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YES Prep is the best school in Houston

Right now, a sixth grader enrolling in a traditional Houston school has a 10% chance of making it to college and a 7% chance of graduating with a four-year degree.  Teachers and leaders at YES Prep believe that education is our generation's civil rights issue and that to truly achieve justice and prosperity in our society, every student should have access to an excellent education. 

YES Prep is the best school in Houston.  For the last nine years, 100% of YES Prep's graduating seniors have been accepted to our country's top colleges and universities.  The success of our students is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our great teachers who do WHATEVER IT TAKES to ensure that all of their students are on the path to college.  Our teachers come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, but are united by a sense of outrage at the status quo.  We believe that teachers are the single greatest factor influencing student achievement, meaning that despite race, zip code, income, etc, all students can be academically and socially successful when they have outstanding teachers.   

YES Prep & TeachForAmerica

YES Prep was founded in 1998 by TeachForAmerica Alum, Chris Barbic ('92 HOU).  Since our founding, TeachForAmerica has been a critical partner in our strategic growth offering a pipeline of the best teachers in the country to come work at YES Prep.  We are committed to strengthening this partnership by attracting excellent TeachForAmerica Alumni to continue the work they began as Corps Members, deepening their impact as Alums in YES Prep schools.

Currently, almost half of our teachers are TeachForAmerica affiliated (Corps Members or Alum).  Of the 2009 recruiting class, 54% of our new teachers are TeachForAmerica affiliated, including 34 Alumni, with 11 of those from regions outside of Houston.  Our 2007 YES Prep/TFA Corps Members who are recent Alumni is a strong group of teacher leaders.  75% of the '07 Corps Members are staying for a third year and 50% of them are taking on significant leadership.

For more information about TeachForAmerica, visit: www.teachforamerica.org

10,000 Students...

Despite our success, we are still frustrated by the number of students in Houston that do not have a fair shot at an excellent education. In the coming years, we will build 13 high-performing neighborhood public schools that will serve 10,000 students and TRIPLE the number of students from Houston that finish a four-year college.

YES Prep is uniquely positioned to transform the nation's fourth largest city.  Houston ranks last among large urban centers in the number of college graduates; additionally, more than half of the city's youth are growing up below the poverty line.  Education is a transformative experience and an excellent education can redirect the life path of a student. At YES Prep, college acceptance has become a minimum standard of success. Not only are we growing our infrastructure to support 10,000 students, but we are supporting our students through college graduation.

Twelve YES Prep Alum are currently teaching in our classrooms, preparing the next generation of Stanford graduates or UT engineers to impact our society in a positive way.   

The YES Experience

AN ATMOSPHERE OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS

• Every student must be accepted to a four-year college or university in order to graduate from YES Prep.
• Teachers, students and parents sign "Commitment to College Completion" contracts at the beginning of each school year promising to do Whatever It Takes to prepare for success in college and the future workforce.
• All YES students complete a rigorous college preparatory program including Algebra and foreign language in middle school and Advanced Placement and dual-credit courses in high school.

A COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED COLLEAGUES

• YES Prep staff members are united in the belief that education can change lives, families and communities.
• YES staff members work collaboratively through grade level teams and content area teams to ensure student and staff success.
• A thorough screening and hiring process ensures that all YES staff members share certain key qualities: drive, attention to detail and an unwavering dedication to our mission.

A COMMITMENT TO PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT AND GROWTH

• YES Prep offers an exceptional level of support to first-year faculty members through a year-long induction program, including direct support from a mentor and an instructional coach.
• YES faculty and staff members benefit from YES providing access to unique professional development conferences, workshops, summer opportunities and frequent collaboration with colleagues across our school system.
• YES encourages staff members to engage in leadership opportunities and accelerates the ability to become grade level chairs, department heads, deans and other school leadership positions compared to traditional school districts.

COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION

• YES salaries are competitive with surrounding school districts.
  
• Teachers receive extra duty pay for the extended school day, week and year.
  
• YES provides a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision and life insurance.
  
• YES teachers are members of the Texas Teacher Retirement System.
  
• YES sponsors a 401(k) program for staff members.
  

Need more information or have questions?  Email teach@yesprep.org

What will it take to overcome disadvantage?  The Answer is YES.

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