Greetings!
This
summer has been an active one at KIPP Austin as we welcomed 100 new fifth graders
at KIPP Austin Academy of Arts & Letters as well as incoming ninth graders
at our high school, KIPP Austin Collegiate. We are more excited than ever to start
the regular academic year on August 24th.
We are also pleased to announce fantastic TAKS results for 2008-09 school year. Our teachers and students have much to be proud of! In its first year, our high school earned an exemplary rating, the highest rating you can achieve; and our middle school earned a recognized rating for the second year in a row. We can't wait to share the results with you.
For the fourth year in a row, 100 percent of eighth graders met the standard on the reading TAKS.
For the fifth year in a row 100 percent of seventh graders met the standard on the writing TAKS.
Again this year, our sixth graders surpassed the state average in both reading and math.
Our fifth graders work extremely hard to make up for past academic deficits. This dedication shows as their science scores are the highest in school history.
Great job, KIPPsters! We are so proud of you. |
Teacher Spotlight: Ms. Williams
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 Emily
Williams just completed her first year with KIPP Austin College Prep as the
seventh grade reading teacher. This summer her students read the novel Breaking
Through by Francisco Jimenez, which is the story of a Mexican immigrant
named Francisco who comes to live and work in the United States. He faces
a variety of challenges including extreme poverty and struggles with English,
some of the same challenges faced by many of our students. He eventually
attends college and becomes a professor at Santa Clara
University. Ms. Williams pulled themes from the book that she
discussed with students in class, including the idea that our actions are a
reflection of our character, our experiences shape us, and the importance of
tenacity. The dedication that Francisco shows in the book is a great
lesson for our students to change their lives in the same way he does.
Ms. Williams is from Dalton, Massachusetts, a scenic rural town in the middle
of the Appalachian Mountains. She attended Syracuse University where she
earned B.A.s in International Relations and Spanish Language, Literature, and
Culture. After Syracuse, Ms. Williams joined Teach For America and spent
two years teaching third graders in rural Arkansas. On her first visit to
KIPP, Ms. Williams says she felt truly inspired. She remembers thinking,
"This is where major learning is occurring. This is where amazing
things are happening." She came for the opportunity to reach a
larger number of students and to grow as a teacher and professional. Ms.
Williams says her favorite part about KIPP is definitely the sense of community
that she feels with both staff and students. We're
delighted to have Ms. Williams at KIPP Austin, and look forward to a wonderful
year.
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| Summer Update |
With
summer winding down and the 2009/10 school year beginning Monday, we would like to
share with you a new addition to our staff.
Sheilah Kavaney joined the KIPP Austin team on August 3rd in the
role of Chief Operating Officer. Arguably, Sheilah is one of the finest COOs in
the charter world. Her entree to education began in 1993 as a Teach for America
corps member in Houston. As a founding teacher of YES Public Schools, she
played an integral role is starting one of the most recognized charter
management organizations in the nation. After earning her MBA from Boston
University, Sheilah took on various executive director roles, including with
the Breakthrough Collaborative in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She eventually
found her way back to Texas and rejoined the YES team at the time they were
launching their impressive growth plan. During the past five years with YES,
Sheilah has helped grow the organization from two schools to seven schools and
from 550 students to 3,500 students. We are thrilled to have such a highly
regarded and experienced person join our senior level staff.
It is with a sad heart that we say good bye to Kristoffer Haines, who will be
leaving KIPP Austin to pursue new opportunities. Kristoffer has worked with
KIPP Austin for the past two years, and we would not be where we are today
without his amazing dedication and work on behalf of our kids.
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| Future School Leaders |
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 As we expand to serve
5,000 students in Austin, the need for dedicated individuals to lead our
schools is more important than ever. This year Justin Scott was chosen
for the one-year training as a prestigious Fisher Fellow with the KIPP
Foundation. He will begin this program in advance of opening KIPP Austin
Public School's first elementary school next summer. Mr. Scott joined KIPP
Austin Public Schools in June of 2008 as an ESL Coordinator and 5th grade
Reading Teacher. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Mr. Scott has taught in Peru,
Uzbekistan, served as an autism family therapist, and most recently, taught at
the University of Texas Elementary School. KIPP Austin's first elementary
school will be a dual-language school with a curriculum that emphasizes
bi-literacy as an important first step for success in college and in
life.  We are also proud to
announce the acceptance of another Fisher Fellow, Bethany Blevins, KIPP
Austin's current Director of Academics. She was accepted as a Fisher
Fellow this past spring, which will help her prepare to open KIPP Austin's
second elementary school in 2011. Ms. Blevins has led curriculum
development for KIPP Austin since the summer of 2008, and works closely with
our teachers and school leaders ensure our students are on a path to
college. Before working at KIPP Austin, Ms. Blevins spent two years as an
educator in Shanghai, China. She also has led student support services at
other charter schools and has experience in Special Education. Over the
next two years, Ms. Blevins will visit charter schools across the country and
attend intensive workshops and seminars to develop a comprehensive school
design plan for KIPP Austin's second elementary school. |
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Alumni in the Community |
This
summer our current KIPPsters are hard at work during summer school, but we
can't forget about our KIPP Austin College Prep alumni, the class of 2010 and
2011, who are attending various high schools throughout Austin and the United
States. KIPP Austin Alumni Counselors keep in close contact with these
students and stay involved with them through our Alumni Services Program.
This program provides academic and personal support, high school and college
placement, counseling, internship opportunities, career services, and social
and cultural enrichment activities. The Alumni Counselors' core
responsibility is to track, support, and empower all alumni to fulfill their
potential for success.
This summer, some of the KIPP Austin alumni are demonstrating their leadership
in the community by teaming up with the nonprofit Space 12 to host a weekly
summer movie event they have named Showdown. The mission of the Showdown
series is to bring people of all ages to Space 12 to recognize its purpose as
an open community space and provide a positive weekly activity for the
community. The students have taken the lead with this program, organizing
every aspect from choosing the films shown to scheduling and marketing.
If you would like to know more about this program, please contact Alumni
Counselor Laura
Chrisco for information.
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Sincerely,
KIPP Austin Public Schools |
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| KIPP Austin Joins Facebook |
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KIPP
Austin Public Schools is now on Facebook. Check out our page to learn
more about our schools, find out about events, and browse through photos of our
dedicated students in action.
Become a fan today!
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