On August 12, KIPP Destiny Elementary began its first day of school for 130 kindergarten students. This day will mark a significant event in the history of KIPP DFW, and the successful first step for the region in a 10-year $22 million dollar campaign to bring college preparatory education to the traditionally underserved southern Dallas sector.

KIPP Destiny Elementary joins KIPP TRUTH Academy as the second school serving the southern Dallas students and families. KIPP DFW plans to add a grade level to the school each consecutive year to eventually serve pre-K through 4th grade by the year 2017. Through a unique partnership, KIPP Destiny Pre-K will be powered by Mi Escuelita Preschool and will serve 60 students who will be eligible to automatically matriculate into kindergarten at KIPP Destiny Elementary the following year. Mi Escuelita Preschool is a NACYC-accredited program providing high quality early childhood education to children from underserved communities in the Dallas area.

Executive Director Quinton Vance said, “We envision that KIPP DFW will have a transformational impact on the students we serve and the Dallas-Fort Worth community. It will prove the possible and set an example of excellence which can be built upon in other public school districts. Perhaps most importantly, KIPP DFW students will serve as role models to their families and communities. Our college graduates will return to their communities demonstrating the impact that education has had on their own lives and working to raise the standards and opportunities for growth.”

Founded in 2003, KIPP DFW is part of the Knowledge is Power Program, a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory, public charter schools dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are 125 KIPP schools across 20 states and the District of Columbia, serving over 41,000 students.

History of KIPP

KIPP began in 1994 when two teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, launched a fifth-grade public school program in inner-city Houston, Texas, after completing their commitment to Teach for America. In 1995, Feinberg remained in Houston to lead KIPP Academy Middle School, and Levin returned home to New York City to establish KIPP Academy in the South Bronx. In 2000, Doris and Don Fisher, co-founders of Gap, Inc., formed a partnership with Feinberg and Levin to replicate the success of the original KIPP academies, establishing the KIPP Foundation.

Story and photos courtesy of Jen Lavelle