Brummett writes this morning some back story on Blytheville‘s happy news that it will be the second city in Arkansas to have KIPP charter school, which has been successful in Helena.
That occasions a link to a thoughtful article on KIPP, related to a book on the subject by a Washington Post writer. The author, like the book’s author, is an admirer of KIPP. But her piece brings up some issues worth thinking about in this or any school reform discussion.
1) There are many successful education programs. Broad replication is the core problem. 2) Even in poor communities, KIPP has a more homogenuous student body, comprising self-selected families (even if chosen by lottery), than the average all-comers school in economically depressed places. 3) KIPP can winnow (expel) the mediocre students and parents who don’t meet the demanding standards.
The author suggests an experiment where, rather than building a single school to serve a (motivated) part of the population of a city, that KIPP take on an entire community. She writes: