Plunderbund

The PD is reporting that a new charter middle school is coming to Columbus this fall. And this time- it looks like it might actually be a good thing for a change.

That’s because this school will be opened by The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP)- a non-profit charter-school chain often called the nation’s best.

The Gates Foundation lists KIPP-operated schools as high-quality model schools:

KIPP schools are open enrollment, college-preparatory, public charter, and contract schools that seek to provide educationally underserved students in urban and rural communities with the knowledge, skills, and character needed to succeed. Students are accepted into KIPP regardless of prior academic record, conduct, or socioeconomic background.

KIPP schools serve overwhelmingly poor minority students but unlike other charter school organizations (e.g. K12, White Hat) KIPP schools seem to produce results- not just excuses.

On average, fifth graders enter KIPP-operated schools at the 28th percentile. And students who complete all four years at KIPP leave testing in the 74th percentile. According to the Gates Foundation, that means that “by the eighth grade, 100 percent of KIPP schools outperform their districts in both subjects.”

Obviously- the schools aren’t perfect. They do have a very high student attrition rate- and the school’s teachers will not be subject to the union contracts of Columbus city schools.

But if charter schools have any chance of working in the state- then it’s going to be one like this- not one of the low-quality, for-profit schools that suck money away from Ohio’s children and into the pockets of assholes like David Brennan.