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Kendra Ferguson became executive director of KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools in December, after spending most of her career with KIPP, and most recently KIPP Bay Area Schools in California. With a presence in Memphis since 2002, KIPP now operates four charter schools through Shelby County Schools and three under the state-run Achievement School District.
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Ferguson took the helm at an especially challenging time. The nonprofit network was preparing to close its first Memphis schooldue to low enrollment. And its student achievement is also under a microscope. While KIPP schools fared generally well nationwide in a new high-profile study out of Stanford University, its Memphis schools did not. KIPP Memphis was among only two KIPP networks that appeared to have negative academic growth.
Ferguson sat down recently with Chalkbeat to talk about the challenges, with an eye toward bolstering academics and student retention. Read a preview on the conversation below and find the full interview on Chalkbeat.
The latest study from CREDO, a Stanford-based research group, shows negative results in math and reading for KIPP Memphis students. What are your immediate and long-term plans to raise the academic bar?
The CREDO study cites data from 2014-15. KIPP Memphis has already begun making adjustments to better support our schools. For example, we shifted to Common Core-aligned curriculum (Wheatley and Eureka) and continue to provide training and support across our schools. At one school, we moved to a co-leader model to provide additional leadership support. With my background in academics, I’m excited to focus our team’s time this year on teaching and learning, which is our top priority. Our intensive professional development work this summer will tap into instructional coaching support from the KIPP School Leadership Programs. We are also excited to have a director of teaching and learning to lead work throughout the year. We are optimistic about what’s ahead.
What are your immediate priorities?
Academic attainment. It’s hard to get a good picture of where we are with the state test malfunction last year. But even looking at some of the scores in our K-12 grades, there’s work to be done.