Jul 31, 2019
Today, Tom Vander Ark is speaking with Richard Barth, CEO of KIPP and Chairman of the Board at Braven. Prior to these roles, he also worked with Teach for America from 1989-1996, was President of District Partnerships for Edison Schools for seven years, and served as a Member of the Board at General Assembly.
After helping Teach for America get off to a good start, Richard Barth married the founder and CEO, Wendy Kopp. Richard went to work for a school developer and in 2005, he joined a foundation supporting a fledgling charter school network called KIPP. Richard has facilitated the growth from 40 schools to 224 schools, serving almost 100,000 students, nationwide. Along the way, Richard and the KIPP team have learned a lot about getting young people into and through college. They learned about the importance of helping students, as well as how to help them leave high school with a passion, a purpose, and a plan.
Listen in to today’s conversation as Richard speaks to Tom about the lessons he has learned while leading KIPP!
Key Takeaways:
[:14] About today’s podcast with Richard Barth.
[:58] Tom welcomes Richard to the podcast!
[1:12] Why did Richard originally joined the start-up, Teach for America, in 1989?
[5:28] Richard recounts the KIPP origin story from when it was first founded in 1994.
[8:03] Richard explains how he has seen the KIPP organization mature over the years since he joined in 2005.
[13:16] Since 10 years ago, KIPP began to get their first college completion data but it wasn’t as high as they had anticipated. Since then, how have Richard and his colleagues worked towards improving college-going rates as well as college completion rates?
[19:07] About KIPP’s incredible commitment to supporting graduates while they’re in college.
[22:01] What could higher institutions be doing to help KIPP’s students and other students finish college?
[25:48] In addition to KIPP’s efforts to improve college completion, KIPP has also made efforts to improve teaching and learning. Richard summarizes some of the strides they’ve made there!
[28:50] Richard gives his thoughts on how serving as a Board Member of General Assembly has made him think differently about learning and post-secondary opportunities.
[34:58] As more and more students move into work and learn ladders, how does KIPP help them in school and make good decisions about their career once they’re out of school?
[36:30] Richard speaks about the exciting non-profit he is the Chairman of the Board for — Braven.
[39:12] Tom thanks Richard for joining the Getting Smart Podcast!
Mentioned in This Episode:
KIPP Foundation
Gates Foundation
Edison Schools (now Edison Learning)
For More on Teach for America, Check Out Last Week’s Episode:
Episode 212: “”
If You’d Like to Hear More on Productive Charter Schools and District Relationships, Listen to Episode 65: “Backstabber to Lovetrain: Don Shalvey on District-Charter Relations”
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