Respect, Family and Education

One of the greatest experiences I've had in college has been volunteering at KIPP Journey Academy. KIPP stands for the Knowledge Is Power Program. It is a chain of middle schools dedicated to providing high quality education to kids that live in lower-income communities. I love everything about the days I spend at KIPP, and I am so supportive because the values of the organization, and the values they instill in their students (KIPPsters) are very similar to my own personal values. They are very open about their values, and everyday I am there, it is easy to see what these values are.

Before I get into what those values are, here is a video explaining a little bit more about KIPP Journey Academy, and how and why it got started.

The number one thing KIPP values is education. Walking into KIPP, if you ask a KIPPster to introduce him or herself he will say "Hi my name is _____ and I'm going to college in 2018" (its seriously the cutest thing ever and gives me chills everytime) The staff at KIPP drills it into each child's head that he or she will be attending college and needs to do the work necessary to get there. They teach each and every KIPPster to value education and I love that about it.

KIPP also value RESPECT. There are signs posted everywhere in the school about treating each other with respect as well as the teachers and staff members. They get rewarded for being polite, and if they are 'caught being nice.'

KIPP values the idea of FAMILY as well. They consider KIPP to be a family and encourages everyone to act that way. As a family KIPPsters hold their classmates responsible for upholding KIPP values. I love the family-like atmosphere and kids there really connect with the teachers. It is a much more opening environment than my middle school ever was.

I love KIPP and I think the values of the school are extremely apparent every time I walk in there. Because of this, the teachers create an awesome environment for kids to learn and get excited about school!