YES Prep Public Schools
YES Prep

 

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April 5, 2023

 

Dear YES Prep families,

As we head into the weekend, we hope you enjoy the spring holiday with your family and friends. We are in the last quarter of the school year and we want to finish strong. Families, thank you for all you do to make sure your child is present and ready for school every day. These last weeks of the school year are so important, and we look forward to all the milestone events and activities we have coming up.  

Thank you for reading this Family Update in its entirety. You will find the following information in this month’s edition:  

  • Three additional YES Prep elementary schools 

  • Senior Signing Day updates  

  • 2023 STAAR spring testing 

  • April Possip Pulse Check 

  • Teacher Pathway Family Survey 

  • Spring Fine Art Showcase 

  • Reminder of AP Summit 

  • Senior decision meeting 

  • Summer opportunities 

  • Important of filing your taxes 

 

THREE ADDITIONAL YES PREP ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS COMING SOON  

As you know, YES Prep Public Schools continues its expansion for Houston families seeking more options for their children’s pre-K – 12th grade education. We are thrilled to officially announce our plan to open THREE more YES Prep elementary schools in the fall of 2024—in the Hobby, Southwest and North Rankin (Kuykendahl) communities!  

Construction and school opening plans are underway for Hobby Elementary, Southwest Oaks Elementary and North Rankin Elementary. Each school will open serving grades pre-K – 2nd and will add additional grade levels each year to include 3rd, 4th and 5th grade.  

  • YES Prep Hobby Elementary will be located at 7660 Hansen Road and serve as a feeder school for Hobby Secondary.  

  • YES Prep Southwest Oaks Elementary will be located at 5212 Anderson Road and serve as a feeder school for Southwest Secondary.  

  • YES Prep North Rankin Elementary will be located at 12537 Kuykendahl Road and will be the first YES Prep school in that area.  

We will continue to provide you with updates as we have them. For families in these neighborhoods who are interested in enrolling their child(ren) at these schools, we will be sharing more information on where you can sign up for an interest list soon. Lottery applications for these schools will officially open in October 2023.  

We are thrilled and ready to offer families in these neighborhoods an excellent elementary school experience that sets them on a path of endless opportunities through our secondary schools, college and beyond.

 

SENIOR SIGNING DAY IS ON THURS., MAY 18 

Senior Signing Day is one of the most memorable and powerful moments in the lives of our students. We are excited for this year's 1,600+ seniors to declare their next step in their journey after graduation at our 22nd Annual Senior Signing Day on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at NRG Stadium.   

This year we have divided Senior Signing Day into two programs:  

  • Program 1 begins at 10 a.m.: East End, Eisenhower, North Central, North Forest, Northbrook High, Southside and Southeast  

Also attending: Northbrook Middle, Northline and Thrive 

  • Program 2 begins at 12:45 p.m.: Brays Oaks, Fifth Ward, Gulfton, Northside, Southwest, West and White Oak.  

Also attending: Hobby and Northwest 

YES Prep will bus 8th to 11th-grade students to NRG and back to their home campus. Seniors are asked to go directly to NRG since they are expected to arrive earlier than other grade levels. Seniors will receive a letter with more details about the program and arrival instructions in their Senior Seminar class next week.   

Permission slips for Senior Signing Day 

All 8th to 12th-grade students must have a signed permission slip to attend the event. This SSD Permission Slip Guide for Families provides step-by-step instructions on how to complete permission slips in Skyward. For our Northbrook schools, parents/guardians will complete permission slips through the Northbrook Middle SSD Permission Slip Form and the Northbrook High SSD Permission Slip Form. All permission slips are due on Wednesday, May 10, 11:59 p.m. 

 

2023 STAAR SPRING TESTING 

STAAR is an important test that lets us know how your child is doing in specific classes and for their grade. Students will take their test(s) on their YES Prep-issued laptop on the following days:  

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 

APRIL 

24 

25 

Primary: 

RLA Grades 6 – 8 

English I 

English II 

26 

Primary: 

RLA Grades 3 & 4 

 

Makeups: 

RLA Grades 6 – 8 

English I 

English II 

27 

Makeups: 

RLA Grades 3 & 4 

RLA Grades 6 – 8 

English I 

English II 

28 

Makeups: 

RLA Grades 3 & 4 

RLA Grades 6 – 8 

English I 

English II 

MAY 

Primary: 

Social Studies 8 

US History 

Primary: 

Science 8

Biology

4

Makeups: 

Science 8 

Biology 

Social Studies 8 

US History 

Makeups: 

Science 8 

Biology 

Social Studies 8 

US History 

Primary: 

Math 6 – 8 

Algebra I 

10 

Primary: 

Math 3 & 4 

 

Makeups: 

Math 6-8 

Algebra I 

11 

Makeups: 

Math 3 & 4 

Math 6-8 

Algebra I 

12 

Makeups: 

Math 3 & 4 

Math 6-8 

Algebra I 

 

Important reminder: Students must pass all 5 STAAR End of Course tests (Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II and US History) to graduate from Texas public high schools. 

Please make sure your child gets enough rest that night and that their laptop is fully charged before coming to school. If you have any questions or would like more information, contact your child’s school.

 

APRIL POSSIP PULSE CHECK 

Thanks for sharing your experience with your school using the quick and easy monthly Possip Pulse Check! The next Possip Pulse Check is now available and will close at midnight on Sunday, April 9. Please take a moment to respond via text or email. Your feedback lets our schools know what questions and needs you and your child have. To learn more about Possip, please click here

*Please note: If you did not receive a text message or email from Possip, please contact your school’s front office to ensure we have your most up-to-date contact information in Skyward.   

 

TEACHER PATHWAY FAMILY SURVEY – DEADLINE IS SUN., APRIL 23 

At YES Prep, we believe that the student and family experience is critical to our mission and the work we do. Each semester, families of our pre-K through 2nd-grade students and families of students in our YSTEP, SHINE, BASE, GLOW and SOAR programs receive a Teacher Pathway Family Survey.   

This survey will ask these families to give feedback on two of their child’s teachers. Please allow 10-20 minutes to complete each survey. Your responses are entirely anonymous; teachers will not be able to see which families gave which feedback.  

The Teacher Pathway Family survey is now open and will close on Sunday, April 23. You will receive an email from Panorama Education with the survey link. If you did not receive an email, please call your school's front office to request an access code to complete the survey. 

For more information, please click here. Thank you in advance for your feedback! 

 

SPRING FINE ART SHOWCASE – THURS., APRIL 13 

Join us in celebrating our student dancers and artists by attending the Spring Fine Arts Showcase on Thursday, April 13, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at Ecclesia, 1100 Elder Street. This showcase will highlight artwork from our talented student artists from across the district, as well as elite performances by our student dancers.  

To learn more about the event, click here. We look forward to seeing you there! 

 

REMINDER: AP SUMMIT IS ON SAT, APRIL 22 & 29  

A reminder to our secondary students and families that we will be hosting our third annual AP Summit on Saturday, April 22 at YES Prep Gulfton Secondary and on Saturday, April 29 at YES Prep East End Secondary. This event is free and open to all our YES Prep AP students wanting to earn college credit by taking the AP exam. If a student is currently taking one or more AP courses and plans to attend, they will need a signed permission slip.  

For more details about the AP Summit and to register, visit yesprep.org/APSummit

 

SENIOR DECISION MEETING – FAMILY CONVERSATION GUIDE

Beginning this month, YES Prep’s college counselors will be holding Senior Decision Meetings with our current seniors and their families. We are committed to ensuring that every senior and their family meets with their college counselor in April and May to discuss their plans for after graduation. 

 In these meetings, our college counselors will review with you and your child the financial aid award letters they received from their top college choices and walk you through the financial implications of these colleges and universities for your child and your family. 

Your child’s school will be reaching out to you and your child about the process for scheduling these senior decision meetings. Please be on the lookout for these invitations. To prepare for these meetings, please review the following Senior Decision Meetings: A Family Conversation Guide (ENGLISH / SPANISH). 

 

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES: DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE PLANS FOR SUMMER? 

YES Prep college counselors work with our secondary students to encourage them to participate in student opportunities each summer that will give them the chance to: 

  1. Explore their interests 

  1. Develop a better understanding of college majors and career goals 

  1. Gain experiences to share on their resume and in their college application essays 

YES Prep offers some of these programs internally through our ACE and Aspire Programs. We also encourage students to participate in outside student opportunity programs offered by non-profit organizations, professional associations, companies or colleges and universities. For information on outside student opportunities, click here.  

Families, talk with your child about their summer plans using this conversation guide (ENGLISH / SPANISH).

 

IMPORTANCE OF FILING YOUR TAXES 

Tax Day is Tuesday, April 18, 2023 – that’s just two weeks away! Your tax information is a key piece of the college financial aid process. For our secondary families, please be aware that your tax information is needed for graduating seniors to fill out their FAFSA/TASFA.  Having your taxes in order will help ensure your child has access to the aid money they qualify for.  

If you need support or guidance in filing your taxes, consider reaching out to BakerRipley Tax Centers. They are a non-profit organization with various walk-in clinics and provide FREE tax preparation for those who qualify. 

As always, thank you for reading this month’s Family UpdateOur next Family Update letter to all families will be Friday, May 5.

Thank you.


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The News Update is YES Prep Public Schools systemwide monthly e-newsletter where we share the latest news, teacher and student stories, as well as upcoming events and important dates. 

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