KIPP Academy Students Show Significant Reading Gains Using READ 180®

NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Struggling readers enrolled at KIPP Academy charter school in the Bronx made significant gains during a two-month pilot of the READ 180® program last spring. After just nine weeks enrolled in READ 180 classes in May and June, 22 percent of students made the equivalent of two years' worth of growth in reading, and nearly 50 percent of students made the equivalent of at least a year's worth of growth.

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KIPP Academy piloted READ 180 beginning last spring for students who were below proficient in reading, with the goal of testing its effectiveness for possible expansion in KIPP's New York City schools. KIPP NYC has the ambitious goal of getting every student to grade level by the time they graduate from KIPP after eighth grade.

Following the success of KIPP Academy's pilot of READ 180 in Spring 2012, five other KIPP NYC public charter schools are using the program in the 2012-13 school year. Those schools are KIPP Infinity, KIPP STAR, KIPP AMP, KIPP Washington Heights, and KIPP NYC College Prep. Four KIPP charter schools in Arkansas and one each in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., have begun using READ 180 this year, as well.

"At KIPP, our mission is to get our students on the path to and through college, and READ 180 is helping us do just that," said KIPP Co-founder Dave Levin. "We are seeing our students advance leaps and bounds in reading skills from year to year, and READ 180 has been instrumental in making that happen."

With over a decade of proven effectiveness, READ 180 is one of the most researched and successful instructional technology and adolescent literacy programs used in schools today. Based upon research by Dr. Ted Hasselbring of the Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University, READ 180 is a comprehensive system of curriculum, blended instruction, assessment and professional development that helps schools raise reading achievement for struggling readers in grades 4-12. And with its research-based instructional model that combines teacher-led instruction, instructional technology and independent reading, it serves more than 1.2 million students every day in schools across the country.

"The success KIPP Academy has had already with READ 180 shows that with empowered teachers, focused leaders and proven programs that motivate students and personalize learning, struggling students can quickly catch up," said Margery Mayer, President of Scholastic Education. "With the Common Core State Standards raising the level of rigor across the country, it's more important than ever that we focus on helping all students get to the Common Core starting line so they have a chance at meeting college- and career-ready standards."

About KIPP

KIPP – the Knowledge Is Power Program – is a national network of open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. KIPP was founded in Houston in 1994, and has grown to 125 schools serving more than 39,000 students in 20 states and Washington, D.C. Ninety five percent of students enrolled in KIPP schools are African American or Hispanic/ Latino, and 85 percent qualify for the federal free and reduced price meals program. To date, more than 80 percent of students who have graduated from KIPP middle schools have matriculated to college. To learn more, visit www.kipp.org

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SOURCE Scholastic Inc.

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