Work Hard for Whom? - A Critical Autoethnography on the Policies and Practices of a KIPP Charter School

Oct 15, 2026

Critical autoethnography reflecting on teaching in a KIPP charter school in an urban, racially diverse U.S. city. The work traces how KIPP’s rise brings both prestige and resentment within the charter school movement, especially regarding its claims of supporting underrepresented students’ academic success. It argues that specific policies and practices can operate against stated aims by promoting acculturation, using classroom storytelling to examine how education policy affects students of Color.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Knowledge is Power: The KIPP Charter School System

Classroom Storytelling and Reflective Questions

| | Work Hard for Whom? A Critical Autoethnography on the Policies and Practices of a KIPP Charter School | | --- | --- | | | | Jennifer Ervin, University of Georgia Abstract In this critical autoethnography, I reflect on my experience teaching in a KIPP charter school in an urban, racially diverse city in the southwestern U.S. Over the past few decades KIPP has gained both prestige and resentment as a major character in the charter school movement. Their focus on supporting students from underrepresented racial backgroundsin achieving academic success has gained them ample support in many communities. However, in this article I draw attention to the KIPP policies and practices that work directly against the organization’s aims and instead support a process of acculturation. I engage with storytelling to bring the reader into my classroom experiences so that we might collectively trouble these disconnections and (re)consider how policies may impact students of Color in similar institutions. Keywords: autoethnography; charter schools; critical whiteness studies; education policy; Latinx students Iwas unprepared for this. It was not my first job interview—not by a long shot. And still, the question caught me off guard. In all my interviews for teaching positions (and I will admit, there have been many) no one had ever asked me this question: “Is it necessary for you to love your students, ifyou’re going to teach them?” You can remember a moment, I’m sure, when you sat with a question in an interview. Looking for the right response, wondering what the people in front of you wanted to hear. In this case, I had no idea. This particular interview was at a KIPP charter school, and I understood KIPP to be well known for their demanding school policies, their academic rigor, their routines and procedures. Did these educators want to know thatI would love my students, unconditionally? That without that love, I wouldn’tbe here in this interview? I knew my answer, butI didn’t know whether it matched what they wanted to hear. “Of course I love my students, it’s why Ishow up for them. And if love is missing from my classroom, I can’t expect them to show up for me.” Without a love for our students, I wondered, what would keep us coming back to the classroom, day after day, year after year, despite the frustrations, the demands, the resistance? Despite the impossibility of reaching every student in every possible way with the work we do? Love is apart of engaging with students through empathy and care, even as we are challenged in that work. Love is in the roots of our work. After I nervously explained my answer, it was clear that was the answer she was looking for. The look the educator across the table gave me was not an indication that the position would surely be mine, but it was an indication that we were on the same page, in this regard at the very least. Introduction I did end up hired after that interview. And in that KIPP school, I found was constantly faced with experiences similar to the one from that interview—a feeling of doubt as to whether my beliefs about being an educator would align with what the larger system expected from me. Many times, I was affirmed—yes, we all want what’s best for our students. Yes, we love them. Yes, we’re hereto work hard for them. And yet, many other times during my tenure, my understandings about how to enact those core beliefs conflicted with the policies and procedures in place at our school that were meant to ensure an efficient and effective path for our students into higher education. I have since left that school, for reasons I will delve into in this article, and am now working to reflect on my past teaching practices. This process of reflecting is allowing me to understand how I sometimes did harm as a teacher, when I wanted to help. How I created barriers, when I was trying to create access. How I tried to force impossible solutions, instead of seeing ones that

FAQs

What does the article explore through autoethnography?

It reflects on the author’s teaching experience in a KIPP charter school and examines how KIPP policies and practices shape students’ experiences.

What does the author argue about KIPP’s stated aims?

The article draws attention to policies and practices that work against KIPP’s aims and instead support a process of acculturation.

Why is the question “What could I have done better?” important in the author’s work?

It guides ongoing reflection on teaching practices, helping the author and teacher educators uncover barriers and consider better alternatives for student access.

Oct 15, 2026

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