by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
A new kind of public school is opening in Jacksonville in August and its executive director is making the rounds of civic and service clubs to tell the story. Tom Majdanics spoke to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville Monday and declared, “We’re taking kids from the nations’ most underserved areas and preparing them for college.”
The schools are called KIPP, an acronym for the “Knowledge is Power Program.” There are 55 KIPP middle schools in the nation, 16 elementary schools and 11 high schools. Students are accepted regardless of prior academic record, conduct or socioeconomic background.
Jacksonville’s first KIPP school will be a middle school located in the clubhouse at the former Jacksonville Kennel Club on McDuff Avenue. Jacksonville Greyhound Racing donated the 150,000 square foot building that’s currently being converted into a school by Elkins Constructors.
“It’s Jacksonville’s most extreme makeover ever,” said Majdanics.
The movement started with one fifth-grade class in Houston in 1995. Majdanics first discovered the schools in 2003 when he was in graduate school at the University of Chicago.
“I read a book about the education gap and went to see a KIPP school in Chicago,” said Majdanics. “I saw joy and achievement in that building. I went to Orange Park High School and when I saw what KIPP could do for those kids, I wanted to bring it back to Jacksonville.”
The format for academic success isn’t complicated. It’s centered around hard work and dedication. Students at KIPP schools go to class from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and also attend class on Saturdays. There’s 90 minutes or more of homework each night and summer school is mandatory.
Majdanics said nationwide, 90 percent of KIPP students are African-American or Hispanic and 80 percent are on free or reduced-cost lunch. They are enrolled in the 5th grade and by the 8th grade, Majdanics said, “Every KIPP student in the country is outperforming students in other schools.”
When it comes to administration, KIPP school principals have the power to hire and fire teachers and control their school’s annual budget.
It’s all about the philosophy, Majdanics added and said, “We’re bringing discipline and structure to education. We don’t accept failure and we have high expectations for every student. This isn’t going to be easy but I believe KIPP can serve as the cornerstone to transform public education in Jacksonville.”
Members also heard a presentation from 2011-12 President Elect Howard Dale, who was charged with working with the club’s board of governors to determine what the members would do in terms of disaster relief for the people in Haiti.
Dale said the board settled on “Shelter Boxes,” a program that was started 10 years ago by Rotarians in England.
Boxes contain a tent large enough for 10 people plus cooking utensils, sleeping bags, water purification equipment and other supplies. Each box costs about $1,000 to fill and ship, said Dale. The board felt it was the best way to provide help the earthquake victims.
“Shelter boxes provide immediate relief to people and there are Rotarians on the ground in Haiti to make sure the boxes get to the people who need them,” said Dale.
He also pointed out that Congress has enacted legislation allowing charitable contributions for Haiti relief made before March 1 to be deducted on 2009 federal income tax returns.
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