Falling short<\/p>\n
Founded in 2018, KIPP North Philadelphia is a K\u20137 school that is part of the national KIPP charter network. It was rated 23% in academics \u2014 a percentage based on the CSO\u2019s 100-point evaluation system, which takes into account proficiency, growth and attendance.\n<\/p>\n
The school\u2019s overall math proficiency decreased for two consecutive years, even as the average scores of its district counterparts increased. Its ELA scores remained stagnant over the past year after dropping four points the year prior.\n<\/p>\n
Coming off a one-year renewal, the school\u2019s only options by state law are a five-year renewal or none at all. CSO Chief Peng Chao recommended a five-year renewal with conditions.\n<\/p>\n
The school\u2019s recently appointed principal, Susanna Tagoe, argued that the school was showing significant signs of growth.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cToday, I ask you to see not what was before, but what we\u2019re building now. When I stepped into leadership at KIPP North this year, the school was in a state of urgent need,\u201d Tagoe said. \u201cAs a turnaround principal, I knew the path wouldn\u2019t be easy. Research shows that it takes typically three to five years for a school to turn around.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Tagoe said that the school\u2019s kindergarten students saw a 40% jump in proficiency within one school year, with 60% of the grade categorized as \u201con-track\u201d in reading.\n<\/p>\n
But board members were unconvinced.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I see the proficiency going in the wrong direction, it makes it hard,\u201d board member Joyce Wilkerson said.\n<\/p>\n
Board member Joan Stern agreed.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had nothing but testimonials all evening about national KIPP and all of the devotion to standards,\u201d Stern said. \u201cBut these are things that are totally within the control of the KIPP entities, and they\u2019re not done.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
KIPP\u2019s high suspension rates were another point of concern. A full quarter of the student population received a suspension according to the most recent available data. That number is higher among students with disabilities, tallying 32% in comparison to the district\u2019s 10%. Among second graders, 28% of students had received a suspension in contrast to an average of nearly 0% at district schools.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are our children and these are our babies,\u201d Board Vice President Sarah-Ashley Andrews said. \u201cAs a licensed therapist, I know that behavior is communication. When this many students are being removed from their classrooms, something deeper is happening.\u201d\n<\/p>\n