by AdminKIPP | Oct 16, 2015 | Uncategorized
Lakia Harris is a proud KIPP Indy alumna who is currently a freshman at Providence Cristo Rey High School in Indianapolis. KIPP Indy is thankful for our partnership with Providence Cristo Rey High School, where 30 of our alumni are currently attending. Emil Ekiyor, Providence Cristo Rey’s Senior Director of Community Outreach, Admissions, and Partnerships goes on to describe our partnership, “Students from KIPP Indy make up over 20% of the student body at Providence Cristo Rey High School. They come to our school ready for our academic honors program and prepared to excel in our professional internship program. We are excited about our partnership with KIPP Indy and the students and families that come to our school from KIPP Indy.” What do you like most about Providence Cristo Rey High School so far? I am learning and being challenged in school. Providence Cristo Rey High School reminds me a lot of KIPP Indy. The teachers really care and want me to be successful. How did KIPP Indy help prepare you for high school? KIPP Indy helped me by allowing me to shadow different schools. The KIPP Through College program was really helpful. The high school placement process really taught me a lot about responsibility. What are your goals for this school year? One of my big goals is to have a 4.0 GPA for Quarter 1. I also want to make the girls basketball team. How have you changed since first coming to KIPP Indy? I’ve changed a lot. One of the biggest things is that I welcome challenges now because I know they will make me better....
by AdminKIPP | Oct 16, 2015 | Uncategorized
Current KIPP Indy teacher and Teach For America alum, Ronak Shah, discusses why he became a teacher, Teach For America’s impact on the city, and why he came to KIPP Indy. Ronak Shah came to KIPP Indy after three years of teaching in the local community. He received his degree from Indiana University and is a former Teach For America corps member. He is the 7th grade science teacher at KIPP Indy. Why did you join Teach For America? Although I didn’t study education in college, I had always been interested in a pathway to the classroom. I had thought about teaching as a career even in high school, but some friends of mine talked me out of entering the school of education at my university. Instead, I studied Conflict Resolution and Cognitive Science, with a particular focus on our broken justice system, and my interest in teaching hardened as my horror at the school-to-prison pipeline developed. I knew I wanted to be part of a blockade on that pipeline, and teaching in a public school was the most effective way to do it. Teach For America offered a route to the classroom that would allow me to work alongside a supportive community of peers with a similar purpose in pursuing education, and would also allow me to do so in my home town of Indianapolis. Why Indianapolis? Indianapolis is a city with a lot of momentum. If a person wants to do good work, this is a great place to get started and to build partnerships. I’m really excited to keep working in this city where I feel like...
