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

YES Prep Southwest: A Visit I Won’t Soon Forget

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 situations are not uncommon in those impressionable years); my insecurities were completely related to my classes and course-work. My public school was not considered poor by our great state’s low standards; it was ‘Exemplary’.  So why was my learning experience marked by fear? I was told that my learning experience would only be as good as I made it. And sure, to some degree, this was true. But that was also a lot of pressure. On the other hand, the teachers had no choice but to focus on teaching (and disciplining) the students who didn’t want to be in the classroom at all. However, I happen to believe that feelings of fear or apathy could have been cured by raising classroom expectations, making additional help more available—even required, and perhaps by telling a student every once in a while, “You know you can graduate and I will be here to help you do it? You know, you are more than capable of going off to a great college and getting a degree in anything you want, right? You know, you are worth it, right?” I am convinced that such encouragement and empathy would have allowed teachers to teach to a higher standard. It would have given teachers a sense of purpose and students, a sense of confidence. And I think it would have meant the end of my fear of math and perhaps the beginning of families with first generation college graduates.

Recently, I saw the aforementioned prediction alive and at work at the Southwest campus of YES Prep Public Schools. Arriving early for my visit, I was greeted by two freshman girls with smiles and personalities that burst from the seams of their identical YES Prep sweatshirts. Knowing YES Prep’s requirement to get into a four-year college upon graduation, I asked the girls where they were hoping to go, half expecting them to tell me that they didn’t know yet. To my surprise, one girl responded, the University of Texas, where she wants to eventually study law. (Yes, she’s a freshman and she wants to study law at one of the best law schools in the nation.) The other was waiting to narrow her choices after a weeklong college tour she is attending this week, courtesy of YES Prep. Needless to say, I was impressed. They were articulate and well mannered and never broke eye contact—a rare communicative quality in the stages of early High School adolescence. When it came time see the campus, I quickly chose these same girls to guide my tour.

At first glance, the campus looks banal—one large square of modular buildings arranged by class. But as the classrooms were open to any visitors, I soon learned that the materials of this school prove greater than brick buildings and mascot mosaics. The materials of YES Prep SW are the teachers and their relationships with the students. Every YES Prep SW Maverick I talked to told me variations of the same story—“I’m never afraid to ask a teacher anything. They want to help me. They care about me. At any other public school, I’d be forgotten—but not at YES Prep. It’s different here.” And it is different. Very different. To say that the teachers of YES Prep are ‘dedicated’ would be an understatement. Their work needs a new adjective—zealous, perhaps. For instance, my tour guides were excited to take us to meet a beloved Math teacher—Mr. D. I was not excited to revisit my fear of numbers but as I walked into Mr. D’s classroom, the atmosphere he had created leaves no room for fear. He knew every student by name. He knew their current aptitude, their likes and dislikes, and he spoke of math like some people talk about a favorite band. His attitude was infectious and all his students had the numbers-bug. He was not intimidating or fearsome—but warm and encouraging with a self proclaimed ”nerdiness” that can only be thought of as endearing. And he was just the beginning. From the stories I heard about Ms. Hunter’s English class projects to watching the students of Mr. Milas’ class define Cubism, I found learning to be a team effort by both the students and the teachers—who give out their phone numbers and stay after class to offer additional help on a daily basis.

On the day of my visit, a second round of benchmark testing was going on for some underclassman, but those who did exceptionally well on the first round of testing were assigned a junior classman to shadow for the day. I found this a great way to bridge the gap between classes and ultimately unify the campus. One such underclassman, Doris, spent the day shadowing junior classman, Bianca. I got to have a conversation with both students in the minutes before Ms. Green’s Spanish class began. Like stories I’d heard before, they spoke of YES Prep like it was a family and of their course work as “challenging but worth it.” Then, things got real. A teacher passed by and bragged on Bianca as being an extremely bright student, involved in student government, sports, and always doing so well academically. She smiled modestly and as the teacher walked away she looked at me and with a maturity beyond her years, gave an honest account of the struggles she was facing right now and how she recently had to leave student government and attend to her coursework, knowing that graduation is approaching. “I know that I am going through these things now”, she said of her current circumstances, “so that when I am through it, it will make me a stronger person. And if it wasn’t for this school, I wouldn’t have so much to look forward to.” She is currently in on the annual YES Prep spring trip tour of Colorado colleges, though Vanderbilt is one of her top choices. She will be the first in her family to go to college.

I owe Bianca a hug. Her honesty and sincerity made my visit to YES Prep Southwest one I will not soon forget. That she can articulate her current circumstances, recognize the value of her education, and be an active participant in her future plans is more than an indication of her stellar character—it is a testament to the kind of students YES Prep develops through great teachers who do Whatever It Takes to see students like Bianca graduate high school, earn a college degree, and believe she is worth all of their efforts.

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