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

YES Prep Scholars Society 2011-2012

December 26, 2011 by Brittany Baize

We would like to honor our 2011-2012 YES Prep Scholars Society Members. 

These generous individuals are invested in the core values of YES Prep - particularly our commitment to drive visionary change in Houston.  Thank you for all of your support - this year and in years past.  We are so grateful for your support!

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YES Prep Professionals: Service, Leadership, and Socializing

December 15, 2011 by Brittany Baize

We want to thank all of our YES Prep Professionals (YPP) members who brought their friends to our first annual holiday party on Tuesday, December 13th to learn more about how to get involved and support the mission of YES Prep.  Over 50 people attended the celebration at Guadalajara, and, thanks to the dedicated recruitment efforts of our YPP corps, 40 attendees were new faces!  We are well on our way of reaching our big goal: 100 volunteers at our next service day on Saturday, January 28th.

We also want to thank our generous sponsors for this event: Liskow & Lewis and Guadalajara Bar & Grille.

If you missed the holiday party mark your calendar for our biggest YPP recruitment event yet!  On Thursday, January 19th, YPP will be hosting a party at St. Arnold Brewery - complete with

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Teaching Excellence: Why Years in a Classroom Don’t Always Define Great Teachers

December 08, 2011 by Nella Garcia

As the fall school semester comes to a close, teachers from all over Houston are reflecting on their work so far this year.  This is especially true at public charter schools like YES Prep, where our intensive Teaching Excellence program ensures that our novice teachers—up to a third of our overall teaching program—receive the support and development they need to perform well in the classroom.

A recent article in the Huffington Post points to an often heard criticism of charter schools, Teach For America, and of the education reform movement as a whole.  The looming questions proposed in the aforementioned article include:

-    How can inexperienced teachers effectively teach high-risk students, a group that has traditionally needed the most attention and assistance?

-    If

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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

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“Human Talent is Both the Constant and the Differentiator”

August 29, 2011 by Brittany Baize

1,000 educators from YES Prep Public Schools, KIPP: Houston, and Teach For America gathered on Saturday, August 27^thto celebrate their collective impact in Houston public schools.  The celebration honored fifteen Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award winners – who took home a total of $225,000 in cash awards thanks to the generous philanthropy of Nancy and Richard Kinder. 

Among the special guests and speakers was Jeff Cohen, Editor of the Houston Chronicle, as well as families traveling in to surprise the award winners.  The theme of the evening was summed up when Cohen toasted attendees saying, “When it comes to facing challenges, team beats individual. ”  The three organizations collectively educate about 27,000 students in Houston and have redefined the look, feel, and achievement

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