Who's behind the KIPP PR machine?

Jay matthews a prominent education reporter for the Washington Post, takes a sober look at KIPP schools in Looking at KIPP, Coolly and Carefully. He admits tht KIPP has been the beneficiary of uncritical praise, which he pins on sloppy journalists. While that is definitely part of the problem, it leaves out the role foundations and other well heeled advocates that promote stories like KIPP to these reporters.

So when Matthews went looking for critics to counter the KIPP-as-inner-city-savior PR, who does he call?

Caroline Grannan, a public school advocate and blogger who follows charter school issues, said "KIPP schools succeed for some students--but it's a select subset of students. KIPP is evidently not the solution to the challenges facing urban public education. It would be wonderful to see the vast private funding that's poured into the KIPP schools, which serve just that limited subset, benefiting a larger segment of high-need students."

Nice to see a more sober assessment of KIPP in a major media outlet. Nice to see our own charter skeptic reaching a wider audience. Caroline has written extensively about KIPP over the years. Here are some of her KIPP realted posts from our archives:

• Where have all the KIPPsters gone?
• A former KIPP insider becomes a skeptic
• Taxpayers fund booze, karaoke for KIPP
• The New York Times and KIPP
• The missing KIPP students
• High-scoring KIPP and its mysterious ways
• Harmful fads 1A: Edison and KIPP
• Charter schools' press vs. reality