When we all pull together, we can move mountains. YES Prep adopted this organizational affirmation when we received our original charter in 1998. We understood that, though our mission was novel and ambitious, our collective efforts would make it a reality. Now, 14 years later, YES Prep’s reality is compelling: 10 high-performing schools in low-income neighborhoods, more than 5,400 students working towards college graduation, and a Phase II Growth Plan that is more than halfway towards achieving our enrollment goal of 10,000 students at 13 schools across Greater Houston. All of this has been accomplished through the collective efforts of YES Prep’s unwavering network of students, teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, families, Board members, donors, volunteers, community leaders, partnership organizations, and school districts. This is how we move mountains in Houston.
In our annual report, we highlight the remarkable accomplishments YES Prep made in 2011 and the unstoppable momentum we will maintain under new leadership. For example, the Texas Education Agency once again rated YES Prep an Exemplary district and the U.S. Department of Education, Newsweek magazine, and Children At Risk all recognized individual schools for their impressive academic results.
The generosity of our donors produced record-breaking fundraising fi gures that helped to finance multiple capital projects, including two new schools, YES Prep Northside and YES Prep Fifth Ward. Most notably, in June, three fully grown out YES Prep schools graduated their first senior classes—nearly 100 percent college bound.
In July, our distinguished founder and CEO, Chris Barbic, departed YES Prep leaving a legacy of unparalleled excellence in education. The transition in leadership has been smooth, which further demonstrates that the YES Prep team and organization is greater than any one person at this stage in our growth. YES Prep will continue to be a thought leader in the education reform movement. We will continue to be a purveyor of best practices in teacher training and development. We will continue to innovate in the area of performance-based teacher compensation structures. Most importantly, we will continue to serve as a model for what is possible within the public education system: affordable, sustainable, and replicable schools that provide a college preparatory education for ALL students.