I made sure that I never attended a meeting by myself which I knew they were not happy about but couldn't stop me. My argument was the unfair treatment of students and parents. They knew if I took this public it would bring a tremendous amount of problems to the KIPP image. They know, I was ready to take them to court. I did bring a complaint against them when they were allowing a male student to continuously bother my daughter and teachers kept turning their heads not to see. The school was working hard at making it impossible for my daughter and myself. I was lucky, that the students always told me everything, even their best students of what actually was taking place. I always investigated before I brought anything to the schools attention, which was always shocking to them how I knew what was going on.

I have e-mails that shows the repeated battles I encountered with teachers. Shocking, even a social worker was very insensitive towards my daughter as well. Their focus has been to accept students that are quiet, do not talk back, and have families that will not believe inappropriate behavior is happening at their child's school. Students are more aggressive and are more outspoken now than years ago and KIPP has not changed with the times.

I always brought my concerns to the PTA meeting and parents were shocked. The funny thing about all this was that the 10 to 15 parents who attended the PTA meetings were the parents who were holding a position as officers of the PTA, and the parents of students who were the school's top favorite, and maybe one or two who were experiencing the same problems I was but would not say anything because they were afraid of having their child kicked out of the school. KIPP made parents understand that because they were a charter school and not a NYC public school, they can kick any child out if they want and parents could not do anything about it. Follow KIPPs rule or get out. I am happy to say, that after two years, parents began to see what I was saying but parents wanted me to fight their battles. I told parents I will back them up and attend any meeting with them, but I was not fighting for them. Parents decided to take their child out rather then put their children through what they felt was painful and would give themselves headaches to continue the fight.

I advocated like hell for my child. I am happy that I did not allow her to go to the only KIPP high school. She begged me not to send her there and I know high school would probably have broken her down. She shared something very important with me that shocked me. She said mom, "when I was going to KIPP I always had a lot of pain in my body in the morning. But I don't have the pain any more." I always ask her if she is happy with the school she is at now. She says, "I love it." She is now attending a NYC pubic high school. By the way, my daughter has ADD. I fought and made sure that my daughter got the services she needed. The outside help that came inside the school to provide the services to my daughter did not get the support from my daughter's teachers, they were even shocked of what they saw. The school worked very hard to implement their own staff to provide the services to the students this way no outsiders. Not all the students got the actually help. Only the students the school were really fond of and had a close relationship with the parents got the best help.

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Bad Week for KIPP Charter Chain as Press Increasingly Takes Aim

KIPP has been a darling of the ed deformers. And oh, so many family connections to Teach for America. This has not been a good week for KIPPers. We have come charts in our film showing the attrition rate at KIPP schools and how their so-called levels go up as the poorest performing students are weeded out. Some of the numbers are shocking. But more shocking is how they have been able to get away with it for so long. My theory? As time goes by charters will fail in higher numbers even with all the creaming going on.


Some comments from the NYCED listserve:

Leonie Haimson:You can leave comments at the WaPost; Caroline Grannan of PAA was the first person I know of to note high attrition levels at KIPP schools. Even if it’s true re Whitehurst’s comments below re the mathematica study, showing comparable attrition levels at matched public schools, this  ignores the fact that the low-achieving students at public schools go back into the pub. School system; while the struggling students at KIPP leave KIPP altogether; considerably enhancing their test scores.

Caroline Grannan: The supposedly "comparable" attrition is NOT comparable. Mathematica is giving out misleading information, a sin of omission.

Yes, there is high mobility at public schools serving low-income students, but the crucial difference is that public schools replace the students who leave, and KIPP schools don't. (It's not that they necessarily have a policy of not doing so, but the numbers show definitively that they simply don't.)

As the most at-risk, challenged students tend to be low-performing and high-mobility, the students who leave KIPP schools and are not replaced tend to be the lower-performing students. At public schools, students who leave are replaced with similarly high-mobility students.

A study of San Francisco Bay Area KIPP schools by SRI International showed that the schools lost 60% of their students, and that those students were consistently the lowest performers. Thus the KIPP schools wound up with only the highest-performing 40% of their students. (This study was apparently underway while I was doing my research and was released later -- it used data that I didn't have access to, giving the achievement levels of the students who left KIPP schools.)

The information about KIPP attrition also sheds a different light on the supposed "long waiting lists" that KIPP schools have -- as supposedly shown in "Waiting for Superman." If the lower-performing students are streaming out the door, as the data definitively proves, aren't there spots opening up all the time for the supposed eager hordes waiting to get into KIPP schools?

Again, Mathematica is giving out misleading information and needs to be refuted.

Study Finds High Dropout Rates for Black Males in KIPP Schools

Education Week

KIPP charter middle schools enroll a significantly higher proportion of African-American students than the local school districts they draw from, but 40 percent of the black males they enroll leave between grades 6 and 8, says a new nationwide study by researchers at Western Michigan University and Teachers College, Columbia University.

“The dropout rate for African-American males is really shocking,” said Gary J. Miron, a professor of evaluation, measurement, and research at Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, and the lead researcher for the study. “KIPP is doing a great job of educating students who persist, but not all who come.”

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/03/31/27kipp_ep.h30.html?tkn=TVVFjx6pS%2F3QXxwZpXXoJbMnmNSLeyGYhryE&cmp=clp-edweek

Study Says Charter Network Has Financial Advantages Over Public Schools

New York Times

Most charter schools receive less government money for each student, on average, than traditional public schools.

But the KIPP network, one of the fastest-growing and most academically successful charter groups, has received more taxpayer dollars per student than regular public schools, according to a new study, which also noted that KIPP receives substantial amounts of private philanthropic money.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/education/31kipp.html?ref=education

On Education http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/nyregion/28winerip.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

In Fight for Space, Educator Takes On Charter Chain

By MICHAEL WINERIP

Published: March 27, 2011

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Joel I. Klein, the former schools chancellor, are strong supporters of charter schools. Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Klein have repeatedly told principals at New York City’s traditional public schools that a new age of reform has dawned, that charter schools are the cutting edge and that if these principals want traditional public schools to survive, they must learn to compete in the educational marketplace.

Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, Part 3 - Afternoon Session

"I ask him next about attrition. While his Houston schools seem to have low attrition, can he explain New York’s? (See KIPP chart from earlier post this morning.) He appears surprised to see the numbers in my hand, but says he is aware of this “challenge.” He criticizes the KIPP school leaders who claim 100% graduation rates even though they have had 50% attrition in their schools. He does not, however, offer any insight as to where these children go. He simply says that it is “harder” to hold on to middle/high school kids than elementary kids. He says this is why his school has such low attrition: “When we start with them young, they stick.” He does not offer a response to my question about whether or not KIPP schools counsel out kids. He says he knows the KIPP Infinity school leader and couldn’t imagine him doing this. But, he offers NO explanation as to why the attrition is so high."

On Saturday, Feb. 12, a Real Reformer member of the Grassroots Education Movement went down to DC for the TFA 20th Anniversary Summit. The blogs came through all day with extensive coverage from the perspective of someone who is not a true believer. Let me say that Summit Blogger is still teaching a self-contained elementary school class years after most TFA's have gone on to other things. Here are links to each segment.

Part 1: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit
Part 2: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit - Randi Weingarten
Part 3: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, - Afternoon Session
Part 4: Live Blogging from Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit, With Closing Plenary

12:45 A hunt for lunch ensues. Corralling 11,000 people into a cafeteria is not easy work. Rushing to make the next session, I get stopped by a TFA film crew, asking if I want to be interviewed. Pushing down my great fear of cameras, I agree. I ‘m asked about my perceptions of the achievement gap and I talk about how TFA uses this as such a buzz word. I’m also asked why I came to the summit, which gives me a chance to talk about my concerns about the current positions and direction of TFA. I talk about the privatization of public education, TFA’s blind support of charter schools  and the strong anti-union sentiment I feel at the summit. The interviewer seemed surprised by my responses, and luckily I’m wearing my GEM button, so my message cannot be mistaken. Well see if they use the footage! Doubtful, as it seemed they were looking for some “Rah! Rah! Go TFA” clips.

1:15 Found a box lunch. Making my way to my next session and run into two people from my corps year. They are both working at charter schools (Achievement First and Girls Prep). Gave them some GEM literature, had a brief chat with both.  It’s a challenge to figure out how to talk to people who work in charter schools in a way that I can explain my perspective while still being respectful. But, these conversations are crucial.

1:40 Arrive at my Lunch session twenty minutes late.

From Cradle to Kindergarten: The role of early childhood education in ending educational equity.

1. Aaron Brenner, KIPP Houston

2. Shana Brodaux, Senior Manager of Early Childhood Programs, Harlem Children Zone

3. David Johns, Senior Education Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

*I missed David Johns piece, and came in while Shana Brodaux was speaking.

HCZ=

Shana Brodaux talks about HCZ’s early childhood program and their efforts to educate the “whole child,” improve educational outcomes and “end generational poverty.”She talks about how their program starts when children are “in the womb” and offers them an education all the way through early childhood. They are then feed into HCZ Promise Academies. She says they spend the most money on their 4-year old program. There are 5 teachers in every class of 20 kids, with a focus on school readiness.

I want to ask her about HCZ’s attrition that I mentioned this morning when Canada was speaking. Everything she says sounds good on paper. Her program of Early Childhood Education appears successful in the way she is painting it, however I wonder what she is leaving out? How can this program be called “successful” if these kids are not making it through their school long term. Will try to speak to her at the end.

KIPP, Aaron Brenner:

He talks about the KIPP SHINE in Houston. He claims they started with 114 kids in a Pre-K type program. He says they were 98% free reduced lunch, 67% ELL’s. Drastically different stats than what we see in New York. He next says that 103 of these kids “made it through to 5^th grade.” He touts their successes on a whole range of standardized tests and claims they are all “at or above grade level.” But what does it mean to “make it through” ?

I wonder where those 11 students went. Were they counseled out as seems to be the practice with KIPP schools in NYC? I am surprised that there was not more attrition.

He describes his school’s approach to early childhood and stresses the importance of Kindergarten teachers, claiming they are the “most deserving of our admiration.” The first thing I’ve heard all day that made me feel just slightly good. He mentions the importance of song, play and free time in early childhood education and even goes as far as to say that it should be a part of middle and high school education.

I wonder what his KIPP colleagues who work in middle and high schools would say about this? KIPP has been exposed for its use of authoritarian practices in many of its schools.  What to believe? I would love to ask him, but will have to attempt when the session is over, or try my luck with a note card. Again, in this session, we are required to write questions down on note cards and pass them to the front. No face to face contact between the panel and the audience. I guess that would be too personal.  

There are no public school teachers or leaders on this panel. TFA is painting charter schools as the only organizations that are doing anything to change education. This panel shared a lot of good information about the importance of early childhood education, and as an early childhood educator I appreciate the affirmation of the importance of my work.  Yet, TFA is offering a narrow perspective to its alumni—why isn’t this discussion about how to make Pre-K universal?

Question from the audience (via note card): Is the work of HCZ/KIPP scalable?

KIPP response: “We believe our approach is scalable” and that “we can silence our critics” with our success. He does not, however, explain how it is scalable.

HCZ response: Talks about the need to partner with public schools and share best practices. Says that charter schools cannot shoulder all the burden and that public schools need to be able to expand their Pre-K programs. This is the first acknowledgement of the day that charters may not be the panacea, and from an HCZ staffer. It’s not much, but I’ll take what I can get today. 

2:45 Session ends and I race to the panel to try to ask Brenner from KIPP some questions. He’s very receptive to my questions and speaks frankly.

I ask him about KIPP’s “drill and kill” reputation, which he mentioned as something he does not want happening at his school in Houston. I ask him how he perceives KIPP schools in general? Do they use the drill and kill? Are they authoritarian? He says that his school in Houston is not and that the reason he took the job there was to have a chance to do something different than what KIPP generally does. (KIPP mainly operates middle and high schools. In Houston he started an elementary.) But, he admits that KIPP schools are characterized that way because many of them have a history of being that way. He claims it is all “in the past” and that each KIPP school is making efforts to be more nurturing, less controlling. I’m not so sure I believe him, but he is quite convincing.

I ask him next about attrition. While his Houston schools seem to have low attrition, can he explain New York’s? (See KIPP chart from earlier post this morning.) He appears surprised to see the numbers in my hand, but says he is aware of this “challenge.” He criticizes the KIPP school leaders who claim 100% graduation rates even though they have had 50% attrition in their schools. He does not, however, offer any insight as to where these children go. He simply says that it is “harder” to hold on to middle/high school kids than elementary kids. He says this is why his school has such low attrition: “When we start with them young, they stick.” He does not offer a response to my question about whether or not KIPP schools counsel out kids. He says he knows the KIPP Infinity school leader and couldn’t imagine him doing this. But, he offers NO explanation as to why the attrition is so high.   

I rush out to head to my next session, which guarantees to enlarge my current ulcer—its about the future of school systems and its bound to be a charter party!