The newspaper's unbridled enthusiasm for charter schools, a mystery to be explored:
Editorial: Optimism must drive attempts to improve region's schools : Stltoday
For consideration of whether or not KIPP schools are actually "high performing," consider the discussion of the test results (and the question of limiting access for special needs and difficult cases), from an earlier post on test scores and KIPP performance in STL and KC.
And, see this post for a report on how KIPP Nashville was dumping poor performing students just before test-taking time. In Nashville, the reporter concluded that "The two types of schools are playing by different rules." Thus, one would expect even higher performance from KIPP, but we do not see it.
Sure, the powers that be have determined that KIPP is part of the solution. Yet let's not let corporate branding and sales pitch-talk blind us to the evidence. The paper, its reporters, and all the KIPP boosters need a dose of humility to balance out the hubris. When the CEOs start sending their kids to KIPP schools, we might reconsider whether they are part of the solution or part of the problem.
