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

Fine Arts Thrives at YES Prep Amid Talk of Budget Cuts

April 05, 2011 by Jeremy Jones

In a climate where “budget cut” is heard more often in newscasts than the local weather, special programs in the public school system seem to be shrinking or disappearing all too quickly. As a professional musician, I can’t help but wonder what the future for music holds. What will happen to orchestras when there are no students growing up with music in the schools? What will happen to students as an important part of their cultural education disappears?

Luckily, charter schools seem, even with all of the budget issues facing the nation, to be taking this fight head on. At YES Prep West, every student learns to take an instrument. 76% of our students participate in orchestra. When it comes to the future of our orchestra, there was little doubt who I should talk to about creating a

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YES Prep Brays Oaks Student Receives Award for His Essay on “The Beauty of Cultural Diversity”

April 01, 2011 by Sarah Straub

“When your children are sitting in the chair with you at the end of the day while you are watching the news and they say that a serial killer is out and is in your city, this story is the story that your child will think about when he or she goes to sleep. It makes children go to sleep scared and this fear becomes a part of our society. This is why we should focus some more on good news.”

So states “The Beauty of Cultural Diversity” Essay submission by YES Prep Brays Oaks 6th grader Kenneth Murray for Ms. Sarah Straub’s Media Elective in which students work on yearbook projects, creating advertising campaigns, and creative writing essay contests. Kenneth and the rest of his class were entered into this essay contest, “The Beauty of Cultural Diversity” which is the United Nations’

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yBlazer Studios Releases New Short: Building Classroom Culture with Jamie Elfenbein of YES Prep

March 31, 2011 by Jeremy Jones

YES Prep West 6th grade ELA teacher and all-around amazing person, Jamie Elfenbein was recently featured in a YES Prep yBlazer Studios video produced by teacher Craig Brandenburg.  One theme we wanted to highlight with Jamie was her ability to build spirit and family in her classroom which I think this video does a good job showing.  However, if you ever get the chance to visit her classroom, you should see it

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YES Prep Students Work with Local Artist GONZO247 to create Graffiti

March 29, 2011 by Jeremy Jones

YES Prep Southeast is bringing street art/graffiti into the lives of our students. Since January, students have been hard at work on a bench to help raise money for a summer opportunity. Students were 100% invested in this project and worked intently for one month. The process was encouraged by their peers and the overall support for street art within the Wizard family.

Presenting the idea of graffiti to students was a challenge:

• What kind of graffiti?
• How will the overall composition work?
• Will each side of our bench be related?

Through a simple process, students decided that the bench should represent Houston. Students created their own idea of how to represent their home city. They chose a side and began.

Each side took on a life of its own. With a diverse group

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YES Prep Brays Oaks Students Learn West African Culture from American Field Service Country Director

March 09, 2011 by Sarah Straub

"So... if I were a part of the Akan tribe, my name would be Wednesday?" asked one of Sarah Straub's 6th grade students.

Kwame Otchere, Country Director for American Field Service (AFS) in Ghana, came to YES Prep Brays Oaks to talk to our students about West African culture and traditions. "Kwame" means "Boy Who Was Born on Saturday" and the tradition is for each member of the Akan to receive three names: 1) The Day of the Week When They Were Born, 2) A Strong Family Name, and 3) A Name That Shows Their Role. "Otchere" means "warrior" and Kwame said that this was because he has been fighting his whole life for cross cultural understanding.

Kwame taught us about his life in Ghana and even Google-earthed his home in Accra. He said he painted his roof blue so that he could always see

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