March 16, 2010 by Jeremy Jones
We believe that it isn’t enough just to get students into college, but to ensure that students persist to college graduation. A key element to achieve that goal is finding colleges that truly fit the needs of our students. Beginning in the sixth grade, we take spring college tours that first create the mindset around college access and secondly allow students to experience many college and university environments so they will be better informed when the time comes to apply and matriculate.
In the second week of March 2010, the 10th grade students at YES Prep Southwest toured the colleges of North Texas and Oklahoma. Below is a compilation of their experiences:
10th grade social studies teacher, Zach Verriden: I had the most amazing opportunity to spend a week touring colleges in
Continue reading OOOOOklahoma, where YES Prep students visit on Spring College Tours...
March 15, 2010 by Kat Park
Assessment. It is a word that elicits strange emotions from within. One that causes that sinking feeling to build in the pit of one’s abdominal cavity. It has probably led to many a strong person’s ultimate demise, or at least a loss of their lunch. Some toil for hours upon hours to prepare. Others wish they had toiled hours upon hours to prepare. And yet, the fluttering nerves are the same the second you sit in that seat and know that you cannot escape until you are finished.
As you can tell, I am not a huge fan nor am I a huge proponent of assessments. That is to say, I WAS not a huge fan. Past tense. It is one of the things that I, perhaps, had struggled the most with when I first joined the ranks of Teach For America and YES Prep.
There is the academic part of me that
Continue reading Assessments have turned my teaching up-side down...
March 12, 2010 by Jeremy Jones
Throughout the spring semester, YES Prep invites visitors to campus to share what makes us a special place to work, teach, learn and grow. On Friday, March 5th, 2010, YES Prep Southwest hosted about 20 visitors. One of those visitors was teacher prospect Rebekah Wesley. Rebekah found inspiration and solace in what she saw during the visit and wanted to share with others what she saw about YES Prep that makes it a special place. Rebekah will graduate from Texas A&M University in August of 2010 with degrees in English and Communications.Below is her guest blog entry for The Answer.
I think my high school experience was often characterized by feelings of intimidation and fear. These feelings weren’t the result of uncomfortable social situations (which may seem surprising as such
Continue reading YES Prep Southwest: A Visit I Won’t Soon Forget...
March 12, 2010 by Chris Barbic
In his 2010 State of the Schools address, Houston Independent School District Superintendent Terry Grier commented on the district's relationship with the public charter schools we founded more than a decade ago, YES Prep and KIPP. Grier referred to the relationship as a partnership as well as a competition, stating that HISD is ready to “get busy” in order to ensure parents are not leaving failing HISD schools to attend YES Prep, KIPP or other high-performing charters in Houston. We could not be more pleased to hear these comments from Grier. In fact, we've been hoping for many years that our existence would indeed result in this type of relationship with HISD and a superintendent ready to “get busy” and compete. The recent changes that Grier and the board have implemented
Continue reading Grier has opened door to system of great schools...
March 10, 2010 by Donald Kamentz
13…835…30,600…53…45…40… Numbers Everywhere But What Do They Mean?
You like numbers? Well, try these on as YES Prep Public Schools embarks on a historic week of having the most ever spring college tours occur in the same week all across the country! So, you ready for a little numbers game? Here goes:
· 13 – number of spring college tours happening from four different YES Prep high school campuses - Southeast, North Central, Southwest and East End!
· 835 - number of students and staff participating on these trips
· 30,600 – number of miles that will be travelled this week either by plane, bus or 15-passenger vans
· 53 – number of colleges and universities that will be visited this week alone by YES Prep
· 45 – number of YES Prep
Continue reading 835: The number of YES Prep Students on spring college tours...
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