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KIPP STRIVE Academy

(404) 753-1530
1444 Lucile Ave SW, Atlanta, GA 30310
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Grades Served 5-8
Founded 2009
Students 399
Teachers 31

About Us

Founded in 2009, KIPP STRIVE Academy was the third KIPP Metro Atlanta school to open. KIPP STRIVE Academy connects Atlanta’s Historic West End and Westview neighborhoods and seeks to build on the enduring legacy of education and activism in the community. STRIVE stands for Success Through Rigorous Instruction, Virtue, and Enrichment – a vision shared by students and staff alike. Holding fast to the belief that education comprises both academics and character, KIPP STRIVE is grounded in its REACH values (Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship, and Hard Work). The school’s commitment to world-class instruction raises academic expectations to a higher level of teaching and learning. The belief in a calm and positive environment lays the foundation for relationships that empower with love and joy, grant mutual respect and dignity, and instill trust that extends for a lifetime. Students are further enriched through the arts, sojourns to landmarks of the civil rights movement across the South, and literacy initiatives that lift their voices and elevate their stories. KIPP STRIVE Academy proves that all students can thrive beyond measure as change-agents for a better tomorrow.

KIPP STRIVE Academy shares a campus with KIPP STRIVE Primary School (grades K-4), offering a full K-8 academic experience.

Lakeesha Ramdhanie currently serves as Chief Schools Officer for KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools and Interim Principal for KIPP Strive Academy where she leads and supports the K-12 academic strategy and school leadership development. Originally from the Bronx, NY, Lakeesha was thrilled to begin her career serving her regional community in Newark, NJ as a founding teacher at KIPP SPARK Academy.

In 2012, Lakeesha was afforded the opportunity to help establish Atlanta’s first KIPP elementary school as the founding Assistant Principal. She served as Assistant Principal for five years before becoming Principal of KIPP STRIVE Primary School in 2017. Lakeesha supported the regional academic vision as Head of Schools, Academics prior to her current role. Lakeesha had come to know and love Atlanta through her time at Spelman College, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology in 2009. She earned her M.A in Organizational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 2015.

As a firm believer in continuous self-improvement, Lakeesha has participated in several cohort learning programs including KIPP National’s Summer Leadership Programming, where she was a Miles Family Fellow, and participated in the Successor Prep Cohort. Locally, she is a LEAD Atlanta, class of 2020 alumni and was named Assistant Principal of the Year for the Atlanta Public Schools district. Lakeesha attributes these successes to her commitment to education and her mission to serve her community. When not serving the scholars of KIPP Metro Atlanta, Lakeesha loves traveling with her family and frequenting local festivals.

KIPP STRIVE Academy School Feeder Pattern

Extracurricular Activities

At KIPP STRIVE Academy, we offer the following extracurricular activities:

Band
Baseball
Basketball
Cheerleading
Dance
Football
KIPP Scribes (Writing Program in Partnership with The Wren’s Nest)
Quiz Bowl
Reading Bowl
Soccer
Track
Youth Entrepreneurship Club (Morehouse College Community Revitalization Initiative)