On Friday, North St. Louis’ West End neighborhood celebrated the fall re-opening of the once-vacant Mitchell Elementary School, at 955 Arcade Ave., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Mitchell is the new home of KIPP Victory Academy Elementary School, thanks to a unique partnership between St. Louis Public Schools and the national KIPP charter school organization. Through the partnership, the charter school gained free access to the district-owned building, and the test scores of KIPP students will be added to SLPS’s tally.
KIPP Victory will begin with a founding class of 200 kindergarten and first-grade students, adding one grade a year through the fourth grade.
The partnership was made possible through the “visionary leadership” of SLPS Superintendent Kelvin Adams and Rick Sullivan, head of the SLPS Special Administrative Board, said KIPP St. Louis Executive Director Kelly Garrett.
“It’s great to see a high-performing public charter school like KIPP partnering with St. Louis Public, and having it be a productive and mutually beneficial relationship,” said Gabriel E. Gore, former board chair of KIPP St. Louis and partner at Dowd Bennett LLP.
Gore hopes the partnership will serve as an example for other communities.
“I’m so proud to open this school in this community, in this state and with this partnership of people who decided that kids deserve better,” said Tiara Abu, KIPP Victory founding school leader.
Garrett introduced Abu as an extraordinary young leader KIPP recruited from Texas. Abu, a Missouri native, is an experienced educator who has been working to turn around low-performing schools in the Houston Independent School District. She discovered that some of the same beliefs charter schools held could be implemented in district schools to turn the schools around, she said.
Since Abu’s arrival in St. Louis, she has made an effort to engage with the community by attending neighborhood meetings and conducting home visits with her students and their families.
KIPP St. Louis now operates two public charter schools in the metro area –KIPP Inspire Academy Middle School is the other – and has plans to increase that number to six in the near future to serve over 2,500 students. Washington University will oversee all schools.
Expansion depended on whether or not KIPP St. Louis could deliver the type of high-quality education KIPP strives for, Gore said. And it all began with KIPP Inspire.
“Our school leader, Jeremy Esposito, did a great job of building a school that could deliver great results,” Gore said.
KIPP is a national network of 141 public charter schools focusing on high-quality, college-preparatory education, and serving primarily students from low-income and minority backgrounds. The KIPP model mandates longer school years, longer school days and some Saturday sessions.
“KIPP’s mission is all about supporting underserved students to and through college,” Abu said. “Now, we’ll be able to start that support for kids in St. Louis from an earlier age and make sure that our kids never experience educational inequity in the first place.”
Although West End residents Rodney Norman and his wife, Juanita, lived in Texas when Mitchell closed its doors in 2007, Rodney thought it was unfortunate that the community lost yet another educational institution. He said the neighborhood lacked high-quality education options for children, “one of the key foundational components in a community,” he said.
The couple has pledged their support to KIPP, “whether it’s adopting a class or coming in on a career day,” Rodney said.
High-quality education options would entice people to move into the community, Abu said. “We are trying to take this neighborhood from good to great,” Rodney said.
Kindergartners Jaden Brooks and Abu’s son, Ayden Abu, cut the lime-green ribbon. They were assisted by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo, state Treasurer Clint Zweifel, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and two KIPP alumnae.
Zweifel announced the establishment of $50 college savings accounts for each student at KIPP Victory, thanks to donors Bob Fox and Maxine Clark. Clark served until recently as head of the board of KIPP St. Louis. “We know that even a small savings account can impact a child’s decision to attend college,” Zweifel said in a statement.
26th Ward Alderman Frank Williamson was unable to attend the ceremony. Williamson said via a statement that it was a “sad month” for the community when Mitchell closed. He welcomed the school into the community and pledged his continued support.
“Each of us,” Abu said referring to her staff, “is going to make sure that Ayden and Jaden and the 198 scholars that enter these doors are victorious.”
Follow this reporter on Twitter @BridjesONeil. E-mail: boneil@stlamerican.com.
