KIPP King Founder and Principal to Bid School Goodbye

Kids have always come first for Jason Singer, founder of San Lorenzo's  and .

However, come June, Singer will step down from his role as principal of the high school to spend more time with his two young sons Aidan and Noah.

"Being an outstanding principal is hard to balance with being an outstanding dad," said Singer, 40.

Current assistant principal Kate Belden will become principal. The school is hiring an assistant principal for next year.

"This has been the most meaningful decade of my life," said Singer.

From watching all of the first  and having each one of them get accepted to college, it's safe to say he helped the school accomplish what it was set out to do.

"What we had was a promise to do whatever it took to get [these children] into college," Singer said.

And it goes beyond a 100 percent graduation rate. About 75 percent of the 2011 senior class passed at least one Advanced Placement (AP) exam — each student is required to take at least one AP class during the school year. The SAT average was 1,546 — almost 40 points higher than the national average. The class also maintained .

"This is an institution that can be itself and live long past my leadership and anyone who follows, and I'm very proud of that," Singer said.

All this from a school located and a

Despite widespread debate over charter schools, using public per-pupil dollars to fund private-style institutions, Superintendent Dennis Byas said the district always supported KIPP opening its doors.

"[Singer's] done a wonderful job and [KIPP King] has put San Lorenzo on the map by giving focus to our entire district," Byas said. "It's letting other districts see that you can work collaboratively with a charter school to develop a strong community."

A Founder Many Times Over

Singer founded Summit Academy in 2003 with funds from a Fisher Fellowship and then went on to found KIPP King Collegiate in 2007 after becoming a Gates Fellowship recipient, making him the first principal to found two KIPP schools.

is the country’s largest charter chain, operating around 100 schools nationwide. King was the first West Coast KIPP high school to emerge, boasting a rigorous and strict curriculum that is considered anything but easy among its students.

The schools stress high academic performance and strive to get low-income students to and through college.

Prior to KIPP, Singer co-founded and served as executive director of Communities in Harmony Advocating for Learning and Kids (CHALK) Youthline, a non-profit youth empowerment and employment program. It was there where he started to take notice of the high pregnancy rates and high number of drug and weapons offenses in San Lorenzo. He said among the 11,000 students enrolled in the district, afterschool programing was only being provided to fewer than 100 elementary students.

"It was not on the radar for many people at all so it made sense for us to be here and serve this community," Singer said.

Though he didn't go into depth on what he plans on doing next, Singer said he will likely "start a new organization that will be education-focused."