Students Participate in KIPP and YES Prep Summer Sessions

New and returning Rockets gather on the opening day of
YES Prep Northbrook's summer session

For the incoming YES Prep Northbrook 6th graders, yesterday marked the end of their summer session. The Rockets have spent the last days in YES' summer session to prepare them for the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

The session kicked off last Tuesday, when all students anxiously filled the Northbrook Middle School cafeteria to meet their school leaders and staff. The orientation is designed to introduce the new students to the YES Prep culture and to reinforce the cultural standards and expectations to all returning students.

YES Prep Northbrook School Director Cendie Stanford says that "onboarding new Rockets allows both students and teachers an opportunity to learn about the school culture, make new connections, and identify ways their behaviors will help make their school a wonderful place to be from day one. Students learn about the importance of family, systems, and how they can be successful and who around them will help make this possible."

New KIPPsters checking in on
their first day of KIPPnitizing

KIPP Courage, which hosted their summer session in June, welcomed all new and returning KIPPsters for a week of programming often referred to as "KIPPnitizing." Sessions included introducing new KIPPsters to the KIPP Courage characters values, such as self-control, social intelligence and gratitude. Students learned about their Character Growth Cards, which hold them accountable for positively demonstrating and understanding the values on a 9 week cycle.

KIPPsters also learned new chants, oftentimes a hallmark of the KIPP culture. In one session, students filled the Landrum Middle School cafeteria and learned the words to "Write Baby Write." They clapped their hands to keep the beat while they chanted about the importance of literacy, proclaiming, "Now I have made the choice to change the world with my voice!"

For both KIPP and YES Prep, the summer session is a way to introduce students with the expectations around their culture of high-expectations and no excuses. Students are reminded about the importance of not only working hard, but of being nice. Particular emphasis is put on the importance of being a contributing member of their positive team culture, and the benefits that are associated with doing the right thing. After all, hard work and focused efforts deserve rewards. More on that in our next post...

Watch a video of the KIPPsters practicing "Write Baby Write" below:

YES Prep Rockets Participate in Inaugural Recommitment Ceremony

Rockets are awarded as SBISD's MediaFest 2013 Winners

Last week, the YES Prep Northbrook students participated in their first annual Recommitment Ceremony. Family members, community supporters and teachers filled the Northbrook Middle School gym to support the Rockets as they celebrated their accomplishments and successes during the inaugural year of the charter program.

A tradition for all YES Prep campuses, the Recommitment Ceremony is designed to reengage families of current students, recommit to YES Prep's vision of sending every student to college, and to honor students with character and achievement awards.



John Lazarine, parent of a YES Prep Rocket, addresses the
families in attendance

Speakers included Founding YES Prep Northbrook School Director Cendie Stanford, YES Prep Northbrook parent John Lazarine, current student Marco Caballero and incoming Co-School Director Victor Cota. The program also featured a musical performance by students Lizette Cisneros and Courtnee Stanford. Students Chyna Rogers and Henrry Rivera helped facilitate the ceremony.

Ms. Stanford thanked her students and staff for their commitment to an exciting and rewarding first year as the inaugural class of the YES Prep Northbrook program within Northbrook Middle School. Co-School Director Mr. Cota spoke to the program saying, "This is a system that can be tough and requires a lot from the community, but I've seen it work and it is powerful."



Julian Noyola and Jasmine Razeghi with  YES Prep Northbrook
School Directors Cendie Stanford and Victor Cota

Mr. Lazarine reflected on his daughter's transition to the charter program and spoke to the parents about their important role in their students' educational experience. "We are on a journey and this ship has taken off," he shared. Lazarine encouraged parents to "stay with your students throughout the ride."

Keynote student speaker Marco Caballero thanked his teachers for their guidance and direction this year and said his experience has helped him "believe in [him]self, no matter what."

Awards included SBISD's MediaFest 2013 winners, Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance Awards, Classroom Achievement Awards, and named Rocket Character Value Awards. Students Julian Noyola and Jasmine Razeghi were each named Rocket of the year. Both were nominated by their peers and teachers for having consistently demonstrated what it means to leave the school's core values in and out of school.

As families of the YES Prep Northbrook Class of 2019 left the ceremony, they pledged their continued support by signing a banner that read, "I am re-committed to the journey." While 141 6th graders move up to 7th grade, the School Directors and staff are preparing to welcome 145 new 6th graders for summer orientation as the program grows into its second year.

SKY Partnership Welcomes District Visitors

It is written in the SKY Partnership Compact that "through modeling what a functional and productive compact can look like, our collaboration will be a model for other Texas and national school districts and charters." Throughout this inaugural school year, the partnership has been fortunate to welcome visitors from across the city, state and nation to learn about our work.

Individuals from Spokane ISD and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation meet with the WAIS Leadership Team.

Two weeks ago, the SKY team hosted a group of individuals from Spokane ISD in Washington state and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Over the course of three days, the group visited both a KIPP and YES Prep fully grown-out campus, the SKY partnership site at YES Prep Northbrook and Northbrook Middle School, and Westchester Academy for International Studies. The visit also included conversations with the SKY Superintendents, district and school leadership, as well as Spring Branch ISD board members.

In November, Washington state passed legislation allowing charter schools to operate in the state for the first time. The Gates Foundation choose the SKY Partnership to spotlight as a model of what is possible when district and charter schools work together.

City and district leaders from San Antonio and El Paso
spend the day with the SKY Partnership team.

Last week, the partnership welcomed a group of district and city leaders from San Antonio and El Paso, Texas. The visitors, who also came to learn about the unique way in which SBISD and KIPP and YES Prep are learning from one another while providing opportunities for students, toured KIPP Courage at Landrum Middle School and met with district and school leaders as well as board members from both SBISD and YES Prep.

While it is an honor to showcase the work of the SKY Partnership and share our initial learnings, there is much work to be done. The partnership has been preparing to double the program size at both KIPP Courage at Landrum and YES Prep Northbrook as they welcome incoming students for the 2013-2014 school year. Additionally, planning for the YES Prep at Northbrook High School program began in February of this year. The high school program will open in the fall of 2015 as the inaugural YES Prep Northbrook middle schoolers advance to 9th grade.

Houston City Council Member Jack Christie Visits LMS & KIPP Courage

LMS Principal Luis Pratts, TFA Staff Amanda Hagemann,
LMS Teacher Meredith Cook and Council Member Jack Christie

In classrooms across Houston last week, Teach For America teachers opened their doors to local supporters and elected officials to showcase their work. At Landrum Middle School, 7th grade math teacher Meredith Cook hosted former Spring Branch ISD Board Member and current Houston City Council Member Jack Christie.

Cook, who graduated from Texas A&M and is a first year Teach For America corps member, was teaching a lesson on personal financial literacy. As students worked to plan a mock 4-day Texas vacation within their given budget, Council Member Christie helped feed questions to check students’ understanding of unit concepts.

 

Council Member Christie questions students during a personal
financial literacy unit in LMS teacher and TFA Corps member
Meredith Cook's 7th grade math class at Landrum MS

Cook is one of six TFA corps members at Landrum Middle School. Landrum Principal Luis Pratts praised his TFA teachers as “an energized group who bring a lot of passion to the job.”

Council Member Jack Christie, who served as President of SBISD’s Board of Trustees, was appointed Chairman of the Texas State Board of Education from 1995-2000 . He is currently Houston’s At-Large Position 5 Council Member.

Earlier this fall, Christie spoke at KIPP Courage at Landrum’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, celebrating the opening of the new charter program. During this visit, he returned to KIPP Courage to see the program in action. Christie also spoke to the Landrum students about the importance of their academic learning and how the skills they are acquiring now will benefit them in the future.

Cook says her teaching experience at Landrum has been very positive. “My first year at Landrum has been so much more than I could have hoped for. I have an incredibly supportive team and students and families who have welcomed me into their lives.” The Teach for America Visit Week gave her the opportunity to celebrate the transformations taking place in her students’ lives every day. “Getting to share that experience with Jack Christie,” Cook said, “was such an honor.”

Early College Exposure for LMS & KIPP

On Monday, April 30th, a group of seventh graders from Landrum Middle School and sixth graders from KIPP Courage at Landrum spent the day as prospective college students on a visit to Texas A&M. The visit is part of the mission of both Landrum and KIPP Courage to expose students to college campuses early and give them a taste of what the college experience is like.

Landrum and KIPP Courage students visit Texas A&M

The 91 KIPPsters earned the trip by having demonstrated positive behavior traits that are tracked as part of KIPP’s character education.  The 18 Landrum Students were all pre-AP students and were identified as positive role models in the community. The group also included 7 KIPP teachers, 2 Landrum teachers and chaperones from the KIPP Courage community.

The morning included a tour of the campus, led by a current A&M student, a visit to Kyle Field and a trip through the Memorial Student Center.  Landrum art teacher Andres Bautista arranged for eight of his former Landrum students, all now current students at A&M, to eat lunch with the group and answer any questions they had about the college experience. “I think that by meeting these former students, [our current students] realized they too can to go college,” said Mr. Bautista.

Students view insects in A&M's Entomology Department

Before starting the journey back home, KIPP Courage teacher Jazmin Castillo, an A&M alumna and Entomology major, arranged for the students to tour the Entomology Department. Led by two current doctoral students, the visiting KIPPsters and Landrum Lions were given the opportunity to examine various insects under specialized microscopes.

When asked to reflect on the trip, Landrum 7th grader Anel Sosa noted, “My favorite part of the Texas A&M trip was walking around campus looking at buildings, especially the library. I learned that students over there take everything seriously, especially the tests…they are also very proud of being there, learning as many others learned before them.”

KIPP Courage 6th grader Jabril Diop added, “I learned that it takes hard work and patience to get to college. I would consider attending Texas A&M because it seems like a great place to learn on and off campus.”

KIPP Courage students visited nearby Rice University last fall. In May, they will embark on a three day “Tour de Texas” to visit a selection of colleges and universities in San Antonio and Austin. In March, a group of Landrum students attended Xplore UT, an event which included a tour, a meal at the dining hall and the opportunity to attend a Longhorn football practice and march with the Longhorn band. The trip was offered as part of Landrum’s T-2-4 district initiative.

The NMS & YES Joy Factor

In a field outside of Northbrook Middle School, mixed groups of Northbrook and YES Prep teachers looked out at three wooden platforms and waited for their directions. "Using two 2x4 planks and without anyone touching the ground," they were told, "you must successfully get your team of 8 across three wooden 'islands.' The first team to successfully cross the islands wins!"

Northbrook and YES Prep teachers attempt to successfully
complete the "Island Crossing" challenge.

Immediately, teacher teams began strategizing, brainstorming, hearing each other's tips and tricks for how to successfully complete the challenge. Minutes later, teachers were huddling together to appropriately weigh down one end of a plank, extending an outstretched hand to help a team member in the crossing, or cheering on their teammates as they successfully reached the other side.

"Island Crossing" was one of a series of team-building opportunities that Northbrook Middle School Principal Valerie Johnson and YES Prep Northbrook School Director Cendie Stanford arranged for their sixth joint professional development session. While sessions in the past focused on sharing academic and pedagogical best practices, this one was all about celebrating the "joy factor" and allowing the two teams of staff to come together in a creative and fun setting.



Teachers use each other for support and balance in the
"Surfing" challenge.

At nearby stations, other mixed teams navigated challenges such as the Human Spider Web and the Rope Swing. Teachers laughed over unsuccessful attempts, collaborated to come up with winning strategies and cheered each other across finish lines.

The day ended with a spread of ice cream sundaes served by Northbrook and YES Prep students. Teachers were thanked not only for their efforts out on the fields, but more importantly for their teamwork and dedication in their classrooms each and every day.

YES Prep Northbrook: Redefining Possible

On Tuesday, April 30th, more than 7,000 members of the YES Prep family celebrated their 13th annual Senior Signing Day. Students and staff from all of YES Prep's 11 campuses, along with the families of graduating seniors, YES supporters and community partners gathered in the Toyota Center to witness this year's 298 seniors declare their college acceptance decisions.


YES Prep Northbrook's first class of Rockets fill their section
in the Toyota Center for YES Prep's Senior Signing Day

As the newest YES Prep campus, the 141 Northbrook Rockets kicked off the school roll-call. Led by 6th grade Chris Espino, they chanted, "We are the Northbrook Rockets, we show up every day. We come to learn, we don't come to play!" For a clip and full text of the Rockets' roll call, see below.

YES Prep President Jason Bernal highlighted the accomplishments of the graduating seniors, 90% of whom are first generation college-bound. Combined, the seniors have earned nearly $10 million in scholarship dollars to date.

Keynote speaker Kevin P. Charous, a leader in the national education reform and parental school choice movement, addressed not only the seniors but all of the YES students, reminding them of the importance of service. He asked the students to be driven by their excellence and not misled by their success. "It is not just about you," he declared. "It is about us. Do something."

For the YES Prep Rockets, this was a day to not only celebrate the seniors who have come before them, but also to recognize their place in YES' mission to "Redefine Possible." In 2019, the inaugural YES Prep Northbrook students will prepare to begin their next four years in college. They will be given the opportunity to celebrate their efforts and accomplishments on that very stage, which yesterday felt alive and full of promise.


YES Prep Northbrook Rockets Roll Call Chant:

"We are the Northbrook Rockets, we show up every day,
We come to learn, we don't come to play.
We rep that "Y"
That's why we're so fly.
We're so hip,
We're in the SKY Partnership.
Do whatever it takes, 
We've raised the stakes.
Our vision's so clear,
In 2019, you'll see us here!"