Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy VI

Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy (KAPPA) VI is modeled after the Air Force philosophy of leadership training. Students are called “cadets” and must wear a formal uniform including a collared shirt, tie and jacket. They call their teachers “professors” and classes are referred to as a “squadrons.”

To foster independent learning, teachers are encouraging self-reflection. Students regularly share their work with their peers and use checklists to make sure they include everything they need in an assignment before handing it in. A student said that peer feedback  “adds another layer to make sure we get the highest grade possible,” according to the school’s most recent Quality Review.

Class-wide and group discussions help students make sense of their work, whether it’s conversations between students in the science lab as they work on an experiment, or a discussion in English on emulating the ideas and advice contained in published letters by author Anna Deavere Smith. 

Group work is common in a lot classes and teachers sometimes group students by abilities, such as for conferences that focus on reviewing a particular skill, and sometimes they group students to ensure a range of abilities are represented.

Overall the school earned strong marks on its most recent Quality Review. However, teachers' responses to the annual school survey suggest there’s some friction with longtime principal, Gary Dumornay with far fewer teachers than the citywide average saying he’s an effective manager.  

The school offers high school-level courses in algebra, Living Environment and United States history and most students earn high school credit by the end of 8th grade.

There’s a range of enrichment courses, including art and music. The school fields a math team that competes in citywide math competitions.

To help them with the transition to middle school, 6th-graders attend a four-day orientation before the start of the school year.

KAPPA VI shares space in the Far Rockaway Campus building with three other small schools: Academy of Medical Technology, Frederick Douglass Academy VI High School and Queens High School for Information, Research and Technology.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: The school has ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes.

ADMISSIONS: Open to Queens students. Admission is based on a review of students’ test scores, grades records of attendance, punctuality and behavior, an onsite assessment, an interview and attendance at an open house or information session. (Laura Zingmond, web reports, October 2018)