Education is a subject of passionate debate in our nation. What makes a great school? Can all children learn? Do poor neighborhoods and poverty determine who learns?

April Goble, Executive Director of KIPP Chicago, will speak about KIPP Chicago, a part of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) network, a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. KIPP Chicago believes that all of its students will “climb the mountain” to and through college. The entire school community, whether receptionist, teacher, or parent, is focused on this common goal. KIPP students spend 60% more time in class than their Chicago Public School peers. As KIPP students, they have cell phone access to their teachers for homework help, attend Saturday school once a month, receive three weeks of instruction each summer, and take rigorous high school and college prep classes. “Through hard work, our students prove every day that demography is not destiny,” Goble says.

The Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization. It operates the Adlai E. Stevenson Historic Home as a licensee of the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The license does not imply the District’s endorsement of specific ASCD positions or presenters.