For those of you who have not seen Waiting for “Superman”, we hope you will. For those who have, you know just how powerfully the film illustrates the problems facing public education. You were probably angry and upset, but you also saw that closing the achievement gap between low-income students and their counterparts can be done. To bring this national issue closer to home, here are a few facts about public education in Memphis:
Memphis needs model schools. KIPP Memphis has been at work since 2002 to make sure our students do not become a part of these statistics. They are working to defy the odds everyday by spending 60% more time in school and taking a “no excuses” attitude toward education. And it’s working; KIPP students consistently outpace the district and state in test scores. We have roughly quadrupled the amount of students matriculating to college with our first year of graduating seniors. With great school models, we can attack educational inequity one child- and one neighborhood- at a time. For more information, go to www.kippmemphis.org .
Jamal McCall is the Executive Director for KIPP MEMPHIS where he continues to pursue his unrelenting life purpose of leading students down the path of success. As someone who is known to do “whatever it takes” for his school, Mr. McCall is ecstatic about the opportunity to grow KIPP in Memphis and impact over 2500 students.
