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Students at KIPP Empower Academy in South Los Angeles recently completed an art unit created by their teacher, Jessica Armstrong, called “Dreamland.” During this unit, second and third-grade students learned about one-point perspective and incorporated techniques of overlapping, size, detail, and color by imagining and creating their own Dreamlands. Read on for more details, tips from Ms. Armstrong, and a sampling of student Dreamlands.
On December 1st, 15 fourth- and fifth-grade students from KIPP Corazón Academy (KCA) went to UCLA to participate in "We Declare: A Youth Summit." More than 300 students from schools around the city participated in the event, which was also attended by UCLA professors, education students, and other teachers from around Los Angeles. KCA students were the youngest in attendance, as every other participating school was a high school.
Topics: Positive School Culture, Focus on Excellence, KIPP Corazón Academy
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, founded in 2006 by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. This year, schools across the KIPP LA region participated in various activities provided by PACER to show love and honor for their fellow KIPPsters. Read on for more details.
Topics: Positive School Culture
On Friday, October 12 more than thirty professionals of industries ranging from the NFL, restaurants, music, and entertainment to nonprofit, architecture, medicine, business, and law joined KIPP Academy of Opportunity (KAO) middle school students in the revamped KIPP LA Guest Teacher Program. Read on for more details.
KIPP LA students consistently outperform LAUSD and California averages on state assessments in math.
Topics: Focus on Excellence
For 15 years, KIPP has been proving the possible by preparing students in the educationally under-resourced communities of greater Los Angeles for success in school, college, and life.
Over the past year, the Mental Health & Support Services team at KIPP LA Public Schools developed a new suicide prevention and awareness lesson called “We Support Each Other!” The lesson was implemented in seventh and eighth-grade middle school classrooms during September, which is National Suicide Prevention Awareness month. Managing Director of Student Services, Kim Dammann, explained that the decision to create a lesson in-house “stems from quality control. We want to have control over the instruction that our students have. It’s about doing what’s right for our students.”
Topics: Positive School Culture
Last week, KIPP LA teachers participated in an all-day regional professional development session - the first since Start Strong in August. Teachers and instructional team members had the opportunity to observe fellow instructors of similar grade levels and content areas, participate in an observation debrief with school leadership, and collaborate with peers to deepen content knowledge and share best practices.
According to Elizabeth Petrey, Associate Director of Teaching & Learning, KIPP LA’s professional development “allows teachers to learn alongside other teachers in a way that is not possible at many school sites.” Regional PD days are only one example of the professional development provided at KIPP LA. Elizabeth notes that “teachers work closely on their development with their coaches who meet with them frequently to discuss student work, student data, internalizing curriculum, and other topics surrounding their professional development. This way, teachers can get professional development that is tailored specifically to their needs.” Additionally, teachers participate in professional development at their school locations each Monday and have opportunities to attend off-site events like the Teachers College in New York. “Through all of these PD opportunities, we know that teachers and leaders are allowed to continue to grow and learn in a way that is best for students and student achievement,” said Elizabeth.
Jake Sands, a fourth-grade teacher at KIPP Iluminar Academy in East Los Angeles, found that the collaboration with fellow teachers and leaders to be most beneficial because these sessions “provided a different voice and context to our observations and discussions.” He was able to begin implementing key lessons learned the next day in his classroom. “I felt confident to try out what I had learned and I am excited to practice how to unveil CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) strategies from concrete to abstract so that my students are exposed to a wide variety of helpful strategies.”
Topics: Focus on Excellence
As part of the program “Authors to KIPP LA” (A to KLA), national best-selling author, political commentator, and social justice advocate Julissa Arce joined the eighth-grade students of KIPP Sol Academy in East Los Angeles for a presentation, Q&A, and book signing of her new YA memoir Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream. In the book, Julissa shares her secret life as an undocumented Mexican immigrant in Texas, and her ability to overcome challenges associated with her status to eventually become a successful vice president at Goldman Sachs. Read on for more details.
Topics: Positive School Culture
From September 15 - October 15, Americans celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of those whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central & South America.
Notice of Intention to Amend a Conflict of Interest Code for KIPP SoCal Public Schools