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

YES Prep Southwest’s Teaching with the Brain in Mind Tip of the Week

August 16, 2010 by Jeremy Jones

This year, YES Prep Southwest is focusing on Brain-based learning.  Each week, they will have a specific focus area for teachers to think about in their execution and consider in their planning. 

Tip of the week: Are your students staring at you during your introduction to new, crucial, dense but necessary material with a glazed over look?

Well…

Consider adjusting your talk time into smaller chunks. If you are talking for more than 3 minutes at time, you may be losing the attention and interest of your students. Ask a question, have them turn and talk to their neighbor, stop and jot an idea, create a movement/gesture or simply change the volume or tone of your voice. Perhaps a voice impersonation of a character from a novel or the latest action figure will catch their

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YES Prep and the Duke Talent Identification Program for students

August 12, 2010 by Jeremy Jones

In the nine years that Lynda Daniel, Student Opportunities Coordinator at YES Prep Southeast, has been working with the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) this year’s results were by far the best. 

• 25 YES Prep students attended an academic or leadership program at  Duke or Vanderbilt this summer.
• YES Prep Southeast Students received about $64,000 in scholarships.
• Our parents paid about $22,000 for their students to attend programs (not counting airfare).

Students can qualify for Duke TIP at the Academy or Center level.  Center requires higher scores.  The Duke TIP Academy prgram is described as "an exceptional academic and social experience for those students who are amongst the top 5% of academically talented students in their grade level. Students in this

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The Bell Rings for the First Day of School

August 02, 2010 by Jeremy Jones

The 2010-2011 School Year is here! YES Prep Public Schools opened its doors to 4,200 students this morning at eight campuses across Houston. With the addition of nearly 700 students, 100 teachers and a new campus: YES Prep North Forest, we are on track to serve 10,000 students in Houston--all prepared for success in college.

While August 2nd marks YES Prep's first day of school, surrounding school districts are not starting class until late August. YES Prep's extended school year and extended school day are a part of our model. "In order for students to succeed, they must have great teaching and more great teaching," says Founder and CEO Chris Barbic. "More time in the classroom isn't enough, students must receive great instruction. We have both."

Most students enroll at YES Prep a

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How To Learn the Craft of Teaching in Just 10 Days at YES Prep

July 29, 2010 by Jeanne Fruge Rodriguez

I recently read an article about a school system spending 12 months preparing their teachers for the classroom. Although there were definitely merits to this program, the reality is that we need to get top quality teachers into classrooms now. A year, even a semester, is just not fast enough to meet the demands of ensuring that 100% of our students are College Ready. As YES Prep continues to grow, the need for well prepared dedicated educators also increases. The Teaching Excellence Program meets the increasing demand for quality instruction by way if its ability to initiate, support, and develop teachers new to the profession. Where this teacher preparation and alternative certification program (ACP) stands out among the rest is in its ability to prepare novice teachers for the

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Books Kids Love!

July 26, 2010 by Katie Norwood

Imagine…It’s nearing the end of second period.  The students in your class lean forward expectantly, backpacks on, waiting for the bell.  The bell rings, and you are nearly trampled by thirty-nine seventh graders all running for…

…the bookshelf.  They are tripping over each other and running to get their hands on a book.

Think this is a dream world?  It doesn’t have to be!  You can make this scene a reality in your classroom by making sure you know the hottest young adult titles.  As school starts up again, now is the time to refresh your classroom library, stock the bookshelves, and decide what’s going to take up residence on your personal nightstand.  To inspire you, here is a list of young adult books guaranteed to grab your students’ attention.  There are three categories of

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