KIPP's Tracy McDaniel Testifies before the Interim Joint Committee on Education

I finally found the time to process the video of the Oklahoma City KIPP School Leader's address to the joint committee.

Tracy McDaniel is credited with a successful school turnaround when he implemented the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) at his Oklahoma City middle school. Located in a predominantly poor, African American community, the middle school of approximately 250 students had some of the lowest test scores in the state. McDaniel's entire district was in trouble with the state. Since he learned and implemented the KIPP leadership program, the school’s test scores began to improve, even before it became a charter.

A couple of years later, his charter school received financial support from the founder of GAP Stores. That extra funding permits him to pay his teachers $10,000 more than other district staff. In return, his teachers work longer hours and must take phone calls from parents during the evening. Now white and Hispanic enrollment is on the rise and students from other neighborhoods routinely apply for admission.

“If I had to go back to [a traditional] public school I’d run the school just like KIPP," McDaniel told the panel of legislators.