Dr. Caroline Thouin-Frederick has been selected as the Founding Principal of YES Prep West Elementary School! 

West Elementary will open in August 2026.

Dr. Caroline’s clear passion for creating opportunity in the West community combined with her instructional expertise and experience with founding Airline Elementary have positioned her to create a home for West SPARKS and build a school where future Marvels thrive.  

Dr. Caroline will finish out this school year leading as the Resident Principal at East End Elementary and officially turn her focus to West Elementary in July.  

 

You can see Caroline’s full bio below. 

Dr. Caroline Thouin-Frederick is a proud mother, French-Canadian, first-generation college graduate and the first in her family to receive a doctorate degree. 

As a child, her family immigrated to Southwest Houston, and she grew up attending schools in the Fort Bend Independent School District. After graduating from the University of Houston, she began her teaching career with KIPP Texas Public Schools as a high school social studies teacher in Northeast Houston. In her four years with KIPP Texas, she was the girls' head soccer coach, social studies department chair, curriculum writer for AP Human Geography and received an M.Ed. from Texas A&M University. She also spent a summer teacher English in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico. 

In 2018, she pursued her passion for education research and went back to school for a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy and Leadership studies from the University of Houston. During her time in the doctoral program, she published articles, book chapters, and policy papers to expand educational opportunities for incarcerated adults.  

Since graduating in 2021, Thouin-Frederick has made an impact at multiple YES Prep campuses. She began as a Dean of Instruction at Southside Secondary, then opened Airline Elementary as a founding Assistant Principal. For the last two years, Caroline has been a Resident Principal, first at West Secondary and then at East End Elementary. 

In the evenings and during the weekend, Dr. Caroline enjoys exploring Houston with her daughter, Lina (4) and husband, Dustin. Together, they love to try new restaurants, play soccer, and find new parks. 

Join our family and be part of our founding school   

YES Prep West Elementary will be opening in the 2026-2027 school year and, for the first year, will serve kids pre-kindergarten through second grade, and will continue to grow up until fifth grade.

To learn more about applying for enrollment for your child, click here.