860 More Children Will Have Access to a Great School
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP) announces it has awarded a $945,000 grant to KIPP Philadelphia to support the startup of the new KIPP North Philadelphia Charter School (KIPP North), set to open for the 2018-19 school year.
KIPP North will be the first K-8 school model in the KIPP Philadelphia network. The school will enroll 200 kindergarten and 1st grade students in 2018-19, gradually growing over the next several years to serve 860 students at full capacity by the 2022-23 school year. The school will be located in the heart of North Philadelphia (2539 N. 16th Street) and will complement KIPP’s existing school network to serve a primarily low-income student population.
“KIPP Philadelphia has a proven record of working with some of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable populations and achieving academic success through strong leadership,” said Mark Gleason, Executive Director of the Philadelphia School Partnership. “KIPP North represents a life-changing opportunity for families in an educationally underserved area of the city, and PSP is proud to help provide this new great school option.”
There continues to be high demand from families in North Philadelphia for more great school options in their neighborhood. Notably, 436 families applied for the first 200 KIPP North seats. Overall, the KIPP Philadelphia network received 3,978 applications to fill only 575 seats for this coming fall.
“KIPP North is an answer to calls from hundreds of families in North Philadelphia for further access to KIPP’s high-quality educational network,” said Ben Speicher, founder of KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Academy (KPEA), who will open and lead KIPP North. “We are thankful for the support from PSP, which will ensure the successful opening of our new school.”
Since opening its first school in Philadelphia in 2003, KIPP Philadelphia has grown to a network of five schools in North and West Philadelphia, serving over 1,700 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. KIPP offers an academically rigorous program that prepares every student to “climb the mountain to and through college.” KIPP Philadelphia locates its schools where they are needed most; 95% of students served are African-American and Hispanic, 85% are low-income, and 23% receive special education services.
Notably, KPEA, which opened in 2010 is one of the city’s highest-performing elementary schools—especially among those serving predominantly minority students. In 2016-17, reading and math achievement at KPEA far exceeded the citywide average and was in line with the statewide average.
KIPP North is PSP’s 66th investment in Philadelphia schools. Since 2011, PSP has given over $65 million to schools of all types, creating and expanding access to great schools for more than 26,000 high-need students.
Go to the KIPP Philadelphia Schools website to learn more about their great schools.
About the Philadelphia School Partnership
The mission of Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP) is to improve outcomes for low-income students and respond to the demand of families by expanding access to great schools. PSP works to achieve this mission by investing in quality schools of all types, growing talented urban educators and equipping families with the information they need to enroll their children in a great school of their choice.