The Young Women’s Leadership Academy has a rigorous academic program focused on college preparation, student wellness and responsible leadership.  Students participate in advanced academic coursework in reading, social studies, math and science with an emphasis on integration and real life experiences.  Math, science and technology are a primary concentration to better prepare young women for success in these areas that women are typically underrepresented in the workforce.

Every day at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, the students will attend a PREP class.  

Performance
Readiness
Excellence through Leadership
Physical Well Being  

All teachers will be assigned a PREP team that they will be with until they graduate.  This program is a support mechanism to ensure that all of our students meet the college going expectations.  The girls meet with their PREP teachers once a day in a family type of atmosphere designed to assist students with their day-to-day needs as well as prepare them for their future. The PREP curriculum will consist of leadership, health and wellness, and college prep components.

The physical education teacher, the college bound counselor and the academic dean rotate through the PREP classes with focus lessons in each of the designated categories.  The content will provide explicit instruction on college preparation, leadership and wellness.  Teachers will meet weekly to plan and prepare as a campus for PREP and topics will deepen each year that the young women progress through the program.  

College Bound Curriculum

We are explicit with parents and students about the expectations for how to get into college.  Students and parents are well prepared for the application, selection and entry requirements through our CollegeBound Curriculum.

• Daily Pre-SAT or SAT prep in all grade levels.
• Utilizing CollegeEd Materials from College Board starting in 7th grade. http://professionals.collegeboard.com/k-12/planning/collegeed
• Participation in college entry exams PSAT, SAT, ACT.
• Monthly college life seminars on topics such as: financial aid and economic assistance for students and parents; social and leadership aspects of college life; essay writing; college interviews; etc.
• Developing comprehensive graduation plans so that students and parents understand high school graduation requirements.
• AP and Pre-AP coursework
• Tech Prep and Career Pathways
• Required community service projects.
• Building your college portfolio.
• Explicit training on how to get into and stay in college.
• PREP team for ongoing support.

Staying Power

Our goal is not just to send 100% of our students to college, but also to ensure that they are successful once they get there.  This component of our college prep program is called Staying Power! 

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) will be the explicit program for academic support and college preparedness.  Teachers will receive training and the curriculum resources and materials will be distributed to us by the Advanced Academics Department.  The department will also provide us with four paid college tutors to help support the girls in their academic study groups.  The tutors will go through the AVID Tutorology Training hosted in SAISD.

• AVID Curriculum
• Socratic Seminar, all 8th grade AVID elective students enrolled in Algebra
• Study Skills
  • Independent and Study Groups
• Organizational Strategies
  • Binders
• Time Management
  • Daily Planners & Time Management Seminars in PREP Class
• Cornell Note Taking Strategies
  • Self-Monitoring Tools
• Assignment Logs, iDataPortal, Community Service Log, College Portfolio, Tutoring, etc.
  • Goal Setting
• Long range and short range goal setting component

College Readiness

Our team works diligently to ensure that the academic coursework meets the rigor required to prepare our young women for collegiate level work.  College readiness is the responsibility of everyone at our campus and includes the following areas:

• Writing
  • Journal Writing, Essay Writing, Note Taking, Research
• Questioning
  • Teacher Questioning
  • Student Questioning
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Teachers submit a syllabus each nine weeks for peer review and to clearly outline student-learning expectations.
• Rigor and depth of the TEKS is the emphasis of instructional planning; alignment to college level work and entry exams.
• Focus on commended achievement levels for all assessment goals.