Knowledge Is Power Program

Knowledge Is Power Program
Name	Knowledge Is Power Program
Type	Nonprofit network
Founded	1998
Founder	Bill Bennett
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Area served	United States
Focus	After-school enrichment; college readiness; technology-enabled instruction

Knowledge Is Power Program is a nonprofit network of after-school learning centers and college-preparatory programs operating across the United States. The initiative emphasizes intensive tutoring, standardized-test preparation, and mentoring to increase college enrollment from underserved communities. It has been associated with widespread replication, philanthropic funding, and both praise and controversy in educational policy circles.

History

Established in 1998, the program was founded amid debates following the 1990s education reform movement led by figures such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Marian Wright Edelman, John Dewey—whose progressive pedagogy contrasts with outcomes-driven reforms—and contemporaneous initiatives like Teach For America, KIPP, Harvard Project Zero, CharterSchoolGrowth Fund, and Broad Foundation. Early expansion drew attention from philanthropists linked to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wallace Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and policymakers influenced by reports from The Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, Manhattan Institute, and Center on Education Policy. The 2000s saw partnerships with municipal actors such as Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools, New York City Department of Education, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, while research evaluations invoked comparisons to interventions studied at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, RAND Corporation, and SRI International. High-profile endorsements and critiques referenced personalities and entities including Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan, Diane Ravitch, E.D. Hirsch Jr., Ruth Sutton, Paul Goodman, Milton Friedman, No Child Left Behind Act, Every Student Succeeds Act, National Education Association, and American Federation of Teachers.

Structure and Governance

The organization developed a national network model with local autonomous sites overseen by a central board resembling governance structures used by United Way, YMCA of the USA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and regional affiliates like Communities In Schools. Its governance features executive leadership interacting with trustees drawn from corporate and philanthropic sectors such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc., Google, Facebook, Teach For America, McKinsey & Company, and legal advisers from firms linked to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Latham & Watkins. Compliance and evaluation units referenced standards and audits similar to those employed by Independent School League, College Board, ETS (Educational Testing Service), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and accreditation practices paralleling Council for Accreditation and School Improvement. The governance model integrated program directors with experience at institutions such as Harvard Graduate School of Education, Columbia Teachers College, Johns Hopkins University, Pepperdine University, and University of California, Los Angeles.

Educational Model and Curriculum

The program’s instructional approach combined one-on-one tutoring, small-group seminars, and standardized-test coaching drawing on curricular materials from sources like College Board, ACT, Inc., Khan Academy, Common Core State Standards Initiative, Core Knowledge Foundation, and supplemental literacy frameworks associated with Read 180, Direct Instruction, Success for All, Project Read, and Orton-Gillingham. Lesson planning incorporated assessment tools and data dashboards inspired by analytics work at ISTE, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Data Quality Campaign, and research from Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Enrichment components included college counseling modeled after practices at Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, Columbia University, and career pathways connected to partners such as IBM, General Electric, Boeing, Deloitte, and Ernst & Young.

Admissions and Scholarships

Sites employed targeted recruitment strategies coordinating with local agencies including Head Start, Title I, Community Action Partnership, Department of Health and Human Services, and district offices like Los Angeles Unified School District and Chicago Public Schools. Admissions criteria often prioritized students from feeder schools with designations akin to Opportunity Zones, Promise Neighborhoods, and the federal Pell Grant population. Scholarship and financial-aid counseling drew on federal and state programs related to Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, California Dream Act, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and institutional aid practices of universities such as University of California, California State University, City University of New York, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Howard University, University of Texas, and Florida State University.

Funding and Partnerships

The nonprofit funding model blended philanthropic grants, corporate sponsorships, government contracts, and earned revenue from fee-for-service arrangements. Major philanthropic supporters included Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, and Annenberg Foundation. Corporate partners and in-kind supporters comprised Microsoft Corporation, Google, Apple Inc., AT&T, Verizon Communications, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America. Government and municipal collaborations involved entities similar to U.S. Department of Education, state departments of education, City of Los Angeles, City of Chicago, New York City Mayor's Office, and workforce development agencies such as DOL (United States Department of Labor), Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and county-level commissions.

Outcomes and Criticism

Evaluations produced mixed findings with some studies reporting increased college enrollment similar to effects reported for KIPP, Success Academy Charter Schools, and College Summit, while critics compared outcomes to debates surrounding No Child Left Behind Act and questioned longitudinal impacts cited in research from RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Brookings Institution. Criticisms invoked issues raised by commentators such as Diane Ravitch, Jonathan Kozol, Michelle Fine, Cornel West, and organizations including American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Southern Poverty Law Center concerning equity, scaling, data privacy, and labor practices. Debates referenced assessment controversies involving SAT, ACT, Common Core State Standards Initiative, and policy discussions at U.S. Department of Education and state legislatures. Supporters pointed to college matriculation lists mirroring enrollments at University of California, City University of New York, State University of New York, Historically Black Colleges and Universities such as Howard University and Morehouse College, and workforce pipelines into employers like IBM and Deloitte.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States