Whole Child Initiative

Alongside practices that ensure academic success, KIPP Detroit is launching our Whole Child Initiative (WCI) which ensures each KIPP Detroit student, family, and teammate is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

We look forward to codesigning programs with parents and staff to amplify the strengths and bridge gaps in our community.

Whole Child Initiative Priorities

Increasing family and community partnerships.
Aligned with our values of Community, Agency, Restoration, and Excellence, we are excited to launch parent-specific programs and workshops to deepen our partnerships with KIPP Detroit families and the communities where we teach.

Embracing an inclusive and challenging curriculum.
We believe curriculum must be challenging and also expand students’ worldview. We will ensure that our curricular choices both reflect our students and offer them exposure to the world beyond what they experience on a daily basis.

Developing arts programs as a means of deeper student expression.
We know that investment in arts programming allows students to harness a variety of means for self-expression and deepens learning. We’ll prioritize projects that tap into both content knowledge and students’ passions throughout the year.

Integrating social and emotional learning.
Social and Emotional Learning will be integrated through a framework and toolkit from the Yale Institute’s RULER program.

Cultivating identity development practices.
We believe that students must be fortified and affirmed throughout their schooling experience. We will begin by ensuring all school spaces have identity-affirming imagery that uplifts our students’ history and cultures.

Addressing food insecurities.
Everyone deserves access to healthy nourishing food. To support food security for our students and families we will develop a campus food pantry and to explore partnerships with healthy food providers.

Enhancing teacher wellbeing.
Healthy, fortified staff are essential to creating joyful, academically excellent classrooms. We will develop free wellbeing workshops focused on the areas of interest for staff.