Mornings at the summer program at one of the District's newest public charter schools typically began with the principal, Khala Johnson, striding down the aisles between tables in the cafeteria/auditorium/gym commanding the students to get funky. "Give me a beat!" she shouted, her shoulder-length dreadlocks shaking.
The 80 or so fifth-graders obliged, stomping their feet and pounding on the tables. On the fourth beat, the chanting began: "You got to read, baby, read! You got to read, baby, read! 'Cause reading is knowledge and knowledge is power, the power for college and I want it!"
It's called "KIPPnotizing" -- what officials at KIPP DC: AIM Academy say is their way of indoctrinating students into a culture of high expectations.
KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) is a network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the country. "We learn in fun ways here," said 10-year-old Leonell Cunningham. "It's better than my last school."
KIPP's introduction this upcoming school year of a second D.C. campus -- on the grounds of Congress Heights United Methodist Church, 421 S. Alabama Ave. SE -- is part of a boom in the District's eight-year-old charter-school movement. This year, 14 charter schools are opening, the most since the law establishing the independently run schools went into effect in 1997. Citywide charter school enrollment is expected to reach 16,000 this fall, up from about 15,000 a year ago.
In an expansion being watched closely around the country, the new charter schools are offering an assortment of education options for parents seeking unique education experiences for their children or alternatives to traditional public schools. The selections include a bilingual immersion school for English-speaking students who want to learn Spanish, and vice versa; a math and science academy run by Howard University; a special education school; several early childhood centers; art schools and one school where students will learn dining room etiquette.
"D.C. charter schools lead the pack in terms of market share," said Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington-based organization that advocates for charter schools and other reforms nationwide.
"In every way, shape and form, in cities around the country, charter schools are serving students' varied learning styles and customizing services for students who need something different than what is offered" in the traditional public schools, she said. "Children have so many needs. You can't educate all of them well in the same manner."
One customized service is the dual-language program -- the first public Spanish-English language immersion middle school for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders -- the Academia Bilingue de la Comunidad (ABC) is offering in light of the District's growing Latino population.
So far, about half the 150 students are native-English speakers seeking to learn Spanish and the other half are native-Spanish speakers seeking to learn English. The students will be taught language arts and science in English and social studies and math in Spanish.
By exposing themselves to two cultures, "the students will get a wide worldview and will have more marketable skills," said Charles W. Jackson, executive director of the school, which for now is leasing space at National Memorial Baptist Church, 1501 Columbia Rd. NW. "Research shows that students who are in bilingual or dual-language programs actually score better on standardized tests," he said.
The only D.C. public school now offering a dual-language program is Oyster Bilingual Elementary, in Northwest, which has a Spanish-English bilingual curriculum. Jackson said he hopes that Oyster graduates will enroll at ABC and that the two schools can establish partnerships. Already, some Oyster teachers have helped write ABC's curricula, he said
