Surprise Award

SAN ANTONIO, TX—August 1, 2008— In a gala awards ceremony last
night, KIPP teachers Mekia Love and Lisa Suben received a $10,000 KIPP
Excellence in Teaching Awards. Over 1,500 educators from 19 states were
in attendance for the awards ceremony to honor excellence in teaching
and learning.

Love and Suben are two out of ten teachers from a pool of nearly
1,000 KIPP educators from across the country to win the $10,000 KIPP
Excellence in Teaching Award. The winning teachers have a proven track
record for improving student achievement, inspiring others teachers,
and contributing to their school communities.

Love, a fifth-grade reading teacher KIPP DC: KEY Academy, was
awarded the US Department of Education’s American Stars of Teaching
Award for 2007. Love facilitates the school’s Saturday school program
and participates in regular professional development activities with
her fellow teachers. She is known for tailoring her lessons to the
needs of individual students.

“This moment feels very surreal,” says KIPP teacher Mekia Love. “I
feel very appreciated, loved and supported. Being part of this amazing
and powerful team of educators is one of the reasons I love working at
KIPP.”

Suben teaches fifth-grade math at KIPP DC: AIM Academy. Suben helped
found KIPP DC: AIM Academy in 2005, and wrote a new math curriculum to
better challenge and excite her students. The school’s first incoming
class of fifth-graders improved from16th percentile in math on the
Stanford 10 in fall 2005 to the 77th percentile by the spring of 2006.
Suben also directs the school’s musical theater productions, and
organizes an annual educational event called the “Metric Olympics.”

“I really feel like this award is a testament to my students,” said
KIPP teacher Lisa Suben. “I feel like I have become who I am because of
them. My [school] administration is amazing and has created a special
place where kids are excited to be smart.”

Founded by two young teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, KIPP
(Knowledge Is Power Program) started as a program for 50 fifth grade
students in inner-city Houston, TX in 1994. In 2000, Doris and Donald
Fisher, co-founders of the Gap, Inc., partnered with Feinberg and Levin
to replicate the success of its unique college-prep program across the
country. With the Fishers’ support, KIPP has grown to a national
network of 66 schools in nearly 19 states serving over 16,000 students.

KIPP DC began in 2001 with the foundation of KIPP DC: KEY Academy,
which recently received the prestigious “Blue Ribbon School”
designation from the U.S. Dept. of Education. Following the success of
the first KIPP school in the region, KIPP DC: AIM Academy middle school
opened in 2005 and KIPP DC: WILL Academy middle school opened in 2006.
Aiming to give KIPP students an earlier start towards success, KIPP DC
opened its first early childhood school, KIPP DC: LEAP Academy, in
2007. In an effort to provide its high quality program to even more
students, KIPP will be opening three new KIPP schools in D.C. in 2009,
including an early childhood school, an elementary school, and the
region’s first high school. Over the next decade, KIPP DC plans to
expand to 10 campuses, reaching over 3,400 students in Washington, D.C.

“The KIPP DC teachers who earned $10,000 are raising the standard of
excellence for the entire KIPP network of schools,” said Don Fisher,
Chairman of KIPP Foundation. “Their contributions are helping to show
what is possible in public education.”

About KIPP

Founded by Teach For America alumni Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin in
1994, KIPP takes a rigorous, “no excuses” approach to education. KIPP
schools feature an extended school day, week, and year. KIPP students
attend school Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
alternating Saturdays, and for three weeks during the summer. Eighty
percent of KIPP students are low-income, and 90 percent are African
American or Latino. Nationally, more than 80 percent of KIPP alumni
have matriculated to college in communities where less than 20 percent
of low-income students go to college.