A couple hours ago, Wick and I popped over to a new charter school called Laureate Preparatory that opened three weeks ago in the West End. Uplift’s CEO, Yasmin Bhatia, and its chief development officer, Deborah Bigham, showed us around the joint, which has a little more than 100 students right now and will have 480 once all grades are enrolled. I myself today dropped off my little girl for her first day of pre-K at Hexter Elementary. The halls of that place were raucous, ankle biters caroming off walls, giving each other the business, some of them in tears (my daughter). Contrast that to Laureate Prep. The kids were getting lunch when we visited. The place was literally as quiet as a church. Kiddos were lined up, holding their lunch trays, all polite smiles when I said hi to them. I mean, it was shocking. And it’s not just about behavior. The 15 Uplift schools in the area that were already in operation last year all outperformed their nearest DISD neighbor school (with all but three — Hampton Primary, Middle, and High — receiving an “exemplary” rating from the state). Then know this: Laureate Prep has a partnership with the Museum of Nature and Science. When the new museum opens in 2012, those kids are going to be able to walk across the street to it. Pretty cool.
All of which I mention because Laureate Prep still has openings in the 1st and 2nd grade.
