History
History
On March 7, 1998, YES Prep Public Schools was awarded a charter from the State of Texas. This was just the beginning of Founder Chris Barbic’s dream—to create a new school where students would have a better chance at success. Little did he know that his dream to provide opportunities for students in underserved communities would forever change the landscape of education in Houston.
In 1992, Chris Barbic graduated from Vanderbilt University and moved to Houston to begin his two-year commitment with Teach for America. He taught sixth grade at Rusk Elementary, which served mostly low-income students from Hispanic families.
"When my kids left my year, they went to the local middle school, and they started coming back and just telling me stories about what the middle school was like,” says Barbic. “And it was just like one horror story after another. These were great kids and families who came to this country, they wanted something better for their kids. And it was clear that the middle school just wasn't providing that.”
After hearing an entire year of these stories, Barbic convinced families in the Rusk community it was time for a change. In the spring of 1995, Barbic, dedicated teachers, students and families began discussing the idea of creating a middle school on the Rusk campus. Excitement grew, and everyone became convinced that such an idea was necessary and realistic. The group imagined a middle school with a rigorous academic curriculum combined with a performance-based culture emphasizing a passion to learn, a desire to work hard and a commitment to community service. The group mobilized Houston's East End community securing letters of support, conducting town hall meetings and convincing neighborhood businesses to provide support.
On June 3, 1995, the group car-pooled over 300 parents and students to the HISD central administration building to show the overwhelming community support for the creation of the middle school. The HISD Board of Education approved the proposal and Project Y.E.S. (Youth Engaged in Service) was born as a sixth and seventh-grade pilot program housed on the Rusk Elementary campus. The goal from the beginning was to prepare students for college. The idea is that low-income students can better serve their communities if they get college degrees.
By 1998, Barbic learned about charter school law and realized that Project Y.E.S. could transform into a charter school that would allow him and his teammates to work with middle and high school students and help put them on the path to college.
On March 7, 1998, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas State Board of Education agreed to convert Project Y.E.S. from a Houston ISD charter program to a state accredited open-enrollment charter school, originally named YES College Preparatory School.
"In September of that year, we opened our doors to 300 students,” says Barbic. “It was a six or seven-year journey to get there. But it was one of the best things I ever did.”
The first campus consisted of 11 modular buildings in a one-acre parking lot at the old El Mercado del Sol—Houston's first large, Mexican-style shopping center. In 2001, YES Prep moved from the original site to its founding school campus, YES Prep Southeast Secondary, home of The Wizards!
Little did Barbic and the founding teachers, families and students know, their dedication and belief in our mission would grow well beyond their humble beginnings.
Since 1998, YES Prep Public Schools has redefined what is possible in public education. With over 20,000 students across 24 campuses, we are a system of high-performing public charter schools proving that students from any community 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.
Milestones
1990s
1995 - Founder Chris Barbic recognizes the incredible need for better educational options for his fifth-grade students and began Project YES with a group of dedicated families and teachers.
1998 - YES College Prep is awarded a charter from the State of Texas, making our first campus YES Prep Southeast.
2000s
2001 - YES College Prep’s first group of 17 seniors graduate, 100% of whom were accepted to a four-year college.
2003 - YES Prep opens its first expansion campus, YES Prep North Central Secondary.
2004 - YES Prep opens third campus, YES Prep Southwest Secondary.
2006 - YES Prep opens fourth campus, YES Prep East End Secondary.
2007 - YES Prep opens fifth campus, YES Prep Gulfton Secondary and is featured for the first time in the top 100 High School in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
2009 - YES Prep opens sixth and seventh campus: YES Prep Brays Oaks Secondary and YES Prep West Secondary.
- YES Prep also becomes the first charter system with teacher certification capacity in Texas through its Teaching Excellence program .
2010s
2010 - YES Prep opens its eight campus, YES Prep North Forest Secondary.
- In 2010, the Houston Business Journal names YES Prep one of the top places to work in Houston.
- In 2010, YES Prep receives $1 million from the Oprah Winfrey on national television.
2011 - YES Prep opens its ninth and tenth campus: YES Prep Fifth Ward Secondary and YES Prep Northside Secondary.
2013 - YES Prep opens its eleventh campus, YES Prep White Oak Secondary.
2014 - YES Prep is named a Gold Ribbon District by Texas’ Children at Risk organization.
2015 - YES Prep opens its twelfth campus, YES Prep Southside Secondary. In 2015, YES Prep also achieves its long-standing goal of serving 10,000 Houston students.
2017 - YES Prep opens its thirteenth campus, YES Prep Northline Secondary. In 2017, YES Prep also celebrates 20 years of Leading Houston Forward.
2018 - YES Prep opens its fourteenth campus, YES Prep Northwest Secondary. In 2018, YES Prep also opens Thrive, the first Disciplinary Alternative Educational Program run by a public charter system in Texas.
2019 - YES Prep opens its fifteenth campus, YES Prep Hobby Secondary.
2020s
2020 - YES Prep opens its first two elementary schools: YES Prep Southeast Elementary and YES Prep North Central Elementary.
2021 - YES Prep opens third and fourth elementary schools YES Prep North Forest Elementary and YES Prep Southside Elementary.
2021 - YES Prep opens a new administrative office next to the YES Prep Southside campuses, called Home Office.
2022 - YES Prep opens fifth and sixth elementary schools: YES Prep Airline Elementary and YES Prep East End Elementary.
2023 - During the 2023-24 school year, YES Prep celebrates 25 Years of Impact.
2024 - YES Prep opens seventh, eighth, and ninth elementary schools: YES Prep Hobby Elementary, YES Prep North Rankin Elementary and YES Prep Southwest Oaks Elementary.