The inaugural Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools was awarded to YES Prep Public Schools at the 2012 National Charter Schools Conference. The mission of YES Prep is to increase the number of low-income students in Houston who graduate from a four-year college. The network of schools was recognized for demonstrating “the most outstanding overall student performance and improvement among the country’s largest urban charter management organizations in recent years while reducing achievement gaps for poor and minority students.”
YES Prep received a $250,000 award from the Broad Foundation. Additionally, Broad committed to spend time in the YES Prep network of schools and to release a report describing their educational practices and performance. Here are key findings from thereport:
72 percent of YES Prep alumni are currently enrolled in college or have earned a bachelor’s degree.
Nationally, less than a quarter of low-income students complete college.
Of the 6,700 students in YES Prep’s 11 secondary schools in Houston, 95 percent are Hispanic or African-American, 80 percent are from low-income families, and more than 90 percent will be the first generation in their families to go to college.
7,000 students are on waiting lists to attend YES Prep charter schools.
YES Prep offers a course about college each year of high school, which instructs students on everything from SAT prep, to the financial aid process, to writing college application essays.
The network’s teachers stand out for their in-depth content knowledge, energy, and passion.
While teachers nationally often report feeling disempowered in their jobs, those at YES Prep approach their work with an almost missionary zeal and see their dedication rewarded.
YES prep schools focus on character education, with character traits of successful college students, such as grit and tenacity, heavily emphasized. Community service is mandatory, and students take pride in giving back to their neighborhoods.
Instead of a comprehensive summer school, YES Prep focuses on giving students the sort of life experiences that affluent parents can afford for their children: they attend programs on college campuses, take trips in the wilderness, and travel the world.
Two full-time network staff members as well as YES Prep college counselors support alumni. Counselors conduct exit interviews with all YES Prep graduates to prioritize college-support services based on academic, social/ emotional and financial needs.
The details in the report provide lessons for other schools based on YES Prep’s success in defying the odds and creating outstanding learning environments for students. Image of report cover via The Broad Prize website
