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

YES Prep Southwest Named Blue Ribbon School

September 20, 2011 by Chris Claflin

YES Prep Southwest was officially announced as a 2011 Blue Ribbon School this past week.   The Department of Education awards the Blue Ribbon distinction to schools that serve as a national model and have dramatically increased student performance.

This award is based on five years of strong academic achievement at YES Prep Southwest. We join YES Prep North Central as the second YES Prep campus to win this award and will definitely not be the last. Any success this campus has been fortunate enough to experience has come on the backs of the YES Prep system as a whole collaborating, sharing resources and ideas, innovating and creating change together.

If we were a stand-alone campus in a traditional district or a single charter campus our efforts would have been focused on so many outcomes that it would be extremely difficult to focus on the key initiatives a school needs to in order to be successful.  We feel fortunate to have that constant support from the YES Prep system  We know that the success of the YES Prep Southwest campus or any campus is contingent on not only the leadership, instruction, and hard work from those campus members, but also from the strength of the team outside of that campus. Some of the myriad things we have benefited from include:

• The curricular support and development of rigorous unit plans, scopes and sequences, common assessments and the tools and support to meet the high expectations of all our courses
• The development, training and growth of our first year teachers through coaching, intervention and rigorous expectations
• The student support for our special populations that require thoughtful intervention and strategies for success
• The support for our college initiatives and alumni, allowing families to ensure students have the opportunity to apply everything they are gaining in the classroom
• The technological support that comes through the furnishing of cell phones and laptops, access to our internal network, and constant support lines in these areas
• The operational capacity to provide shared services such as food, busing, maintenance and facilities at a limited cost (mental and financial) to campuses
• The financial budgeting and reporting success that maximizes our dollars and ensures that YES will always find a way to keep its core programs thriving
• The fundraising and outreach that gets out our name abroad and encourages people to do more than just vocally support our mission
• The recruitment efforts and initiatives that provide us with outstanding candidates that are anxious to help us meet our mission
• The tools and capability to collect, analyze and discuss student achievement data

YES Prep Southwest is not a Blue Ribbon school alone.  YES Prep is a Blue Ribbon organization that provides the tools and support for all of our campuses to yield strong results. We are proud to be Mavericks and, moreover, grateful to be a part of YES Prep and everything that comes with it.

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