Houston A+ Challenge is pleased to welcome seven experienced educators to the A+ team, to work with students, families, teachers and school leaders in the Challenge Network. This ambitious and innovative new initiative, which will launch this fall in five Houston-area middle schools, aims to significantly increase the numbers of economically disadvantaged students in the Houston area who are prepared for postsecondary success.
The Challenge Network is a multi-year partnership between Houston A+ Challenge and six local school districts – Aldine, Alief, Goose Creek, Humble and YES Prep Public Schools. The program is rooted in research indicating that current levels of academic proficiency are insufficient and that higher levels of achievement are needed to prepare students for post-secondary success.
If the pilot cohort of Challenge Network schools achieve their goals, A+ plans to expand the program to many more schools and local districts in the coming years – to reach up to 50,000 children in 70 schools within six years – thus transforming the lives of economically disadvantaged students and of our community as a whole.
Scott Van BeckHouston A+ Challenge's executive director, hired in December 2007, really has been with the organization from the start. In 1999, when Scott was principal of Revere Middle School, the campus was awarded an original Annenberg Lamplighter Grant recognizing promising practices. From 2000 to 2004, he served as a coach and mentor for area principals through Houston A+ Challenge's New Visions in Leadership Academy, a voluntary, two-year professional development program for current principals. |