KIPP Grow

[Anonymous]

OP what about appletree? I do not have a child there but we considered it, spoke with teachers and parents and they split kids into groups based in their abilities and do quite a bit of teaching. That approach often gets criticism here on dcum but I get the feeling they are quite good. My husband and I second guess out decision not to go there almost daily.

They go through their waitlist quickly due to the fact that they are only a 2 year program.

[Anonymous]

There are some kids (and adults!) who want and/or need a lot of structure. A solid structure really helps them to focus and achieve things they could not do in a loose environment.

A highly structured environment is also apt for running a school and measuring its performance. There is simply no place for lacsadaisical loosey-goosey teaching methods when teachers, parents, kids and administrators are all on board with a curriculum and what is expected of each.

If you think a structured envirnonment might be right for you and your child, then KIPP may be the school for you.

If you prefer another teaching philosophy, the District of Columbia has plenty of other charter schools for you to choose from.

Whatever you choose, please focus on telling us why it works for you. Don't make blanket statements about a school being a cult, and don't assume that what works for your child is what everyone's child should have.

[Anonymous]

annmanito wrote:The teaching quality definitely matters to us, but the longer hours doesn't matter in our situation. We are paying a full-time nanny to take care of the younger sib, so there is no real advantage to having the older one in school any longer.
What is odd to me is that statistics for Grow show a fairly high percentage of FARMS kids. Typically, this does not equate to a very enriched, academic student body. So it makes me wonder what the KIPP Grow experience is really like.

Just because there is a high number of FARM kids, please don't assume that the quality of education is lowered. Although my daughter did not attend Grow, she did attend Will. She is now at a private boarding school thriving!!!

[Anonymous]

This thread is a year old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of these posters condemning KIPP (and every other DC school with 100% AA children) have ever actually been in the school or have any firsthand knowledge of what happens in a classroom?

Go online and watch a Professional development video for teachers, they break it down for you. Drill and chant, stomp your feat, chant. Check out SLANT and then go visit the school and see for yourself. Not something I would want for my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP what about appletree? I do not have a child there but we considered it, spoke with teachers and parents and they split kids into groups based in their abilities and do quite a bit of teaching. That approach often gets criticism here on dcum but I get the feeling they are quite good. My husband and I second guess out decision not to go there almost daily.

They go through their waitlist quickly due to the fact that they are only a 2 year program.

uhhh no dcum parents are begging for ability based differentiation especially if their precious angels get pulled into annother room less they get cooties from a below basic children.

[Anonymous]

Despite hearing mixed reviews about KIPP, we decided to try it for our kindergarden child. We are AA and when I went in to drop off the enrollment forms I didn't see not one other person of color in the office or in the wandering staff -_-. That was an issue for me, but not so much so that decided against enrolling there.

The issue I had was this...when I went back a 2 weeks later to pick up more info, I was told by administrator that school started in early August for the K children. Well, we had a (8 months ago planned and fully paid for) family vacation scheduled for the same week school was to start and when I explained that to her she said "well, its only June, so you have more than enough time to adjust that vacation plan so that your child can be here at school"...I was FLOORED! I mean, the nerve of anyone right? My only thought was this...if she is so dismissive and condescending with me, I can only imagine how much worse she would be with my 5 year old. I quickly wrote them off after that encounter and never looked back.

I was looking for a school that sought to educate my kid, we really didn't need overzealous school staff trying to run our lives or teach us how to parent...we've had that under control for years

We did have a wonderful experience with Appletree though. I would have been over the moon if they would have expanded their program to K.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

mazel tov on your good experience. As a DCPS teacher I recently spent 3 hours helping a former student who is now attending KIPP with his homework. Hello? DCPS teacher spending my off duty time helping a KIPP student do his homework. Where were the KIPP teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Despite hearing mixed reviews about KIPP, we decided to try it for our kindergarden child. We are AA and when I went in to drop off the enrollment forms I didn't see not one other person of color in the office or in the wandering staff -_-. That was an issue for me, but not so much so that decided against enrolling there.

The issue I had was this...when I went back a 2 weeks later to pick up more info, I was told by administrator that school started in early August for the K children. Well, we had a (8 months ago planned and fully paid for) family vacation scheduled for the same week school was to start and when I explained that to her she said "well, its only June, so you have more than enough time to adjust that vacation plan so that your child can be here at school"...I was FLOORED! I mean, the nerve of anyone right? My only thought was this...if she is so dismissive and condescending with me, I can only imagine how much worse she would be with my 5 year old. I quickly wrote them off after that encounter and never looked back.

I was looking for a school that sought to educate my kid, we really didn't need overzealous school staff trying to run our lives or teach us how to parent...we've had that under control for years

We did have a wonderful experience with Appletree though. I would have been over the moon if they would have expanded their program to K.

Good luck!

Fascinating.