Due to broad-based community interest and support, the Twin Cities have been selected by KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) as one of only two new national expansion sites in 2008. KIPP officials and leaders in the Twin Cities community will partner to explore the essential next steps to bring KIPP to the Twin Cities - recruiting qualified school leaders and building a local board of directors.

"We selected the Twin Cities because the community is serious about education reform," explains KIPP CEO Richard Barth. “Home to America’s first charter school, Minnesota has been on the forefront of the public school choice movement for over a decade. We are proud to work with a strong coalition of community, business, and education leaders that are committed to closing the achievement gap in public education."

KIPP is a network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. KIPP trains educators to open and operate locally-run public schools through a year-long training fellowship - the KIPP School Leadership Program. Originally just two KIPP Academies in Houston, Texas, and the South Bronx, KIPP has grown to a network of 52 locally-run public schools in 16 states serving over 12,000 students. More than 80 percent of KIPP students nationally are low-income and more than 95 percent are African American or Hispanic.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty highlighted KIPP in his State of the State address earlier this year, saying that Minnesota "should pursue other new and innovative approaches that produce results, such as the Knowledge is Power Program."

"KIPP helps disadvantaged students develop the skills and character they will need for the competitive global environment," explains Governor Pawlenty. "We need more innovation and rigor in our schools and we welcome KIPP as another alternative for our students. Through hard work and the support of a broad range of local partners, KIPP will open the doors of opportunity for the children of the Twin Cities."

A local community coalition sought out KIPP and demonstrated that the Twin Cities are fertile ground for KIPP’s growth in 2008. The coalition included, among others, Hashi Abdi, Somali Action Alliance; Bruce & Martha Atwater; Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Carlson Companies; William A. Cooper, Friends of Ascension; Barbara Carlson Gage, The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation; Norman Chafee, Academy Consultants; Jon Bacal, Hiawatha Leadership Academy; Ember Reichgott Junge; Marina Lyon, Pohlad Family Charities; Daisy Mitchell, The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation; Cindy Moeller, Center for School Change, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs; Diana Nelson, The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation; Barbara Roy; Jon Schroeder, Education Evolving; Chanda Smith, Pillsbury United Communities, Black Alliance for Educational Options; Beth Topoluk, Friends of Ascension; Matt Van Slooten, Carlson Real Estate; Bob Wedl, Minnesota Sponsors Assistance Network.

The Minnesota Department of Education assisted the community coalition in writing and developing the KIPP application. The department will continue to work with the KIPP coalition to provide technical assistance in the areas of academics and selection of key personnel.

Community leaders in the Twin Cities have committed $550,000 to support KIPP's start-up over the next three years, and will play a critical role in forming the local KIPP board of directors. These funds will help support a local resource center and the search for qualified educators to lead KIPP schools in the Twin Cities.

"Our foundation finds the KIPP model of excellence incredible. On a recent visit to the KIPP schools in Harlem and the Bronx, we were immediately impressed by the sense of teamwork, high expectations, and positive affirmation throughout the schools," explains Barbara Gage, president of the Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation and a member of the Twin Cities coalition that is participating in the project. "We believe that KIPP can help address the educational disparities in our own community. The coalition has worked diligently to bring KIPP to the Twin Cities, and we are thrilled to have been selected."

KIPP has a "no shortcuts" philosophy of education: outstanding educators, more time in school, a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum, and a strong culture of achievement and support helps KIPP students climb the mountain to college. A report by The Educational Policy Institute in August, 2005, found that KIPP made “large and significant gains” compared to traditional urban schools. KIPP’s success has been featured in many national news outlets, such as People, The New York Times, Newsweek, PBS, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. In April 2006, Oprah Winfrey called KIPP "a revolutionary new school system."

"KIPP stands out in public education because of its excellent results with inner-city students," explains Joe Nathan, director of the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota. "KIPP's ideas and strategies have produced results in many places throughout the country. It is great that Twin Cities families now will have another strong, effective public school option."

Depending on how many leaders are accepted to its prestigious principal training program, KIPP hopes to open one or more public middle schools in 2008. All KIPP middle schools start with a fifth grade and add one grade a year until becoming a fifth through eighth grade public middle school. Ultimately, KIPP hopes to grow a local cluster of elementary, middle, and high schools that will serve 1,500 students when fully operational.

KIPP schools use a combination of higher expectations, greater structure, more time in school, rigorous teacher training and even spirited songs to engage students in learning. KIPP students are typically in school form 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, every other Saturday, and for three weeks in the summer. Dedicated teachers are available by cell phone in the evenings for extra help with homework.

"When Dave Levin and I started KIPP back in the 1990s, we had little support beyond our enthusiastic parents, teachers and students," explains KIPP co-founder Mike Feinberg. "With the Twin Cities community committed from the beginning to set KIPP schools up for success, classroom educators can stay laser-focused on helping their kids climb the mountain to college."

About KIPP
KIPP was founded in 1994 in Houston by two idealistic teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, after completing their commitment to Teach For America. Through training aspiring principals, KIPP has grown to a national network of 52 public schools in 16 states and the District of Columbia. KIPP schools have been widely recognized for narrowing the achievement gap in public education and putting underserved students on the path to college. For more information, visit: www.kipp.org.

About the Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation
The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation was established in 1959 to administer the distribution of the charitable contributions. The Foundation focuses its philanthropic efforts on support for at-risk children, mentoring, education, and communities. It is a founding member of the World Childhood Foundation, whose support for abandoned and exploited children helps Youthlink and the Bridge for Runaway Youth in the Twin Cities. For more information, visit: www.carlson.com.

About the Center for School Change
The Center for School Change is a program of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. The center works with educators, parents, business people, students, policy-makers and other concerned people throughout the United States to increase student achievement, raise graduation rates, improve student attitudes toward learning, their schools, and their communities, and strengthen communities through building stronger working relationships among educators, parents, students, and other community members.