Now the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is taking the KIPP idea further, NEWSWEEK has learned. The foundation, which has become a major force in reforming high-school education, is announcing this week a grant of nearly $8 million over the next three years to create up to 12 KIPP high schools nationwide. KIPP cofounder Mike Feinberg says the funding comes just in time. While KIPP graduates have successfully secured spots in competitive private and public high schools, Feinberg says, in many of their communities there are simply not enough slots in high schools “that don’t give me nightmares.” The obvious solution: new schools based on the same model. The first will open this summer in Houston. The rest, say KIPP officials, will go wherever the need is greatest.
