After an official governing board vote on April 11 by KIPP Houston leaders, all three parties involved in creating charter campus programs at two Spring Branch ISD middle schools have now given formal approvals to an innovative pair of start-up programs. The partnership between SBISD, KIPP and YES Prep is being called the SKY Partnership for general reference purposes.
In March, the SBISD Board of Trustees approved the granting of campus program charters at Landrum Middle School for KIPP and at Northbrook Middle School for YES Prep. Superintendent of Schools Duncan F. Klussmann, Ed.D., was authorized to negotiate and execute final versions of charter program contracts. YES Prep’s board also approved the program in March.
The SKY Partnership brings new educational choices to families in high-needs areas in SBISD. The partnership is the result of shared dreams, strategic visions and comprehensive planning to give new options to students, provide more charter school options for families who are now on district lottery waiting lists, and better utilize building resources in the district.
For SBISD, a new five year plan known as The Spring Branch Plan, 2012-2017, was a driving force in the partnership and campus program charters.
Said Superintendent Klussmann, “Spring Branch has a very aggressive goal for the future to double the number of students over the next five years who complete some form of higher education – a technical certificate, or two-year associate’s degree, or four-year bachelor’s degree. We need to do everything that we can to develop strong partnerships and provide educational options that allow that to happen.”
“We believe in this partnership and its ability to benefit all our students. We’re able to offer these great experiences to our students by bringing in two proven public charter systems like KIPP and YES Prep, and by combining all three high-performing systems – Spring Branch, KIPP and YES Prep schools. I’m very excited about this new partnership and this innovative approach to providing new alternatives to students within their own home campus,” the Superintendent also said.
Visit the SBISD SKY Partnership Website for more information.
