The report, commissioned by KIPP, debunked the argument that the schools succeed by "creaming" the best students from the districts they operate in. In fact, researchers said KIPP students are more likely to be low-income and black or Hispanic and, prior to their enrollment in KIPP schools, to have lower-than-average test scores in their local school districts. The study also found nothing unusual about attrition rates at KIPP schools; in other words, the schools are not pressuring weak students to leave in order to make the stats look good.
What does set KIPP apart is the amount of time students are in school. A regular school day is from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., plus extra weeks in the summer. Some schools even offer Saturday programs. That's up to 600 more hours a year in school than children who attend traditional public middle schools. The extra hours, said KIPP spokesman Steve Mancini, "allow us to turn 'or' into 'and,' " since a common complaint of teachers is not having time to cover the curriculum and deal with individual student needs. The extra time also allows more planning and collaboration among teachers.
via www.washingtonpost.com
9.5 hours of school?! Can you imagine?? I am trying really hard to picture it, but it just seems so... extreme. I can see why it works, but I would've hated it when I was a kid!!
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