KIPP MIAMI, INC.
MIAMI, FLORIDA

The “charter” that establishes each school is a contract detailing the school’s mission, program, performance goals, and methods of assessment. Every public charter school has an authorizer which, subject to state law, may be a district school board, university, Mayor’s office, or non-profit organization. Authorizers are responsible for holding charter schools accountable for compliance with their operating agreements or “charters.” KIPP schools are part of a national network of schools that operate with support from the KIPP Foundation. The non-profit KIPP Foundation trains and develops outstanding educators to lead KIPP schools, provides tools, resources and training for excellent teaching and learning, promotes innovation, and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas within the KIPP network and with district schools, colleges and universities, and non-profit organizations across the country. Each KIPP regional organization is a separate non-profit that oversees their local KIPP schools and provides those schools with shared services in areas such as alumni support, teacher training, leadership development, advocacy, operations, and data analysis. KIPP regions are embedded within their communities and they partner with neighboring schools and community-based organizations to best support their students. All KIPP regional organizations are governed by a local board of directors and led by an executive director or superintendent. Support for the KIPP Foundation guarantees that current and future KIPP schools have the resources they need to make college a reality for more children in educationally underserved communities. Your contribution helps students across the country access a life of choice and opportunity. Your donation invests in the dreams of nearly 90,000 KIPPsters to choose their own life path. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I’m finally in my senior year at Lesley University, majoring in business management and minoring in communications, and my future is ahead of me. The reason that I can work and go to school now is because of DACA. I applied for the program in 2014, when I was a senior at St. Mary’s. A college counselor from KIPP helped me navigate the DACA process and supported me as I applied to colleges. It was a stressful process, but I did get permission to work and enroll in college thanks to DACA, and I’ve been fortunate to spend almost four years at Lesley. I’ve learned, made friends, and engaged with a new community of people who are going to change the world. There are over 800,000 Dreamers like me that will be forced to leave the US if Congress doesn’t act soon. The Massachusetts Congressional delegation is on the side of Dreamers like me; now they must work with their colleagues to find a bipartisan solution before the program expires in March. The stakes are high. While it is estimated that sending away all current DACA recipients would cost the United States more than $400 billion in lost GDP, the price to our nation is more than just in dollars and cents. We are an integral part of the communities where we live. We are neighbors, teachers, nurses, volunteers, and friends. We are people—but sometimes I feel we’re seen as a package folks want to send back once they realize they don’t like the color anymore. I’ve always believed that America is a place where anything was possible with hard work. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a teacher, a veterinarian, and even a coroner (thanks to watching “CSI”). Now my dreams have changed—I want to work in business or marketing instead—and thanks to DACA, I have the training I need to do that. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to live out those dreams and have the career I want in this country. We have bold goals. We need incredibly talented and passionate people to help us reach them. Teach eager minds, work in key support roles, or even lead a KIPP school. Come grow with us.