By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Sunday, March 22, 2015
KIPP Atlanta Metro Schools, a network of open-enrollment, college prep schools with 2,500 students, raised a whopping $940,000 last week, more than quadruple the 2014 fundraiser.
The monies will be used for a scholarship endowment to help the students pay for college. (Nearly all of KIPP graduates end up going to college.)
And you don't have to be a redneck to know Jeff Foxworthy's presence didn't hurt. The legendary stand-up comic hosted the third annual fundraiser at the Egyptian Ballroom in the Fox Theatre playing off his Fox game show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" (The multiple Fox references are purely coincidental, with Foxworthy returning to Fox with the game show this summer and coming back to the Fox Theatre April 18 for a show.)
Six KIPP students were pitted against six celebrities in a trivia contest featuring math, science and history questions culled from KIPP's curriculum. As expected, the kids whomped the adults 130 to 60. "I felt stupid!" exclaimed actress Terri Vaughn ("The Steve Harvey Show," "All Of Us") after the competition. "I needed a study guide!"
Indeed, the adults had to seek a "lifeline" - the audience - to get their first question correct: : "In the 1800s which person helped many South American countries gain independence from Spain?" The correct answer: Simon Bolivar. At another point, the judges appeared to give the adults 10 points for no apparent reason.
As the adults fell further and further behind, Foxworthy noted, "Does anyone see a pattern starting to develop here?" Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson facetiously asked at one point if the students on the panel could be used as a life line.
Peterson after the event told me he was able to tamp down his own competitive juices in this situation. "It's okay to lose for a good cause."
Jocelyn Dorsey, director of public affairs for Channel 2 Action News, said she dreaded the embarrassment of not knowing the answers to so many questions but enjoyed the camaraderie among the adults. "We never expected to win," she said.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
About the Author
