Please Vote for a $25,000 Science Lab for KIPP STRIVE!

KIPP STRIVE Academy is one of five semi-finalists in a school supply contest presented by FedEx as part of the company’s One Rate, Countless Possibilities Through Education Campaign. The contest lasts through 12/23 and the school with the most votes will receive $25,000 worth of supplies! The school of the second place winner will receive a $10,000 grant and the school of the third place winner will receive a $5,000 grant. Please vote for KIPP STRIVE Academy and help bring a new Science Lab to our school community! 

Please click on this link to vote: http://blog.van.fedex.com/countlesspossibilities?cmp=SOC-1001585-15-1-1001-1000000-US-US-EN-1RBCOUNTLESSFB0

First Day of School! (Photos)

Kipp Strive Academy

The Westend Kipp Strive Academy is one of two KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools under the Atlanta Public School system. It is located in the old J.C. Harris Elementary School building in the Westview neighborhood.

The goal of KIPP schools is to combat the drop-out rate and lack of skills among children in economically challenged communities -- many of whom are not able to compete on a college level or in the general workforce. An additional goal of the school is to produce civic minded, future community leaders.

Read more here. 

KIPP STRIVE Lottery Drawing...

I'm sure you could see the tear fall from the corner of my eye as our oldest son's name was called at the local charter school lottery drawing. I had waited since October to find out if he would be admitted, and little did I know that we would have to participate in a lottery drawing.

There were 259 applications received and only 107 spots. Our son's name was called and in slow motion I walked to the front of the room to greet the principal. She grabbed the microphone and said, "Mrs. Grimmett was the very first person to submit an application to KIPP STRIVE. She applied on January 1st at 1:23 a.m." Everyone cheered and applauded my efforts because instead of partying in New Year's Day I was filing out and submitting our son's application. It's my hope that our son will thrive at KIPP. I've envisioned his success there and am so happy that it's becoming a reality.

Waiting for the Charter School Lottery Drawing

"When you see a great teacher, you are seeing a work of art." --Geoffrey Canada, Harlem Children's Zone

It seems like yesterday when I dropped off our oldest son, Roland at daycare. At just 3 months old, I stood in his classroom holding him in his car seat in one hand and a box of Kleenex in the other hand. The thought of leaving him there made my eyes well up and before I knew it my tears flowed down like rain.

Looking back now, I couldn't have imagined how quickly the years would have flown by and how much he'd mature. Today, I can't believe that the preschool years will soon be a distant memory as he enters Kindergarten next year. We've decided not to "Red Shirt" our June baby and believe that although he'll get his license later than his friends, he will do just fine enrolling in Kindergarten shortly after turning 5-years-old. I'm proud of our energetic, smart, and caring 4-year-old.

Like many parents, since giving birth, I've often thought about our son's education. I've asked myself these questions: Where would he go to elementary school? Middle School? High School? College? Looking at various schools over the last 6 months, I was very distraught until I discovered a new charter school in our area. I was determined to get Roland enrolled and we were the very first application that school administrators received. The odds of getting him in were looking pretty good early on, until we found out that the school received an enormous amount of applications. Just our luck, we would have to participate in a lottery. There are only 100 slots and hopefully one of them has our baby's name on it.

What are your thoughts about public vs. charter schools? Have you ever had to be involved in a school lottery?

Sojourner Marable Grimmett is an Atlanta-based author who is recognized for writing and speaking about the joys and challenges of being a “stay-at-work” mom and connects with moms, both new and experienced, who have the responsibility of raising a family and maintaining a full-time job. Sojourner has been featured in FitPregnancy, iVillage, MacaroniKid.com, BlackCelebKids.com, MyAtlantaMoms.com, WhatToExpect.com, BlackandMarriedwithKids.com, Fox News, and CNN. She is married to her college sweetheart, Roland and they have two young sons, Roland Jay “RJ” and Joshua Palmer “JP”. Visit her blog sojournermarablegrimmett.blogspot.com follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook. Also join her new campaign to support establishing lactation rooms in public places www.supporttablefortwo.org.

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