WHO WE ARE   For over twenty years, YES Prep Public Schools has redefined what is possible in public education. With 14,100 college-bound students across 19 campuses, we are a system of high-performing public charter schools proving that students from underserved communities can achieve at the highest academic levels. Our exceptional results demonstrate that better outcomes are not only possible, but also probable, when school systems build a culture of high expectations, and create effective support systems to ensure that student achievement is at the forefront of every decision made.  

MISSION   YES Prep Public Schools will increase the number of students from underserved communities who graduate from college prepared to lead.  

VISION   Every child in Houston will have equitable access to a public school that delivers a college-ready education.  

OUR CORE VALUES  

Grow Authentic Leaders  

Eliminate Educational Inequity to Advance Social Justice  

Achieve Jaw-Dropping Results  

Build Transformative Relationships  

Create Pathways to Opportunity  

Our focus at YES Prep is to prepare thousands of underserved students in Houston to be college ready, thereby transforming the city’s educational landscape. As such, all YES Prep students are expected to embody and demonstrate the YES Prep core values through their actions, their work, and their relationships. 

WHY WE EXIST   Across the nation, only half of all students from low-income communities graduate from high school and only 10% earn a college degree. Over the long term, these statistics damage our economy and prevent the next generation of leaders from emerging. In a country where a child’s zip code often determines their life trajectory, YES Prep provides evidence that different outcomes are possible when students are given access to high-quality educational opportunities. At YES Prep, we believe that every student, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, deserves the opportunity to receive a world-class education.  

OUR CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS   Charter schools are public schools intended as champions for education innovation. Charter schools are free from some of the regulations and red tape of traditional public schools. While we are a public school, some of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools do not apply to us. We do not have contracts for teachers, we are not required to provide duty free lunches to our teachers, and we can set our own academic calendar and hours of operation, providing more learning time for our students and subject to the Texas Education Agency. In Texas, charter schools receive state funding, but must raise funds privately to account for resources not funded by the government.  

Along with this freedom comes a heightened sense of expectations for our staff and our students. Our mission is only possible if we hold ourselves, each other, and each of our students to the highest standards of performance and behavior.