Holiday event includes additional donation of $10,000 to support KIPP Houston and YES Prep Public Schools from AT&T

AT&T* surprised 20 high school seniors today from KIPP Houston and YES Prep Public Schools with gifts from a special “Secret Santa.” The students participated in a school ceremony where AT&T enhanced its investment in education by donating $5,000 to each school’s college preparation program for a combined gift of $10,000 to the schools.

However, it was Santa who was keeping a big holiday secret from the student participants. He surprised each of the 20 students with their very own Samsung Galaxy 8.9 Tablet at the KIPP Houston High School campus.

“These gifts reflect AT&T’s ongoing support of education and Houston’s underserved children. The computer tablets were a thrill for our surprised seniors who have been working around-the-clock to prepare for finals and completing college applications,” said Mike Feinberg, Co-founder of KIPP. “Our schools will use the generous monetary donation from AT&T to help pay for KIPPsters to take college preparation exams so we can make sure they are set up for success and pick the best fit for college.”

District-Charter Collaboration Compact Supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Education leaders in Spring Branch (Houston, TX) are proud to announce a new, three-way collaboration between Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD), and two public charter school organizations, KIPP Houston (KIPP) and YES Prep Public Schools (YES Prep).

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation congratulated the newly formed SKY Partnership (SBISD, KIPP, and YES Prep) and welcomed them as the newest members of the District-Charter Collaboration Compact cities.

Spring Branch joins Chicago, which also announced its Compact today, and 12 additional public school systems – Baltimore, Denver, Hartford, Conn., Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, Tenn., New Orleans, New York City, Rochester, N.Y., Sacramento, Calif., Central Falls, R.I., and Boston – that have signed compacts in the past year.

SBISD enrolls about 33,000 students who live in Houston’s west side neighborhoods. The District-Charter Collaboration Compact is part of an ongoing commitment and dialogue between traditional public schools and charter schools to work together to share their best practices and provide all children in their communities with a public school education that prepares them with the skills and knowledge to succeed in college and the workforce.

The athletic fields in the KIPP Houston North and Southwest campuses will undergo a $1 million upgrade this Fall courtesy of a gift from the Kinder Foundation. The upgrade will create more green and play space and bring the fields up to the University Interscholastic League (UIL)-sanctioned specifications, allowing the schools to host official middle and high school athletic contests for both boys and girls. Beyond laying sod and new irrigation, the fields will also finally have a scoreboard, bleachers, and lights. With the looming time change, field lights mean that students are able to practice and compete after 5:45 p.m., which is critical for a school that ends the school day at 5:00 p.m.

Galveston, Texas, October 20, 2011 - KIPP Coastal Village received a grant from The Del Papa Distributing Community Fund to support an on-site art program for their second, third, fifth and sixth grades. The Fund regularly supports educational organizations throughout their seventeen county distribution area. This grant will fund art supplies and an artist stipend. Local artist Carolyn Vieau will conduct a variety of art classes including recycled projects, kinetic art, two-dimensional and three-dimensional exploration.