YES Prep Public Schools, Inc.YES Prep Public Schools
/ref> is a network of public, open-enrollment

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

s located in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

. Its headquarters are located at its Southside campus. The YES program is a university-preparatory program for grades K-12.

History

YES Prep (Youth Engaged in Service) began in 1995 as Project YES. The program was founded at Rusk Elementary School in the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

by Chris Barbic. Since 1998, YES Prep has been operating under a state charter. Previously, the headquarters were in the

Greater Sharpstown Management District Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, H ...

.Districts
"

. Retrieved November 27, 2011. "Mailing Address YES Prep Public Schools 6201 Bonhomme, Suite 168N Houston, TX 77036"

District Partnerships

SKY Partnership

In 2011, YES Prep partnered with KIPP-Houston Public Schools and Spring Branch ISD, becoming the SKY Partnership. YES Prep Northbrook Middle School began in the 2012-2013 school year with only 6th graders. They added 7th graders in the 2013-2014 school year and added 8th graders in the 2014-2015 school year. It's co-located with Spring Branch ISD's Northbrook Middle School, which also has 6th through 8th graders. Along with KIPP-Courage, which has 5th through 8th graders, YES Prep Northbrook Middle School feeds into YES Prep Northbrook High School, located within Spring Branch's Northbrook High School, which has 9-12th graders. YES Prep Northbrook High School opened in the 2015-2016 school year with only 9th graders. They added 10th graders in the 2016-2017 school year, added 11th graders in the 2017-2018 school year, and added 12th graders in the 2018-2019 school year. KIPP Courage College Prep opened in the 2012-2013 school year with only 5th graders. They added 6th graders in the 2013-2014 school year, added 7th graders in the 2014-2015 school year, and added 8th graders in the 2015-2016 school year. KIPP Courage is located within Spring Branch ISD's Landrum Middle School, which has 6-8th graders .

Aldine and YES Prep Partnership

In 2013, YES Prep partnered with Aldine ISD. YES Prep Hoffman opened in the 2013-2014 school year with 6th graders. It's located within Aldine ISD's Hoffman Middle School, which has 7th and 8th graders. YES Prep Hoffman students feed into YES Prep Eisenhower, which is located within Aldine's Eisenhower High School, which has 10th through 12th graders. YES Prep Hoffman added 7th graders in the 2014-2015 school year and added 8th graders in the 2015-2016 school year. YES Prep Eisenhower opened in the 2016-2017 school year with only 9th graders. They added 10th graders in the 2017-2018 school year, added 11th graders in the 2018-2019 school year, and added 12th graders in the 2019-2020 school year.

Schools

As of the 2021-2022 school year, YES Prep operates twenty-three schools in Houston: *Bray Oaks, home of the Cavaliers (2009;6-12th) *East End, home of the Explorers (2006; 6-12th) *Eisenhower, home of the Eagles (2016; 9-12th) *Fifth Ward, home of the Titans (2011;6-12th) *Gulfton, home of the Force (2007;6-12th) *Hobby, home of the Aviators (2019;6-8th) *Hoffman, home of the Hornets (2013;6-8th) *North Central Secondary, home of the Trailblazers (2003;6-12th) *North Central Elementary (2020;K-3) *North Forest, home of the Legends (2010;6-12th) *North Forest Elementary (2021;K-3) *Northbrook Middle, home of the Knights (2012;6-8th) *Northbrook High, home of the Raiders (2015;9-12th) *Northline, home of the Revolutionaries (2017;6-10th) *Northside, home of the Pride (2011;6-12th) *Northwest, home of the Hawks (2018;6-9th) *Southeast Secondary, home of the Wizards (1998;6-12th) *Southeast Elementary (2020;K-3) *Southside, home of the Giants (2015;6-12th) *Southside Elementary (2021;K-2) *Southwest, home of the Mavericks (2004;6-12th) *West, home of the Marvels (2009;6-12th) *White Oak, home of the Owls (2013;6-12th)

Recognition

As of 2017, all of YES Prep's eligible high schools earned a gold ranking by '' U.S. News & World Report''. Two campuses are ranked in the top 100 in the nation and four are in Texas's top 20. Seven of YES Prep's high schools were named among the nation's most challenging high schools by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. In 2010,

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

donated 1 million dollars each to six charter school systems, including YES Prep. In 2013, Senator Ted Cruz gave up his salary during the

government shutdown A government shutdown occurs when the legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government. Government shutdowns in the Un ...

by donating $7,627.40, "equal to 16 days of gross pay," to YES Prep, which "he and Heidi support."

Athletics

Records

* In 2014, YES Prep Southeast participated in the Texas Charter School Academic & Athletic League and won the state championship for boys' cross country team competition while the girls' team also placed second.http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2014/10/yes-prep-se-makes-history-in-cross-country-sweeping-boys-state-titles/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yes Prep Public Schools Public education in Houston High schools in Harris County, Texas Charter schools in Texas