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

Apply to teach

[Five Reasons to Work at YES Prep] Reason Two: Teaching Excellence!

November 12, 2011 by Nella Garcia

The teaching profession is one of the largest and oldest career options in this country. It has gone through some major shifts and changes over the course of its long history. This makes the work challenging and it also provides us with an environment that allows for us to problem solve and innovate when it comes to preparing teachers to teach our students. This question of how to teach teachers to teach is on the front stage of education as many schools are thinking about new talent.

At YES Prep, we have been working on this question for a number of years. It’s an area in which we pride ourselves. In order for our students to have the best education, our teachers must also have access to professional learning that sets them up for success. And that’s just the beginning. In

Continue reading [Five Reasons to Work at YES Prep] Reason Two: Teaching Excellence!...

--
0 Comments

[Five Reasons to Work at YES Prep] Reason Three: Alumni Make an Impact

November 11, 2011 by Lilia Pineda

Ms. Pineda with 7th grade students during a field trip to the Museum of Natural Science! Walking off a yellow school bus into a parking lot and seeing modular buildings as classrooms was confusing to the sixth grade version of myself. I was not totally sure where my mother had sent me for middle school and why we did not have a building for a school. I had no idea that I was walking into the place where many doors would open for me throughout the years. YES Prep Public Schools provides an excellent education for low-income Houstonians, and since 1998 the dedication that teachers pour into their work has translated into 100% of all graduating seniors being accepted into a 4-year college or university.

I never understood how hard my teachers were working to provide me with the education that would get me to college. I had no idea that they stayed up late at nights

Continue reading [Five Reasons to Work at YES Prep] Reason Three: Alumni Make an Impact...

--
1 Comments

1,000 Words: Literacy and Art

November 11, 2011 by Tara Alcancia

The YES Prep Fine Arts 3^rd Annual Visual Arts exhibition, 1,000 Words: Literacy and Art, opens next Wednesday, November 16^th at the Houston Public Library – Central Location (Downtown). The exhibition is on view until Saturday, December 31.

1,000 Words: Literacy and Artincludes art by 6^th through 12^th grade students from YES Prep Public Schools. Middle school and high school students from YES Prep Brays Oaks, East End, Gulfton, North Central, Southeast, and Southwest participated in this visual arts exhibition. To coincide with the art exhibition being held at the Houston Public Library, students created art through a variety of mediums that relates to literacy. The young artists learned about artists that integrate text and connect to literacy in their work, and they explored

Continue reading 1,000 Words: Literacy and Art...

--
0 Comments

[Five Reasons to Work at YES Prep] Reason Four: Giving Back

November 11, 2011 by Thomas Knecht

YES Prep is praised for being one of the country’s leading charter school systems. The amount of effort our teachers, administration, parents, and students put into each academic year is extraordinary and can easily stand alone as THE reason to be involved with YES Prep. There is, however, much more to the YES Prep mission. One of our Thinks & Acts (A series of "mottos" that YES Prep students and staff commit to live by.) is to “Leave a place better than we found it.” This simple phrase transcends instruction and aids in building lasting character in our students. The most obvious way to see YES Prep students leave a place better than they found it is through our community service.

Once every 6 weeks, we take each and every student on a service learning trip. There are three

Continue reading [Five Reasons to Work at YES Prep] Reason Four: Giving Back...

--
0 Comments

[Five Reasons to Work at YES Prep] Reason Five: Positive Relationships

November 10, 2011 by Lindsey Windham

Hey everyone!

We are pretty excited about the mini-blog series we are putting together of FIVE reasons to apply to work at YES Prep. Over the next 5 days up to our Sunday, November 13^th deadline, you will hear from some different voices in the organization as you prepare your application. We are looking forward to receiving it!

I taught HS English at YES Prep East End for three years before becoming the co-Director of Recruitment and Selection, and I want to kick off the series by talking about one of our five Core Values: Building Transformational Relationships. This is the part of YES Prep that is the most special to me!

1. Transformational Relationships with Students