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Schools the City Can Build On
"KIPP: Will, good as gold, let me see your fingers roll!" she shouted. The students, in their loudest voices, recited a multiplication table for the number nine.
The routines, which include chanting positive affirmations and dancing, are part of the public charter school program's strategies for boosting the test scores of low-income students. KIPP operates 52 schools in 16 states and the District. A KIPP middle school on M Street SE, one of two others in the city, had the highest math and reading scores among D.C. middle schools last year.
  At Brightwood Elementary in Petworth, kindergarten teacher ValJean Blanco receives a warm welcome from her former students on the first day of classes for D.C. public schools. (By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post) Photos
Back to SchoolSeveral schools in Maryland, Virginia and the District welcome students back to class. Click on a city or county for area results.
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The school board approved the KIPP-Montgomery partnership in June as an attempt to introduce innovation. Next year, the system plans to give about 10 schools more autonomy to experiment with methods aimed at boosting student achievement.
Yesterday, KIPP officials said 90 fifth-graders were registered at the Will Academy, about five more than anticipated. The school will add a grade each year, eventually enrolling students in grades five through eight.
"I deem it a success, based on the feedback of the students and parents," Cunningham said.
Parents' Turn
At 8 a.m., Janey showed up at Ernestine Lewis's home on Capitol Hill and joined her as she walked sixth-grade sons Marquis and Marquel to Tyler Elementary.
"I let him know I was happy Tyler was not one of the schools that closed," Lewis said later.
Across the city, parents walked their children -- big and small -- to school. Officials want to keep the parents involved. The system plans to open parent resource centers in Wards 1, 7 and 8 that will offer information on school policies and community services.
The resource centers will be aimed at sparking the type of parent participation seen at Tyler.
Leslie Levy, president of Tyler's PTA, greeted parents and invited them to join the organization yesterday. Two years ago, the group didn't exist. Last year, 33 parents signed up.
"It's not just a school," Levy said. "It's more of an extended family."
