In this week’s column (Looking at KIPP, Coolly and Carefully), Mathews tries to get ahead of the news trend that’s slowly leaking out about KIPP’s dropout rates and spate of breakups (now numbering six). He rightly points out that the media are the ones doing most of the hyping -- desperate for success stories and things that seem new and different. But Mathews struggles to hide his enthusiasm even in the role of cool critic, and in reality it’s more than that -- it’s foundations pouring money into the KIPP approach and think tanks touting them as miracle solutions. I’m not against KIPP, but I have been warning against all the hype surrounding the rapidly-expanding network of KIPP schools for weeks and months now.
Related Posts: The Return Of The Hype Warning System, Jay Mathews On The HotSeat, KIPP Co-Founder Mike Feinberg On The HotSeat, NYT Magazine’s Paul Tough On The HotSeat.