Grades Served K-4
Founded 2018
Students 367
Teachers 28
Founded in 2018, KIPP Soul Primary School was the ninth KIPP Metro Atlanta school to open. We currently educate grades K-3 with plans to grow to grades K-4 by the 2022-23 school year (adding a grade level each year). Our school symbol, the lotus flower, represents the progression of the soul – secured in the mud, a stem that grows through water, and a flower that lies pristinely above. Our school mascot, the frog, represents the partnership of our entire community working together to support each student’s journey – college, career, and beyond – and to have a choice-filled life in which they will powerfully lead the way to transform our current reality.
KIPP Soul Primary School shares a campus with KIPP Soul Academy (currently grades 5-6), with plans to grow to a full K-8 academic experience by the 2022-23 school year.
Mercedes Ortiz is the principal of KIPP Soul Primary School. Ms. Ortiz was born and raised in Boston. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Africana Studies from Barnard College. Upon graduation, she joined a teaching fellowship program and earned her Master of Science degree in General and SpEd Elementary Education. After teaching for 4 years in both New York and Atlanta, she then moved back to New York for a new role as K-1 Academic Dean at Achievement First. After two years of teaching in New York, she decided to move back to Atlanta and join the KIPP Soul family.
Ms. Ortiz believes that love, joy, and high expectations are necessary for scholars to reach their full potential and is excited to continue this work at KIPP Soul Primary.
At KIPP Soul Primary School, we offer the following extracurricular activities:
Our students’ academic results continue to prove what is possible in education.