Anonymous wrote:There is no contest...kipp will provide better teaching and longer hours of free daycare. I'm not being sarcastic...for working parents, hours matter.

Wow, so school = daycare. As a teacher in DC I can tell you that we spot parents like you from a mile away. Way to make the schools responsible for taking care of all your childcare needs. Just like a DC parent...

@13:06 Our school talks differentiation for all, but what they really mean is differentiation for struggling learners. That's great for those who need the help. Teaching "up" is not a strength, and many children who have moved on through the middle school have found themselves lacking when entering competitive high schools. The only thing that has enabled the students who gain entry into selective schools to be successful is the fact that they have families who are able to provide outside support.

For the primary grades, the project-based learning environment is fine. Again, one size does not fit all.

That was me with an autocorrect! Oops. Can't remember the exact words I meant but the school was severing ties with the Hyde Foundation and thus changed its name. The website message implied some dissatisfaction with the Foundation if I recall correctly.

PP what is lacking in the creative project based
curriculum for your kids?

Reeking odor is probably what the PP meant.

I have to say, as someone who knows one or two things about the charter school movement, I wouldn't put my child in a KIPP school. But, then again, my children are children of privilege and don't require the same interventions. In some cases, KIPP is likely "saving" some children. Programs in the more popular schools on this board likely do too for those children who have sufficient parental support. We would be lying to ourselves if we said that some children, regardless of outward appearance or class, can't benefit from a highly structured environment. It's just like the military does for some. There is no one size fits all in education. It's up to us as individual parents to determine what works for our individual children.

As an aside, I am pulling one of my children from a creative, project-based program because I feel, in the longer run, that my DC will benefit from a more structured program. I know many affluent parents who feel the same as their children age.

Anonymous wrote:Perry St Prep changed its name because it was. Reeking odd from the Hyde Foundation. I learned that from its website before the name change.

Reeking odd? Is this an autocorrect?

Perry St Prep changed its name because it was. Reeking odd from the Hyde Foundation. I learned that from its website before the name change.

KIPP represents corporate colonization of urban public schools, whereby mostly young white Ivy League missionaries with no context for understanding urban children are put in a pressure cooker setting and commanded to perform miracles and, thus, to "save" these children. In so doing, both children and teachers are exploited by an rigid total compliance corporate cult-ure aimed at behavioral sterilization and intellectual neutering.

Click here for a state investigative report on abuses at KIPP Fresno: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.nypost.com/r/nypost/2010/11/01/news/media/Chi+Tschang+Fresno+school+district+report.pdf&pli=1

And click here for my book chapter on KIPP (in three parts):
Part 1: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/11/learning-about-kipp-lesson-1.html

Part 2: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/11/learning-about-kipp-lesson-2-kipp.html

Part 3: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/11/learning-about-kipp-lesson-3-social.html

Anonymous wrote:

Your comment is dated. Hyde is now Perry Street Prep PCS
http://www.pspdc.org/podium/default.aspx?t=126234

SO they changed the name. Is the school no longer affiliated w/ the Hyde Foundation? Maybe it's no longer a cult.

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?

Haven't been in a KIPP classroom, but I have no reason to discount Jay Mathew's description. He's a big fan of KIPP.
I have taught in several 100% AA schools, both DCPS and charter. Hyde was one of them.

I find it interesting that affluent parents who would never send their own children to a school like KIPP feel that these types of schools are great for other people's children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what "cult" would mean. So, please explain.

a school that has a distinct culture, which is radically different from mainstream schools; one that requires indoctrination and training in that culture, and where students/parents/teachers who do not confirm to that culture are either encouraged not to apply or if accepted, later encouraged to leave. If you read Jay Matthew's book, entitled "Work Hard, Be Nice" you will understand why KIPP is a cult. Another school that falls into this category would be Hyde Leadership PCS, where they require teachers to complete a ropes course, and make students, parents and teachers participate in group therepy sessions in which they are coerced into discussing their deepest, darkest secrets.

Your comment is dated. Hyde is now Perry Street Prep PCS
http://www.pspdc.org/podium/default.aspx?t=126234

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?

Meant conform but, you know, iPhone autocorrect

There may be other DC charters besides kipp and Hyde leadership

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what "cult" would mean. So, please explain.

a school that has a distinct culture, which is radically different from mainstream schools; one that requires indoctrination and training in that culture, and where students/parents/teachers who do not confirm to that culture are either encouraged not to apply or if accepted, later encouraged to leave. If you read Jay Matthew's book, entitled "Work Hard, Be Nice" you will understand why KIPP is a cult. Another school that falls into this category would be Hyde Leadership PCS, where they require teachers to complete a ropes course, and make students, parents and teachers participate in group therepy sessions in which they are coerced into discussing their deepest, darkest secrets.

Is this really true re: KIPP, Hyde Leadership? If so, this is really sad and frightening.

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what "cult" would mean. So, please explain.

a school that has a distinct culture, which is radically different from mainstream schools; one that requires indoctrination and training in that culture, and where students/parents/teachers who do not confirm to that culture are either encouraged not to apply or if accepted, later encouraged to leave. If you read Jay Matthew's book, entitled "Work Hard, Be Nice" you will understand why KIPP is a cult. Another school that falls into this category would be Hyde Leadership PCS, where they require teachers to complete a ropes course, and make students, parents and teachers participate in group therepy sessions in which they are coerced into discussing their deepest, darkest secrets.