About Us

The History of KIPP

The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) began in 1995 when two Teach for America corps alumni, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, launched an intensive 5th grade academic program at Houston's Garcia Elementary School. Feinberg and Levin's students achieved such academic success that the following year Feinberg founded KIPP academy Houston and Levin founded KIPP Academy in the South Bronx, NY. Their schools' successes received national attention when the television program 60 Minutes aired a special on the KIPP schools.

In 2000, Don and Doris Fisher, founders of GAP, Inc., formed a unique partnership with Feinberg and Levin to replicate the success of KIPP. Stemming from the belief that great schools require great leaders, they established a school leadership training program called the Fisher Fellowship Program. The program recruits, selects, and trains excellent educators to plan, open, and lead their own KIPP schools.

Today, there are more than eighty KIPP schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

KIPP DC

Susan Schaeffler, KIPP DC's founder, was in the inaugural class of KIPP Fisher Fellows. After completing the year-long KIPP school leadership training program, Schaeffler and a team of dedicated teachers founded KIPP DC: KEY Academy in 2001. KEY opened with 80 5th grade students in the basement of Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church in Anacostia. In school years 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009 KEY Academy was the highest-performing public middle school in the District.

Today, KIPP DC serves over 1,000 students in eight schools in Washington, DC. Over the next five years, KIPP DC will expand to 10 campuses, reaching over 3,400 students in Washington, DC.

The Five Pillars

KIPP Schools operate under the Five Pillars, developed by Feinberg and Levin, which create the foundation for KIPP schools' success. The Five Pillars are:

• High Expectations
• Choice and Commitment
• More Time on Task
• Power to Lead
• Focus on Results

Enrolling at KIPP DC

For more information about enrolling at KIPP DC, go to www.kippdc.org/enrollment