KIPP PHILADELPHIA CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH BELL-RINGING CEREMONY AT FLAGSHIP MIDDLE SCHOOL

KIPP Philadelphia’s Oldest School Moves To The Historic John G. Whittier Campus

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Public charter school network, KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools (KPPS), will host a bell ringing ribbon ceremony commemorating its 20th anniversary on September 19, 2023 from 9 AM to 11 AM EST at the historic John G. Whittier campus located at 2600 W Clearfield Street in North Philadelphia.

KPPS first opened its doors to 90 fifth grade students in 2003 at the KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy (KPPA) and now serves 3,250 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in eight schools across North and West Philadelphia. KPPA is KPPS’ first of eight schools.

KPPS is committed to fostering joyful, academically excellent learning spaces deeply connected to the surrounding communities. A recent Mathematica study examining 10 regions nationally, including KPPS, found that students who attend the charter school network for middle school are nearly twice as likely to persist and graduate from a four-year college than their peers who do not attend KIPP schools.

KPPA’s new John G.Whittier campus serves 360 students in fifth through eighth grade. Built in 1913 and currently on the National Register of Historic Places, The John G. Whittier School served as a public school in the Allegheny West neighborhood from 1913 to 2013. In August 2021, MIS Capital LLC purchased the property and began revitalizing the Whittier building. Today, the campus features a multi-purpose gym and auditorium, an outdoor classroom, cafeteria, high-efficiency lighting and HVAC systems, stormwater management system encompassing the site and surrounding streets, and an enhanced tree canopy to offset the area’s heat island effect.

Featured speakers will include Natalie Wiltshire, CEO of KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools and guests include Representative Roni Green of Philadelphia County’s 190th District and Steve Gendler, Founding Principal of MIS Capital LLC.

For more information about KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools and the KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy, please visit kippphiladelphia.org/.

WHO:

Natalie Wiltshire, CEO of KIPP Philadelphia

Representative Roni Green, 190th District

Steve Gendler, MIS Capital LLC

David Colman, MIS Capital LLC

WHAT:

KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy Bell Ringing Ceremony

WHEN:

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

9:00 am- 11:00 am EST

WHERE:

2600 W Clearfield Street

Philadelphia, PA 19132

To RSVP for the ceremony, please contact Aja Moore-Ramos or Anisha Sinha.

ABOUT KIPP PHILADELPHIA

KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools (KPPS) is committed to creating a future without limits for Philadelphia students. By equipping students with the academic, social, and emotional tools needed to live choice-filled lives, the KIPP Philadelphia community is building a more just world. The work of KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools is rooted in uplifting students’ agency and right to joy while affirming their identities and lived experiences. Today, KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools serves 3,250 students and more than 1,300 alumni across eight schools in North and West Philadelphia. KPPS is a part of the KIPP Public Schools national network of 280 schools, united by a shared mission to prepare students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. For more information visit kippphiladelphia.org.

ABOUT MIS CAPITAL LLC

MIS Capital LLC is an award-winning social impact real estate development firm. Incorporated in 2008, the company’s mission is to create social and environmental impacts through realization of partners’ and clients’ sustainable legacy projects. This is accomplished by integrating cost-saving financing techniques – energy loans, historic and New Markets tax credits and grant funding sources – with development, design and construction expertise. Recent projects include the renovations of the historic KIPP Whittier School and the KIPP Rowan Campus as well as Lincoln Square, featuring the rehabilitation of the former Philadelphia Wilmington & Baltimore Train Shed into a Sprouts Farmers Market and mixed use retail and apartment community on the adjacent brownfield. MIS Capital LLC’s work regenerates brownfield properties, preserves historic resources, enhances educational facilities and creates jobs, health and healthy food access to improve the quality and character of communities and client environments.

Media Contacts:

Aja Moore-Ramos, [email protected], 267.951.4853

Anisha Sinha, [email protected], 484.981.0510