The Answer - A blog about Education, Preparation, and Commitment.

FROM ZERO TO INFINITY: A New Path to College Begins in Houston’s Northside

March 07, 2011 by Matt Neal

YES Prep began in the late 1990s in a parking lot east of downtown Houston, envisioned by a small group of idealistic, dedicated upstarts who wanted to make a change. Their efforts planted a seed of hope, of possibility, of city-wide transformation.

It’s more than a decade later, though, and that seed has grown into quite an expansive tree! We are past the heady days when the primary driver of student success was the sheer tenacity of those early pioneers. While grit is still an essential ingredient, YES Prep now has a fully developed college-preparatory curriculum in grades 6-12, a collaboration structure that is the envy of school systems around the country, a teacher training program that offers full certification to our early-career professionals, and eight distinct campuses offering countless opportunities to over 4,000 students around the city.

I am profoundly honored to be founding our ninth campus, opening in the fall of 2011 in Houston’s Northside. And because YES Prep has matured as an organization, I have had the benefit of a thorough and purposefully planned “Year Zero,” during which I’ve enjoyed tremendous professional development and on-the-job training opportunities to ensure that I am as ready as possible to make YES Prep Northside an exemplary school from day one.

A significant aspect of my Year Zero has been my participation in the KIPP School Leadership Program. It’s no secret that there’s a friendly rivalry between YES Prep and KIPP, but we are definitely at our best when we’re promoting one another’s success along with our own. This was evident in the warm embrace I received from the aspiring KIPP school founders with whom I have trained over the past year. After a five-week summer institute at New York University and four follow-up conferences, our group of young leaders has become a tight network of “critical friends,” deeply committed to each other’s development. I am grateful for the terrific training I have received, but even more so for the mutually supportive cohort that has never treated me like an outsider.

Even more vital to my growth was the opportunity to serve as Interim School Director for YES Prep West in the fall of 2010. While the school’s founder, Ellen Winstead, was on leave, I had the tremendous task of maintaining the record of outstanding success her school had already achieved. I did more than get my feet wet – indeed, I was fully immersed in day-to-day school leadership for nearly five months, and I learned more than I could have from any book, course, or simulation. This was real-time, on-the-job training at its utmost, and I will always be indebted to Ellen for the trust she put in me, and to the YES Prep West community as a whole for providing me with the best professional development program ever!

YES Prep has also dedicated more resources over the years to supporting staff at all levels of the organization. I have a manager who knows my strengths, my needs, and my quirks exceedingly well, and our Home Office is filled with amazing thought partners on whom I’ve already leaned heavily, and whose expertise and wisdom will help sustain YES Prep Northside throughout its growth.

As my Year Zero steadily proceeds toward Year One, I am deeply aware of and grateful for the fact that I am “standing on the shoulders of giants” (to borrow a phrase from Isaac Newton). While at the moment I am the only official member of YES Prep Northside’s faculty, a team of dozens continues to ensure that our school will start on solid footing and with great momentum. Equally exciting is the new network we’re actively building within the neighborhoods we will serve – people and organizations hungry to realize the terrific potential of a proud community.

Together, we will build on the legacy of YES Prep’s pioneers by bringing hope and possibility to the children of Houston’s Northside.
 

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