KIPP eyes addition of kindergarten through grade 4

LYNN – KIPP Academy Lynn is looking to expand one more time by adding a kindergarten through fourth grade.”We’re incredibly excited,” said Executive Director for the Massachusetts Region, Caleb Dolan. “We want to grow out starting with the kindergarten.”Dolan said the Lynn KIPP has filed an application with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and they hope to appear before the state in early winter.KIPP, which stands for Knowledge is Power Program, got its start in Lynn occupying classrooms at Holy Family on Bessom Street. In November 2010 officials broke ground on the High Rock school, which opened to students in grades 5 through 12 in September 2012.Dolan said school officials are eager to start with students right out of the gate, rather than waiting to get them in the fifth grade. He said the KIPP school in Los Angeles has second-graders achieving at the fifth grade level, and he is anxious to see if they can match the results.Dolan said KIPP’s typical fifth-grader enters the program with relatively low MCAS scores. He believes if they can start at an elementary level they will have a really strong program.”We’re pretty psyched about it,” he said.Where the expansion will go is another story. The High Rock school is built for only 850 students and is already nearly full. Dolan said opening a program is two years away and if it’s approved next year will be a planning year.”We’re already doing searches and talking to people about what’s out there and what might be usable,” he said. “Maybe it will include growing into a permanent space like (High Rock).”Going back to Holy Family might be an option Dolan could explore, except another charter school has already petitioned to open in Lynn and the address is 25 Bessom St., which is KIPP’s old home. According to the DESE Charter Applicant Information Sheet the Lynn Preparatory Charter School is proposing to open a K-8 school with a “rigorous academic” program aimed specifically at “students attending the lowest performing schools in the most economically distressed neighborhoods of the city.” The plan is to start out serving K-4 in the 2014-2015 school year then bumping up to full capacity, K-8 after a full year.Dolan said he knows there are other charter schools looking to move into Lynn but he hopes that KIPP’s proven track record of success with its students works in their favor.He also noted that all KIPP is doing is seeking to amend its charter, which is currently for a school offering grades 5-12.”This would be for a K-12,” he said. “It’s just applying for an amendment. We don’t have to apply for a new school. It’s parallel but different.”