It's good to see KIPP Journey in Columbus, OH on the rebound:

In its first year, in 2008-09, the charter school, opened at the urging and financial backing of some of Columbus' most powerful business and community leaders, was fraught with turmoil. The first principal didn't finish the year. Too few students - about 70 - enrolled.

The "work hard, be nice" culture common to KIPP schools was absent. If the school had received a state report card, the grade would have been an F.

KIPP Journey still isn't producing the sort of wow-worthy results that the KIPP brand conjures, but its most-recent report card offers hope. It earned a C for its work last school year. Sixty-two percent of sixth-graders passed the state math and reading tests. As fifth-graders the year before, their passing rates were 29 percent in math and 33 percent in reading.

…Test-passing rates still don't meet state standards, although KIPP Journey, which is in the former Linden Park Elementary, outscored most of the Linden-area Columbus City Schools buildings that have fifth- and sixth-graders. It's improving at a greater rate, too: Last year, it had the highest score on a statistical measure of improvement of any of its Linden-area neighbors. The year before, it had the lowest.

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