KIPP Texas Public Schools - Dallas Fort Worth

KIPP Texas – DFW is part of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), a national network of over 280 high-performing, free, open-enrollment public charter schools impacting 120,000 students and alumni in 20 states and the District of Columbia. KIPP Texas – DFW benefits from shared best practices with colleagues across the State of Texas and the nation, along with a network of over 97 college partnerships. Since 2003, we have demonstrated the impact a high-quality, rigorous education has on improving graduation and college attainment rates. More than five years ago, KIPP Texas – DFW, in coordination with the KIPP regions in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, integrated the KIPP districts across Texas into one organization: KIPP Texas Public Schools. Since then, KIPP Texas has been able to draw on our collective size to increase benefits for students, teachers, staff, and parents. KIPP Texas – DFW is the smallest region in the KIPP Texas network of 57 schools. This school year, we are educating 2,000 students in five schools throughout Southern Dallas County. Of these students, 99% identify as students of color, 93% are economically disadvantaged, 30% are English learners, and 10% qualify for special education services.

Our Communities’ Need for High-Quality Education

We know 60% of Texans will need a post-secondary degree or certification to stay competitive in the current global economy. However, this opportunity remains out of reach for many students, especially first-generation college students living in educationally under-resourced communities – the very students we educate and mentor. In the United States today, students from economically disadvantaged households, and those identifying as Black or Latine (Latine meaning relating to Latin American heritage), enroll in college and graduate at rates consistently below the national average. KIPP Texas – DFW schools are strategically located in some of the most educationally under-resourced communities across Southern Dallas, including Red Bird, Pleasant Grove, and Oak Cliff. The top three zip codes educated by our KIPP Texas – DFW high schools have an average post-secondary education completion rate of just 6%. The average per capita income in these neighborhoods is $16,800 – 50% less than the average in the city of Dallas. Additionally, the poverty rate in southern Dallas neighborhoods is greater than 30%, which is 7% higher than the average poverty rate in the City of Dallas. Education can break the cycle of poverty and increase economic mobility within one generation. Over their lifetime, college graduates earn $2.8 million (75%) more than individuals with only a high school diploma. Research found those who earn at least a bachelor’s degree or complete other post-secondary training are more likely to participate in the labor force, earn higher salaries and greater lifetime earnings, engage in their community, and make healthier choices.

Education provides the greatest impact to a student’s trajectory, opening new doors, and offering previously unimaginable paths to professional and social mobility. Imagine a world in which student access to education is unaffected by parent income, race, or neighborhood. This is the world KIPP aspires to create.