KIPPer Karping: Fresno Scandal/Pro-Union Kipper Says "Nevermind"

Laying KIPP open to criticism

Jim Horn at Schools Matter reports

The KIPP Fresno Horror Story That the National Media Won't Tell: Part I

The KIPP Fresno story has disappeared from media coverage, except for McEwen's continued editorializing the news section of the Fresno Bee, where he has repeatedly painted this horror as a minor incident resulting from disgruntled parents or former employees. The facts, some of which are presented below in this Part I, demonstrate that this is not the case.

KIPP Fresno Part 2: Questionable Leadership AbilityKIPP Fresno

Mr. Tschang's and others' actions exceeded the bounds of the law. --Notice to Cure and Correct, p. 8

I received an email this morning from a source who suggested that the atrocities at KIPP Fresno represent the "tip of an iceberg" in terms of crimes against children in the KIPP brainwashing camps. The source wishes to remain anonymous out of fear of ending up on a "KIPP hit list."

Part 3: State Mandated Testing Violations by CEO and Staff

Two areas that KIPP supporters like to talk about are the test scores and the college attendance rates of graduates.

If we take KIPP's own numbers of 80% of those who complete 8th grade at KIPP go on to college, what does that really say? If, as the research shows, 40-60 percent of students who begin KIPP in 5th grade do not finish 8th grade, we have a much less impressive number. If my math is working, and we use an average of 50% as average dropout and kickout rate between grades 5 and 8, then we have 4/5 x 1/2=4/10, or 40% of those who began KIPP in 5th grade going to college.

Unionization efforts at KIPP derailed?

In the meantime, Russo reports at TWIE that UFT unionization efforts at KIPP in Brooklyn are endangered after a pro-union teacher says "nevermind."

KIPP strikes back?

Last week, Kashi Nelson realized that she’d made a mistake supporting unionization for herself and the other teachers at KIPP AMP.

On Thursday, she formally notified the union that she was withdrawing her support.

Over the past few weeks, administrators cracked down on teachers for not arriving at school on time.

In response, teachers insisted on having an official clock installed at the school.

Things were getting more formalized, Nelson saw.

The weekly school newsletter stopped including praise for teachers’ efforts.

Nelson frequently received texts and emails from upset colleagues.

The rumor mill said that another teacher – a part-time musician – was being fired.

“It got ugly,” she said. “It was really bad.”