News
National KIPP founders earn humanitarian prize
By: Amy Griffith Graydon
The City Paper Nashville
March 26, 2009
The two founders of the national KIPP charter school network have been awarded a $100,000 humanitarian prize. The KIPP network includes KIPP Academy, an East Nashville charter school that is part of Metro Nashville Public Schools.
The prize, the Charles Bronfman Prize, is awarded in honor of its namesake, a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who is listed on the Forbes magazine list of world billionaires. Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, founders of the KIPP network, will be awarded the 2009 Bronfman Prize in May.
KIPP - the Knowledge Is Power Program - has a network of 66 schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia, serving more than 16,000 students. By 2011, KIPP has committed to having a network of 100 schools. KIPP schools operate in low-income communities, but more than 80 percent of KIPP students go on to college, according to information from KIPP.
The Bronfman Prize includes a no-strings-attached award of $100,000. Feinberg and Levin have committed to donating some of the prize money to development of a KIPP-inspired school in northern Israel that will serve both Arab and Jewish students, according to information from the Bronfman Prize.
MNPS currently has three charter schools in operation: LEAD Academy, Smithson-Craighead, and KIPP Academy. Two new charter schools - Smithson-Craighead's middle school and Global Academy - will start serving students this fall.
Once part of the school system, charter schools must meet the same federal and state educational guidelines as other public schools. Charter schools receive local and state funding, but no public funds for building or transportation.
All of Smithson-Craighead's students, and 94.3 percent of KIPP Academy's, are considered economically disadvantaged by state Report Card data. State Report Card data on economically disadvantaged students is not available for LEAD. All three schools are considered in good standing under federal No Child Left Behind laws.
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