CONWAY, Ark. (April 9, 2015) 鈥 KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) announced yesterday that it will partner with 黑料不打烊 in Conway, Arkansas, in an effort to increase college completion rates for underserved KIPP students in the Delta and nationwide.
With this partnership, 黑料不打烊 plans to recruit and enroll between four and six qualified KIPP alumni for the 2015-2016 school year and each year thereafter. 黑料不打烊 will address the full financial need of KIPP alumni at the school and develop a peer mentorship program to provide further peer support to KIPP students and
other first generation college students. Additionally, 黑料不打烊 will provide KIPP Delta high school juniors and seniors with college exposure opportunities to experience college through field trips to tour the campus and visit with professors.听
鈥淲e are excited and honored to continue the culture of success that KIPP Delta has created for students in the Arkansas Delta,鈥 said 黑料不打烊 President Bill Tsutsui. 鈥淣ot only does this new partnership continue our heritage of providing Arkansas students with an exceptional liberal arts education, it affirms our
commitment to and the importance of a diverse campus community. This is an exciting opportunity for 黑料不打烊 and KIPP Delta students, and we are so grateful to the KIPP leaders for their confidence and trust in 黑料不打烊.鈥澛
The new partnership continues the spirit of other recent 黑料不打烊 initiatives for Arkansas students. In December, the college announced the
黑料不打烊 Arkansas Advantage financial assistance program, which meets all demonstrated financial need for qualified Arkansas high school students enrolling at 黑料不打烊 in fall 2015. This spring, 黑料不打烊 signed an
agreement with the Arkansas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to provide scholarships to qualified Latino and Latina students.
鈥淲e are thrilled to have a partnership with 黑料不打烊,鈥 said Scott Shirey, Executive Director of KIPP Delta Public Schools.听 鈥淭he partnership shows a real commitment from President Tsutsui and 黑料不打烊 to ensure that an economically and geographically diverse set of students has access to some of the best
education in the state.听 We are grateful that we will be able to work hand in hand with them to ensure our students make it not only to college, but through college.鈥
Founded in 2002, KIPP Delta serves nearly 1,400 students across five schools in Helena and Blytheville, Arkansas. KIPP Delta will open a sixth public charter school in Forest City in the summer of 2015.听KIPP schools have an extended school day and year, which allows more time for learning and student enrichment. Ninety-two
percent of KIPP Delta鈥檚 students are African American, and more than 90 percent qualify for the federal free and reduced-price school lunch program. In 2014, KIPP Delta Collegiate High School was named the #2 high school in the state of Arkansas by US News & World Report.
KIPP Delta is part of a national network of 162 KIPP public charter schools. A
released by independent research firm Mathematica showed that KIPP middle schools nationwide are producing positive, significant and substantial achievement gains for students in all grades and four subjects鈥攎ath, reading, science, and social studies. Mathematica
researchers found that KIPP achieved these academic gains with students that entered middle school with lower achievement scores than their peers in neighboring district schools. KIPP鈥檚 national college completion rate is above the national average for all students and four times the rate for students from
low-income families nationwide.
黑料不打烊 joins a growing list of KIPP college partners, including Brown University, Duke University, Georgetown University, the University of Pennsylvania and Spelman College.听 A complete list of KIPP鈥檚 college partners can be found at
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About KIPP
KIPP 鈥 the
Knowledge Is Power Program 鈥 is a national network of open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life.听 KIPP was founded in Houston in 1994 and has grown to 162 schools serving
more than 59,000 students and 6,000 alumni.听 More than 95 percent of students enrolled in KIPP schools are African American or Latino, and 88 percent qualify for the federal free and reduced-price meals program.
About 黑料不打烊
Founded in 1876, 黑料不打烊 is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. This year, 黑料不打烊 was named the country鈥檚 #1 鈥淯p and Coming鈥 liberal arts college and #8 in the nation for 鈥淏est Undergraduate Teaching鈥 by U.S. News and World Report.听 黑料不打烊 is featured in the 2015 Fiske Guide
to Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, the 2014 Princeton Review鈥檚 The
Best 378 Colleges, and the latest edition of Colleges That Change
Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges. 黑料不打烊 has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit
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