KIPP Beyond Middle School

A message from the KIPP Beyond Faculty and Staff:

KIPP Beyond is a new, public charter middle school in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in Manhattan. It is located in its own building, located on top of the historic Corpus Christi Church on West 121st Street. The founding principal, Joseph Negron, has spent the past 17 years at KIPP, taking on various roles from teacher to principal to Managing Director of Middle Schools. The 2021-22 school year is his tenth year as a school principal. 

Core Beliefs: KIPP has an extensive track record of running successful schools with an unscreened student population. We have combined this experience with the research base on adolescent learning to create an academically rigorous, intentionally integrated and unscreened school that represents the diversity of District 3, where all students can thrive, no matter their backgrounds.

We have designed a school that incorporates rich, rigorous, and relevant academics; a robust enrichment program; consistent physical conditioning; a focus on identity, relationships, and belonging; and regular practice of meditation – all informed by the research base on adolescent development.

We believe that adolescents are given too few opportunities for leadership. In classrooms, we encourage students to co-lead and co-create both the systems and routines of the classroom and the learning of content, leading to deeper learning and ownership. Across the school, we amplify student leadership through peer mentorship and student councils. Beyond the school’s walls, we envision our students critically analyzing and civically engaging in important issues facing our communities.

Academics: Our academic programming is based on 25 years of proven results in KIPP NYC middle schools. Our Science classes use hands-on, inquiry-based curriculum empowering students to analyze and approach problems like scientists and engineers. Students read, analyze, and write based on high-quality diverse texts in ELA, and join small group reading instruction at their reading level.

We follow a rigorous, college preparatory math curriculum, including Algebra I Regents offered in 8th grade, and teach a combination of history, social studies, and civic action where students grapple with major topics in US History and current events through discourse, writing, and debate.

Beyond Block: Our “Beyond Block'' is an elective block that occurs 4 times per week during the school day and includes offerings such as robotics, spoken word, expressive arts, and much more.

Special Education: We offer differentiated instruction in the least restrictive environment by certified learning specialists, including ICT, SETSS, and all mandated services as indicated on a student’s IEP.

Out-of-School Enrichment: We partner with external organizations to help each student develop a personalized portfolio of out-of-school activities (art, sports, music, debate, theater, dance, robotics, coding, etc.). We invest in and prioritize students’ exposure to the unparalleled resources of NYC.

Physical Fitness: Physical fitness occurs four times per week. This class is not sport-specific, but instead is a consistent strength, conditioning, and movement program that sets the foundation for increased athleticism, injury and obesity prevention, and healthy self-care and body image. Formal sports teams, such as volleyball, flag football, soccer and basketball, are offered after school.

Social Emotional Learning: Students have dedicated time to engage in powerful individual, relationship-, and community-building experiences, which emphasize self-reflection, identity development, and character growth. Each week, students gather in groups to collectively reflect on those experiences in a Community Circle.