JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – KIPP Jacksonville Schools, which has run a charter middle school in Duval County for the past two years, wants to open its first elementary school this summer.
KIPP, which stand for Knowledge is Power Program, is now recruiting for its inaugural class of 96 kindergartners for KIPP Voice Elementary -- the national educator's first elementary school in Florida.
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Duval County school officials say the School Board is set to vote next month on pending charter school applications by KIPP and others.
KIPP currently runs 109 college-preparatory schools in 20 states, serving 32,000 students.
KIPP said it believes that the path to college begins in kindergarten and the school will feature a student to teacher ratio of 12:1 -– the lowest ratio of any kindergarten class in the city. In addition, KIPP Voice will have an extended school day and year, resulting in significantly more classroom time for students.
The new elementary school would be led by Ashley Ferguson, an alumna of Teach for America and a former New York City principal who recently completed KIPP's Fisher Fellowship principal training program.
The school would be housed at its new campus at 1440 McDuff Ave. N. -- the former Jacksonville Kennel Club facility.
KIPP will host parent open houses at the campus at 6 p.m. on March 15 and 27. Additional open houses will be held throughout April.
Student enrollment applications are available and are due by April 30. For more information, please visit kippvoice.org or call Ferguson at 790-0828.
KIPP Impact Middle School will enroll a new fifth grade class for the upcoming school year. For more information about its middle school, visit kippimpact.org.