A great article on the front page of today's San Jose Mercury News on the KIPP Heartwood Academy, which is -- surprise! -- knocking the cover off the ball. According to the latest test scores, a higher percentage of KIPP Heartwood's 5th grade students -- 99% minority, 78% low income, 60% designated as English Language Learners (schoolwide statistics) -- are proficient in math than the students in highly affluent Saratoga and Palo Alto (93%, 90% and 85%, respectively).

many KIPP schools boast impressive results: KIPP Heartwood earned 900 on the state's Academic Performance Index, making it the top-performing school in Alum Rock and among the best in the state. Of the 18 charter schools in Santa Clara County, only Bullis, serving more affluent students in Los Altos, does better.

KIPP ``is such a strong program that I wish they would duplicate faster,'' California Charter Schools Association President Caprice Young said.

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THE CHARTER SCHOOL MOVEMENT

Network of schools builds on tough love and success

KIPP PROGRAM, POPULAR IN ALUM ROCK, LOOKS TO EXPAND IN BAY AREA AND BEYOND

By Dana Hull

Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/15027733.htm

On the first day of summer orientation at the KIPP Heartwood Academy in Alum Rock, new students are learning the KIPP way -- and that means lots of rules and lots of repetition.

``I say L, you say LISTEN!'' shouts the teacher. ``L!''

``LISTEN!'' scream the children.

``L!''

``LISTEN!''

The students are on their feet, clapping to the rhythm. They will learn many more KIPP rules today: Sit up. Maintain eye contact with the teacher. Raise hands straight and high to ask questions. In the bathroom, use only a few squares of toilet paper.

More than 11,000 students at 52 KIPP schools, including nine in California, have learned the same rules, often in exactly the same way. The non-profit KIPP, or Knowledge is Power Program, has clusters of schools stretching from the Bay Area to New Orleans, Baltimore and beyond, making it the nation's largest charter network and a leader in the push to mass-produce programs.