More
Close 
KIPP Texas Families,
I’m still smiling ear to ear from the beautiful photos and stories from our KIPP Texas Shadow a KIPPster Day, a KTX tradition where non-school-based Big KIPPsters have the opportunity to reconnect their daily work to the mission of supporting Little KIPPsters. They learned more about the Little KIPPster experience and how we as a Team and Family can continue lifting our student’s voices throughout KIPP Texas. It is one of my favorite KIPP traditions, and I hope you can all see why!
I had an amazing time shadowing 4th grade Little KIPPster Marilyn at KIPP Legacy in Houston. Marilyn is very diligent and a hard worker and clearly loves school. I enjoyed my time with her and her friends teaching me all about area models and number lines in Ms. Burns’ math class! I love the precise math vocabulary that Ms. Burns uses with her KIPPSters and how well she breaks down complex topics. When her students found out they would have extra math time, they were screaming with joy! 💙
We will all be screaming with joy when Spring Break arrives! With less than two days left in February, we are in the home stretch before Spring Break, but we are not slowing down. In just two weeks, we will enjoy a much-needed and well-deserved break beginning, Friday, March 10 to Friday, March 17! Take a look at the academic calendars for this school year here to mark your calendars. We will see all Little KIPPsters back to school on Monday, March 20. Enjoy your Spring Break!
KIPP Texas Celebrates Black History Month
We continue to Champion Equity this Black History Month and always at KIPP Texas!
At KIPP CONNECT Primary, our Little KIPPsters celebrated Black History Month by attending a Black Excellence Career Day! Black Houston professionals showcased their careers with Little KIPPsters to share a day in their life.
One professional, Houston’s KHOU Writer and Producer Nicole Jones, let our students take the spotlight and were featured on t.v.! Our Little KIPPsters are Rock Stars! View the story highlight here.
Little KIPPsters at KIPP SHARP College Prep Lower School celebrated diversity and Black History Month during a spirit week wearing cultural attire!
For our Big KIPPsters, the KIPP Texas DEI Team put on a powerful and informative program during their Lift Every Voice Culture Connections virtual event hosted by our exceptional KIPPSter Regional Equity Fellows.
KIPP Texas-Dallas-Fort Worth Teacher to receive Texas Instrument Teaching Award
Speaking of exceptional KIPPsters, Ms. Brandye Thomas, 8th-grade science teacher at KIPP Truth Academy was awarded the Texas Instruments (TI) Foundation Innovation in STEM Teaching Award this month for her exemplary teaching.
As the award recipient, Ms. Thomas received $10,000, of which $5,000 is directly awarded to her. The other $5,000 will be used at her discretion for her Little KIPPsters to learn and grow their mind in class! I am so incredibly proud of Brandye! Congratulations to her and her 8th graders!
TELPAS testing season is here!
With all the amazing accomplishments happening in our classrooms across our regions, we are also preparing to champion our emergent bilingual students. Did you know that 42% of our Little KIPPsters in 2-12 grade are in our English-Second Language (ESL) program? These brilliant KIPPsters will soon take the important Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) test in March. We are preparing as a Team and Family!
Testing begins March 7 with the online reading and writing assessment and will continue until the end of March. The language proficiency test is given annually to our Little KIPPsters identified as English learners and measures their progress to becoming proficient in academic English. I want to thank our Champions of Equity, the TELPAS Task Force for the behind-the-scenes planning and work for the success of our emergent bilingual learners.
It’s almost time to welcome our new students during lottery day!
On Monday, March 6, we will send over 8,100 students acceptance letters to join the KIPP Texas Team and Family during our student lottery day! They are one step closer to being Little KIPPstering entering our academically excellent schools. Don’t worry if you or someone you know missed the application deadline! We are still accepting student applications for the 2023-24 school year. After the deadline, which was on Friday, February 17, all applications will be placed on the waitlist in the order they are received. You can learn more here about the student lottery on our blog.
Legislative Corner: Lifting the KIPP Texas Voice
On Thursday, April 13, our KIPP Texas community will travel to the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas to share our KIPP stories with lawmakers. Our KIPP Texas Community Impact Team is planning a day of meaningful engagement with elected officials who are making major education decisions. I know it will also be an important chance to get to know others in the KIPP Texas community! We hope you will join us!
The deadline to apply to attend is March 27. Spots are limited for this event, and lunch, transportation and training will be provided. Questions? Contact GetInvolved@kipptexas.org.
——-
The spring season is almost here which will bring us to a very exciting and busy season of commitment ceremonies and graduation preparations. Our seniors have already begun receiving college acceptance letters and confirming their post-secondary plans – college, career and beyond. Thank you, KIPP Forward counselors, teachers, school leaders and families for being the support for our KIPPSters. It’s about to be incredibly busy but also an incredibly heartfelt season. I love you and look forward to being by your side during the next milestones.
With gratitude,
Sehba Ali
CEO of KIPP Texas
