By Kathy Dean
American education seems to be riddled with difficulties like overcrowding and low test scores. While Atlanta has its successes, the city has also had its share of issues.
One of the most effective ways to solve a problem is to use the ‘bright spot’ approach. Instead of getting mired in complexities, find a bright spot – a person or group that has transcended the problem – learn what they do and follow their lead.
Atlanta’s educational scene has a spot so bright that it’s almost blinding. The Kindezi Schools have run a charter school in the Urban Villa area for the last five years. In that time, the staff and faculty of Kindezi West Lake transformed a group of Atlanta’s most high-risk kids into some of the state’s top performing students.
Just look at the numbers: the State of Georgia ranks in the 50th percentile of national CRCT scores and Atlanta public schools average in the 34th percentile. Students at Kindezi West Lake rank in the 75th percentile. The 2013 Beating the Odds report showed Kindezi scoring in the 99th percentile of all charter schools in Georgia, the highest possible score.
How do they do it? Elizabeth Talaska, Associate Director of Development at Kindezi, explained, “There’s a quote that we take very seriously from the late Dr. Asa Hilliard, who named our network: ‘I have never encountered any children in any group who are not geniuses. There is no mystery on how to teach them. The first thing you do is treat them like human beings and the second thing you do is love them.’”
This fall, some students in the Old Fourth Ward are getting the same love and opportunity. Kindezi has taken over the building that once housed Intown Academy, a failed Atlanta Public School (APS) charter school that had CRCT scores ranking in the 4th percentile. About a third of Kindezi’s O4W students are at least two grade levels behind, a perfect challenge for the Kindezi approach.
Kindezi’s method includes intense professional tutoring, holistic approaches to teaching life skills and afterschool programs that promote discipline, dedication and self-esteem. The average class size is seven students and the maximum class size is eight.
“The first thing I share about Kindezi is the class size because I know I’ll spend a lot time dispelling disbelief,” Talaska said. “No, there’s no tuition. Yes, the basic Kindezi model of six to eight students per class is sustainable on our public school budget, and we’ve shown that it’s a great way to teach a wide variety of kids.”
Again, the numbers: In 2013-14, APS spent about $16,500 per student, while Kindezi’s cost per student was around $12,500. Kindezi uses a lean business model and keeps the majority of their funding in the classroom.
Numbers only tell part of the story. Talaska shared an example of how Kindezi Schools change people’s lives. “One of our moms brought her son to Kindezi West Lake because she was sick and tired of being told he was a difficult. Her child was spending so much time in detention that he’d fallen behind a grade level in his academic subjects. After three years at Kindezi West Lake, not only was he no longer a disciplinary challenge, but he jumped ahead one year in math and was at grade level in reading. Moreover, Mom reported that he loves coming to school.”
The story is not unique, Talaska added. Kindezi’s assessments show that it’s not uncommon for kids to make several years’ worth of academic progress in a single year. Kindezi parents report high rates of satisfaction on the school’s annual surveys and routinely state that their children are excited to go to Kindezi every day.
For more information, visit kindezi.org.
