Our pilot program at work
The pilot program at KIPP
In September 2008, we launched our pilot program of yoga training in the KIPP Summit Academy (KSA), a successful middle school in San Lorenzo, California. Students at KSA take weekly Headstand yoga classes that include stretching, breathing, and visualization exercises. Teachers are offered yoga classes twice a week as well.
Measuring the success of the pilot
What are the effects of a yoga class that is integrated into a school's daily curriculum? As the pilot program takes place at KSA, a Stanford researcher is performing a rigorous research investigation. Measurements include levels of academic performance, physical fitness, wellness, stress, behavior, and emotional functioning.
The measurements compare two KIPP Academy Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. KSA provides 100-150 minutes of yoga classes (per week) to student, and 120 minutes of yoga class (per week) to instructors. The control school, KIPP Heartwood Academy, does not have the yoga treatment. The school populations are characteristically and demographically similar.
The research tracks fifty randomly selected 5th and 7th grade students. In addition, ten student case studies will add qualitative depth to the metric data. As soon as data is published, you will be able to read it here.
About KIPP and KSA
Only 1 out of 5 low-income children makes it to college. KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) is a national network of free college-preparatory public schools that prepare students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are currently 66 KIPP schools in 19 states. Gap Inc. founders Doris and Donald Fisher have invested more than $40 million into KIPP since 2000, including the KIPP Summit Academy in San Lorenzo. Other donors include the Koret Foundation, the Gates Foundation, Charles Schwab, Dede Wilsey, and Mimi Haas.
KIPP's track record of success is stunning: nationally, more than 90 percent of KIPP middle school students have gone on to college-prep high schools, and more than 80 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college. In the Bay Area as of October, 2007, there were six KIPP schools, five middle schools and one high school, serving more than 1,600 students.
San Lorenzo is one of the most under-resourced, overlooked communities in the Bay Area. Students in San Lorenzo attend schools challenged by low test scores and live in neighborhoods without enough school programs and services. KIPP Summit Academy (founded in 2003) is a free public middle school serving grades 5 through 8. Nearly 40 percent of the students are Latino, 32 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander, 16 percent are black and 10 percent are white. 65 percent of them qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunches.
KSA's extended day and school year help address the need for safe, constructive activities in San Lorenzo between school time and family time. The school also features field trips to national parks, historically significant regions, and college campuses; sports, music, drama, and poetry; environmental education on Saturdays; behavior-reinforcing "KIPP dollars" that students can spend; and a Commitment to Excellence, which every student, parent and teacher signs.
The school's high API - academic performance index - scores of 817 surpassed California's statewide target of 800, and the San Lorenzo Unified School District's score of 689 in 2006.
