July 12, 2012

Chris Barbic, Naviance Summer Institute Keynote

Jul. 12, 2012 at 10:20 AM | By Susan Hallenbeck | Comment Count

(What's happening at Naviance Summer Institute 2013?)

Christopher Barbic is the founding Superintendent of Tennessee's Achievement School District and founder of YES Prep Public Schools, a Houston-based charter management organization (CMO). As this year's Naviance Summer Institute keynote, myself as well as fellow attendees were privileged to gain inspiration from his words of encouragement and life experience.

Opening his address with "The actual proves the possible," Chris recounted his journey as a young, idealistic teacher in one of Texas' worst-performing schools. According to Chris, "poverty is not an insurmountable obstacle." Students have grit and resiliency, and if adults create high expectations and enable rigor and support in the classroom, we can witness their success. Chris Barbic

It is this tenacity and dedication to student achievement that has led to extraordinary results at YES Prep. At YES Prep, student success in not gauged by graduating with a diploma. It is gauged by admittance to a post-secondary institution.

From a single campus of three-hundred, YES Prep has grown to twelve campuses serving ten-thousand low-income students in Houston and has earned recognition as one of the highest performing CMO's in the country.

YES Prep's model of success:

People matter. A great school depends on great teachers and great principals. It doesn't matter how many gadgets your school has.
Relationships matter. When teachers, students, and parents believe expectations matter, students become self-motivated to achieve those expectations. Teachers and administrators must strive to build relationships with parents.
Great teaching and more of it!
Fail fast. Learn Quickly. Improve Performance. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Try something, and if it doesn't work, learn from that experience and try something else.

His commitment to education is inspirational, but most importantly, it challenges us all to set the bar high to ensure every student experiences post-secondary success.