KPS has grown significantly since the Kalamazoo Promise was announced in 2005, adding over 2400 students. It has constructed two new schools and expanded programs. Student achievement has improved substantially based on both old and new state test score standards. KPS has strengthened supports for students through expanded pre-K, full day kindergarten, new curriculum, and schedule changes. However, the document notes there is still progress to be made to fully realize the goal of making Kalamazoo a college-going culture.

1. What Do You Know About KPS?
How much do you know about the
Kalamazoo Public Schools? See how
many of the following facts about KPS
you know.

2. GROWTH
• Since the Kalamazoo Promise was announced in
November 2005, KPS has grown by 2400 students, or
24 percent, among the fastest growing districts in the
state.
• KPS has constructed two new schools in four years, Linden Grove Middle School
the first two newly constructed schools since 1972,
when “new” Kalamazoo Central High School was built.
• In 2008, KPS started a dual language school, El Sol
Elementary, in a formerly closed school, the old Vine
Elementary/Vine Alternative.
Prairie Ridge Elementary School

3. GROWTH
• In 2008, KPS also created the
Middle School Alternative
Learning Program at New
Genesis on the north side.
• In 2011, KPS added a total of
23 classrooms at Hillside and
Milwood Magnet middle
schools.

4. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
• Every KPS elementary school has improved its
reading achievement since 2008.
• Last year, the Michigan Department of Education
substantially raised cut scores, the scores at each
grade level in each subject that students must
obtain to be considered proficient on the state
MEAP tests.
• With the old cut scores, from 2007 and 2010,
KPS had improved an average of 7.2 percentage
points in reading, more than double the state’s 3.0
percentage point growth. KPS had improved 15.8
percentage points in math, more than double the
state’s 7.5 percentage point growth.

5. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
• With new cut scores applied retroactively from 2008
to 2011, KPS improved an average of 8.3 percentage
points in grades 3-8, better than the state’s 6.2
percentage point growth. KPS improved 2.0 percentage
points in math during the same period, compared to a
decline of 1.2 percentage points for the state.
• In 2011-2012, 178 percent more KPS students took
high school Advanced Placement (AP) courses than
four years earlier, and these students took 225 percent
more AP courses. Economically disadvantaged, African
American, and Latino students increased their AP
participation in even greater percentages.
• From 2008 to 2011, KPS progressed in 11 of its 12
Board of Education subgoals.

6. STRUCTURE OF SUPPORT
• With four community partners, including the
county Head Start program, KPS adopted the
nationally recognized OWL pre-school
curriculum in 2008.
• KPS expanded full-day kindergarten from 176
students in 2007 to 928 students in 2011.
• In 2008, KPS created a K-3 writing curriculum.
• In 2009 and 2010, KPS educators created
checklists for parents of what children should
know at the end of pre-school, kindergarten,
and grades 1-5. The district sends parents
these checklists annually, an outgrowth of
strategic plan expectations developed by staff
and community and approved by the KPS Board
of Education in 2008.

7. STRUCTURE OF SUPPORT
• In 2009, KPS adopted a new math series for
grades K-5, its first since 1992, and rewrote its
math curriculum guides for grades K-5.
• In 2010, KPS adopted a new math series for
grades 6-8, and rewrote its math curriculum
guides for grades 6-8.
• In 2010, KPS middle schools moved from a
seven-period to a six-period schedule, the first
schedule change since 1985. The schedule
change gave all students more time in core
courses. It also permitted students below
grade level in reading or math to take two
courses in the subject area to help progress to
grade level. Last year, more than 300 students
used the additional time to reach grade level.

8. STRUCTURE OF SUPPORT
• In 2010, KPS high schools moved from a
four-period semester schedule to a five-period
trimester schedule, the first schedule change
since 1999. The new schedule gives students
more opportunities to take Advanced
Placement courses, meet Michigan Merit
Curriculum requirements, and do credit
retrieval. In addition, the new schedule
provides more time on task.
• With the support of a Kellogg Foundation
grant, KPS began parent education and family
literacy programs at six sites in the community
in January and has expanded to other sites.
The effort to become a literacy community is
important to our work to create a college-
going culture.

9. HONORS
• In 2010, President Obama spoke at Kalamazoo
Central’s graduation, the result of the first Race
to the Top Commencement Challenge.
• The year before, Vice President Biden spoke at
Loy Norrix to highlight the importance of
economic stimulus projects.
• Kalamazoo hosted the first and third national
PromiseNet conferences in 2008 and 2010,
respectively.
• The Kalamazoo Promise and the efforts of the
Kalamazoo Public Schools were featured in an
article in the national education magazine,
Kappan, by Western Michigan University
Professor Dr. Gary Miron.

10. AND MILES TO GO BEFORE WE SLEEP
And yet, to paraphrase Robert Frost, we have
miles to go before we sleep. We have made a
great deal of progress….and we have a great
deal left to make. Thanks for your support of
our children and our goal of making
Kalamazoo a college-going culture.
Together, we can make it happen.