Happy Presidents Day from the Promise Community School!
The students at the Promise Community School in Gulfton are very proud to raise and lower the flag each day. This is a short film we put together to capture their excitement!
YES Commits to Keeping Gulfton Beautiful
YES Prep Gulfton isn’t afraid to get a little messy for their neighborhood! Recently, YES students made a Saturday morning visit to some of the local apartment complexes ; Las Americas, St. Cloud, Alexander House and Napoleon Square on their beautification day.
Beyond picking up litter and clearing out the brush, the 6th graders at YES learned how to work together, “learned that [they] need to keep their Gulfton community clean for more people to come” and , most importantly, gained a new sense of ownership for their community and a committment to its beauty.
Join YES Prep’s efforts for their next beautification day January 25th!
Doing More with Less
Promise Community School Receives Texas Honors Circle Award
District proves it can improve education and save money by focusing on positives
During a time in which the education debate focuses on the things that are “wrong,” Neighborhood Centers Inc. has good news to share. Its Ripley House Charter School district (recently renamed Promise Community School) is being recognized for its positive impact in education. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Susan Combs, has presented the school district with the 2011 Texas Honors Circle Award.
The award recognizes the district’s significant student academic growth and its responsible management of finances while preparing students for college and career success. The school district won the award by earning five stars in the Comptroller’s 2011 Financial Allocation Study for Texas ratings. A five-star rating indicates the district is in the top 20 percent of the state in student academic growth and has a spending index within the lowest 20 percent of its fiscal peers in terms of core operating expenditures per student. Promise Community School is one of 46 districts to receive the distinction out of a total 1,200 school districts and charter-school operators in Texas.
Setting an example
In her congratulatory letter to the school, the state comptroller touts the district for “setting an example of wise management of educational spending while preparing students for success in college or the workforce – an effort crucial to the future of Texas.”
“We are honored to receive this recognition and we are very proud of the hard-working teachers, students, parents, and community partners that contribute to our success in education,” says Doug Shadle, Promise Community School superintendent and Neighborhood Centers Inc. senior vice president and chief operations officer. “Our school environment operates within our overall goal to build vibrant communities by focusing on educational attainment, financial well being, and engaged communities. We know that education is the key to the overall success of our communities, so we encourage the entire family and the whole community to be a part of the education process.”
Place-based schools
The Ripley House Charter School was founded as a one-campus district in 2002 and has since grown to a six-campus district that educates more than 1,800 elementary and middle-school students. It received its new name this year after its parent agency, Neighborhood Centers Inc., received a Promise Neighborhood grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Promise Community School boasts:
▪ a 22-to-one student-teacher ratio
▪ a school for recent immigrants
▪ an open-door policy for parents so they can enter their child’s classroom at any time
▪ campuses that are located in Neighborhood Centers where the entire family can access healthcare, a credit union, adult-education classes, tax centers and other resources.
Promise Community School campuses include:
▪ Baker-Ripley Elementary
▪ Baker-Ripley New Neighbors
▪ Charter School without Walls
▪ Harbach-Ripley Elementary
▪ Ripley House Elementary
▪ Ripley House Middle
A focus on strengths Neighborhood Centers owes this recognition to its successful implementation of a “strengths-based” approach to community building. This model proposes that individuals and organizations within neighborhoods have assets upon which economic, political and social strengths can be built. In other words, focusing on the negatives provides nothing to work with – a deficit. Focusing on positives provides a building foundation.
This video from KHOU Channel 11 explains the importance of the award.
“Award-Winning” Young Leaders Call Gulfton Home
Within the Gulfton Promise Neighborhood there are Young Leaders – a group of 13-18 year-olds from various nearby schools, making a difference for themselves and their community.
It’s a diverse group of teens that together focus on their education throughout the summer and after school. They also build upon community engagement skills, providing a much needed hand in various ways to their neighbors.
One such project was prompted by a challenge from Neighborhood Centers partner, United Neighborhood Centers of America. The contest, called ‘Our Neighborhood 2111: Youth Visioning Project‘ motivated the kids to create a video titled “Our Community, Our Vision, Our Future.”
The video showcases Gulfton and the goals they have for their community. They hope to be a significant catalyst of change for the neighborhood.
The video was recognized as the overall winner of the contest during the Alliance & UNCA 2011 National Conference on October 18 in Washington D.C.
Freddy, a participant in the Young Leaders program, was invited to D.C. to accept the award. He received a standing ovation after reciting one of his original poems.
Celebrating Promise
The Gulfton Promise Neighborhood unites a community around the promise of education for 7,200 students in Gulfton/Sharpstown schools.
See how Houston Mayor Annise Parker came together with teachers and community members from the Gulfton area to celebrate the work being done in this community, and how it should serve as an example to the rest of the city, state and country.
Houston, We Have a Promise
Our 3rd Quarter Promise Neighborhood Report was released today. View the report to learn about our Education Rally – with Houston’s biggest cheerleader, Mayor Annise Parker, our partners, and what we’ve accomplished with the planning grant.
Secretary Baker Shares His Thoughts about Baker-Ripley
On September 25, we will celebrate the one year anniversary of the opening of the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center. This center is the heart of the Gulfton Promise Neighborhood where families can access services that build upon their strengths especially in the areas of educational attainment, community engagement and financial well-being.
Former Secretary of State James Baker was on hand at our grand opening. Here he shares his thoughts about the center which has extra special meaning for him. The center was named after his grandmother, Alice Graham Baker, who work in the settlement house movement was the foundation of Neighborhood Centers, and the funds for the center were raised by his wife, Susan G. Baker.
Secretary Baker on the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center
Houston Schools Receive National Attention
Lee High School – a partner in the Gulfton Promise Neighborhood – was featured in the New York Times.
The article looks at how competition in education is changing the way that public schools operate and specifically how Lee is embracing the change.
There are some really exciting things happening in the schools of the Gulfton Promise Neighborhood!
Teachers Rally for a Promise
The Education Rally held at Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center on Wednesday, August 17, was a huge success.
Teachers from every school in the Gulfton Promise Neighborhood were represented. They got to mingle, create artwork, and enjoy the Baker-Ripley Campus while they received encouraging comments from Mayor Annise Parker and Neighborhood Centers Board Member David Chaumette.
A special thanks to our emcee, KHOU Channel 11 Reporter , Alex Sanz as well as our sponsors, No Label Brewery, James Coney Island, and Saint Arnold Brewing Company.
Stay tuned for videos from the rally.
View a slideshow of all the photos from the rally on Flickr >
Gulfton Promise Neighborhood Education Rally
Teachers in the Gulfton and Sharpstown neighborhoods are coming together August 17 to meet each other and become inspired by a community movement. The Gulfton Promise Neighborhood is a collaboration of community partners and schools who are working together to make education a priority in this community – this event will honor the teachers that have a front row seat to making this happen. A special guest, the City of Houston Mayor Annise Parker, will share the message of ‘Houston’s Promise’.
Schools that will be in attendance include:
- Klein Head Start
- Gulfton Promise Head Start
- New Horizon Head Start
- Baker-Ripley Promise Community School
- Benavidez Elementary School
- Jane Long Middle School
- YES College Prep
- Lee High School
- Sharpstown High School
Teachers can RSVP to lvillanueva@neighborhood-centers.org.
Click to view the full-size flyer
Thank you to our sponsors for making this a good time!
