WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today at the National Charter Schools Conference, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation revealed that KIPP Schools has won the 2014 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. The prize honors the public charter school network that has demonstrated the most outstanding overall student performance and has helped close achievement gaps among low-income and minority students. The winner receives $250,000 to put toward college-readiness efforts for low-income students, such as scholarships, a speaker series, or campus visits.
Congratulations to KIPP Schools for winning this much-deserved award, said National Alliance President and CEO Nina Rees. It comes at no better time than their 20th anniversary to recognize the high-quality education that KIPP has provided to tens of thousands of students across the country.
What is remarkable about KIPP is how they have replicated across 20 states. Serving 50,000 students in 141 schools and achieving the results they have year-after-year is impressive. They’ve helped lead the no excuses model of teaching based on the belief that all students can succeed no matter their background and it is clearly working. KIPP has empowered their teachers and school leaders to address the needs of the students in the communities they serve and created a vibrant culture of leaders who work as partners with parents and families.
We are proud of the work of KIPP Schools. Because of their efforts, many students have gone on to brighter futures and many more are on their way. Charter schools like KIPP have shown us what is possible that every student can succeed.
The review board that selects The Broad Prize top three charter networks and winner said the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) was selected in part because, In recent years, KIPP closed 21 percent of its racial and ethnic achievement gaps in middle school reading, math and science. By comparison, on average, the remaining eligible [charter school networks] closed 2 percent of achievement gaps in middle school. In addition, KIPP narrowed 65 percent of its ethnic and income achievement gaps in elementary school reading, math and science across the available comparisons.
To learn more about KIPPs work, visit kipp.org. Charter school networks Achievement First and IDEA were also selected as finalists for this years prize. For more information about The Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, including selection criteria and past winners, visit broadprize.org/publiccharterschools.html.
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, all but one independent research study has found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center for Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
Founded by entrepreneur Eli Broad and his wife Edythe, both graduates of Detroit Public Schools, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation seeks to ensure that every student in an urban public school has the opportunity to succeed. Bringing together top education experts and practitioners, the foundation funds system-wide programs and policies that strengthen public schools by creating environments that allow good teachers to do great work and enable students of all backgrounds to learn and thrive. For more information, visit www.broadeducation.org.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit our website at www.publiccharters.org.
# # #
