FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: May 2, 2002
Number: nr 02-05
Contact: Nan Powers Varoga, 713-658-1881, ext. 14
nvaroga@houstonaplus.org
YATES COMMUNITY HEARS DETAILS OF SCHOOL REDESIGN PROJECT
Yates High School and The Houston A+ Challenge hosted a luncheon April 24 for the Yates community to go over details of how the campus will implement the Houston Schools for a New Society Initiative.
More than 35 people attended, including representatives from neighborhood churches, feeder pattern schools, Houston ISD’s South Central District office, parents, grandparents, PTAs, business partners, community-based organizations and Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Yates Executive Principal Dr. Robert Worthy and a team of four teachers and six students outlined the need to transform the school, how the transition would go forward, how the changes would affect the school and community and what support they needed from the community.
"The luncheon was a first step to a successful journey for Jack Yates High School, stakeholders, and the community,” said Rev. Manson B. Johnson of Holman Street Baptist Church and a member of the Oversight Committee for High School Reform, a partnership between Houston A+ and Houston ISD.
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More than 35 people attended, including representatives from neighborhood churches, feeder pattern schools, Houston ISD’s South Central District office, parents, grandparents, PTAs, business partners, community-based organizations and Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Yates Executive Principal Dr. Robert Worthy and a team of four teachers and six students outlined the need to transform the school, how the transition would go forward, how the changes would affect the school and community and what support they needed from the community. "The luncheon was a first step to a successful journey for Jack Yates High School, stakeholders, and the community,” said Rev. Manson B. Johnson of Holman Street Baptist Church and a member of the Oversight Committee for High School Reform, a partnership between Houston A+ and Houston ISD. “Congratulations to Robert F. Worthy for making these first steps toward great opportunities. With the seasoned assistance of Linda Clarke and Houston A+ this journey is a proven model for the future of Houston public schools," he added. |
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| L to R: Yates Principal Robert Worthy with Houston A+ Challenge Executive Director Linda Clarke and Holman Street Baptist Church Reverend Manson B. Johnson at the Yates High School Community lunch for the Houston Schools for a New Society Initiative. |
Houston A+ also plans to co-host luncheons for the other 23 high schools in the project.
Houston Schools for a New Society is a five-year
project to dramatically restructure all 24 large, urban, comprehensive high
schools in Houston ISD to increase the graduation rate. The redesigned schools
will have small learning communities of no more than 300 students in a group
organized around a career or academic theme, a focus on literacy and rigorous
academic curriculum and provide real world experience to students.