Our Approach

Whole Student Approach

We nurture every aspect of a child’s growth—mind, body, and heart—through engaging academics, rich arts, and co-curricular opportunities in a safe, welcoming community.

• Enrichment Activities

  Across our K–12 programs, we offer a breadth of arts classes, including music, visual arts, graphic design, choir, dance, step, theater, spoken word, as well as middle school sports, and 10 high school PSAL teams.

• Restorative Practices

  Our schools hold student circles, in which children come together in a group to address issues like bullying, team building, culture, identity, and violence, which lead to deep discussions with teachers on subjects that may otherwise be challenging to address in a classroom.

• Social-Emotional Learning

  Students engage in meaningful personal and community experiences—such as advisory groups and grade- or school-wide celebrations—that foster self-reflection, empathy, and healthy peer connections.

STEM Investment

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) readies KIPP NYC students for the future of higher education and successful careers in in-demand fields, as well as equipping them to be informed, responsible stewards of our world.

Inclusion is the thread that ties together the vision and mission of the STEM work at KIPP NYC. We approach this with four themes: (1) self-awareness and affirmation of identity/culture; (2) literacy in science is liberation; (3) science is for all students; and (4) family & community engagement.

• Team Robotics

  From elementary school onward, students have the opportunity to participate in robotics teams where they design, build, and program their robots to understand the basics of STEM while developing confidence and teamwork skills along the way. Students compete in New York City competitions with students from other schools with the opportunity to attend a national competition.

• Design and Engineering

  Students apply the concepts of design and engineering in project-based learning where they solve problems through creativity, exploration, and collaboration. Students engage with the engineering design cycle and learn how to develop solutions to complicated real-world problems.

• Computational Thinking, Data Science, and Computer Science

  All students develop algorithmic thinking, pattern recognition, abstraction, and decomposition skills as they operate robots, write code, and engage in problem-solving. Students learn about collecting, organizing, and drawing conclusions from data when answering real-world questions. We provide a foundation for students to take computer science courses in grades 6–12.

Leading With Our Values

We examine our identities as members of the KIPP NYC community, understanding the students we educate, partnering with families to provide them a voice in our schools, scrutinizing our policies and procedures, and holding meaningful conversations about how we can improve ourselves, our communities, and the world at large.

• Culturally Responsive – Sustaining Education

  Our goal is to create an inclusive, healthy, and empowering environment for all of our students through an education that honors the varied experiences, histories, and perspectives of our community.

• Ongoing Professional Development and Learning

  KIPP NYC school staff participate in a variety of trainings to develop their skills, create accountability, and ensure we are moving forward together while creating healthy and joyful learning environments.

• Embracing Community Partners

  We commit to partnering with local businesses and hiring talent from within the neighborhoods we serve when developing and maintaining our schools. By prioritizing these connections, we strengthen economic opportunities, foster long-term investment, and ensure that our schools reflect all members of the communities they are built to support.