First, thank you for your reverence and respect for the NAACP’s mission and legacy. The sentiment you described when you first received your NAACP card embodies the passion and excitement the hundreds of thousands of NAACP members nationwide approach their civic duty with each day. It is that passion that the New York NAACP, and the organization at large, has for NYC public school students, including the 96% not enrolled in charter schools — and it’s one of the reasons the organization is suing the NY Department of Education.

Here’s an op-ed by President Jealous from today’s Daily News that further explains the NAACP’s stance on the issue. Please take a look at your convenience.

http://nydn.us/lP6vDO

Also, NAACP Education Director Beth Glenn will conduct a Twitterview today at 3:30 EST to answer some commonly asked questions about the lawsuit. Check us out @NAACP — http://www.twitter.com/naacp.

Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts about the case.

Best,

Curtis Johnson
Online & Social Media Specialist
NAACP

By Mary Ann Zehr
March 31, 2011

KIPP charter middle schools enroll a significantly higher proportion of African-American students than the local school districts they draw from, but 40 percent of the black males they enroll leave between grades 6 and 8, says a new nationwide study by researchers at Western Michigan University.

“The dropout rate for African-American males is really shocking,” said Gary J. Miron, a professor of evaluation, measurement, and research at Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, and the lead researcher for the study. “KIPP is doing a great job of educating students who persist, but not all who come.”

With 99 charter schools across the country, most of which serve grades 5 to 8, the Knowledge Is Power Program network has built a national reputation for success in enabling low-income minority students to do well academically. And some studies show that KIPP charter schools have succeeded in significantly narrowing race-based and income-based achievement gaps between students over time. While not disputing that track record, the new study attempts to probe some of the more unexplored factors that might play into KIPP’s success.