College-Ready Academic options open up opportunities for students to translate in-classroom learning into passions that become postsecondary and vocational futures.
Having recently launched National Merit Scholars and Debate club programs, KIPP will continue to expand club options that expose students to future academic pursuits and careers that are rooted in excellent writing, oration, STEM, and civic engagement.
More than anything, KIPP has helped me carve a path forward. I just finished my senior year and I can say that I would not be going where I am today without the teachers, the experiences, and the challenges.
I remember in my junior year, I didn’t know where I wanted to go. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to go into corporate finance, but I didn’t know where exactly. Should I go north? Stay in the south? Or go west? At the time, it seemed like staying in the south was my best option.
Then, Junior year as I was writing my personal statement, one of
my teachers told me about her educational journey from Dartmouth to Harvard and now to teaching at KIPP. So I started to look at Dartmouth to see what it could hold for me. Exploring the right option took a lot of multi-tasking, which I am not great at, so I had to figure it out if I wanted to get it done. I had to create a plan. And how it’s done.
That’s what KIPP taught me. You see it on the walls: find a way or make one. KIPP made me proud to be part of a community that discovers what we want and goes for it. My years on the soccer team, in the classroom, taking ACT prep classes as part of my day, the labs and the essays, experiences helping a local entrepreneur support a business – all of it made me who I am.
I’ll wear my KIPP sweatshirt proudly on Dartmouth’s campus because KIPP was with me every step of the way and helped me get here!
Eduardo
Eduardo Lopez, KIPP Nashville Collegiate High School, Class of 2026
KIPP Nashville Collegiate High School offered National Honor Society for a second year in 2025-2026, amassing a cohort of 38 students. Recognizing and elevating high school students who demonstrate excellence in academics, leadership, community involvement, and personal integrity, NHS is a national embodiment of KIPP’s mission to prepare students for a future life of success. Through NHS, KIPP Collegiate students participated in three service projects, including face painting and hosting a Fall Fest, supporting four Angel Tree children through the Salvation Army, and a needs drive for a local women’s shelter for survivors of domestic violence.
KIPP’s debate teams remained active this year, competing in the Nashville Urban Debate League. Taking on the timely topics of worker flexibility, universal healthcare, and borders, the team rose to the challenge of reasoning and arguing their stance, earning progressively higher places at competitions with charter and public Nashville schools – from 5th place in September to 1st place in January!
This year’s KIPP Ambassadors at KIPP Nashville Collegiate High School lived up to their name of representing the school to those inside and outside the halls. A group of juniors and seniors chosen for their leadership, Ambassadors support the everyday inner workings of the school, from helping teachers and decorating hallways. To the Nashville community, they became the face of KIPP as hosts of our monthly coffee visits with any interested community member and served as emcees of the annual Leaders & Scholars Breakfast.
Comprised of juniors and seniors plus class representatives, the KIPP Nashville Collegiate High School SGA brings together student leaders on paper – they must have a 3.0 GPA – and also as they relate to their peers. Each one is a relator and a connector to their peers, helping to facilitate student voice and choice among the student body. For example, this year the students started and led Advocacy for Girls. A student-launched group focused on self-empowerment, the group featured workshops on personal growth, learning college and job skills, and sharing stories of overcoming challenges to succeed.
Even at the youngest ages, KIPPsters are exploring academic pursuits that will lay a foundation for new opportunities in their future, including:
