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Press Kitideapublicschools.org

IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS | PRESS KIT 2017 | 2

E S T A B L I S H E D

2001

Our StoryWHO WE AREIDEA Public Schools believes that each and every child can go to college.

Since 2001, IDEA Public Schools has grown from a small school with 150 students to the fastest-growing network of tuition-free, Pre-K-12 public charter schools in the United States.

IDEA was recently named America’s Best Charter School Network and boasts national rankings on The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report’s top high schools lists. IDEA serves nearly 36,000 college-bound students in 61 schools across three Texas regions and is on-track to maintain its legacy of sending 100% of its graduates to college. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that thrives on the engagement of our alumni and community members as well as the financial support of individual donors, foundations, and friends of IDEA.

OUR MISSIONIDEA Public Schools prepares students from underserved communities for success in college and citizenship.

OUR VISIONTo ensure students reach their potential, IDEA Public Schools will become the region’s largest creator of college graduates.

G R A D E S

PRE-K - 12C O L L E G E - B O U N D

100%S T U D E N T S

36,000

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The Road to and Through College

COLLEGE FOR ALL CHILDRENFrom the first day students set foot on an IDEA Public Schools campus - whether Academy or College Prep - we instill in them the expectation that they will go to college. This expectation is woven in the fabric of everything we say and do. From Pre-K to 12th grade, IDEA Public Schools is focused on sending 100% of our kids to college.

M O R E T H A N

85%L O W - I N C O M E

M O R E T H A N

30%E N G L I S H

L A N G U A G EL E A R N E R S

N E A R LY

675STUDENTS

ACCEPTED TO COLLEGE IN 2017

100%COLLEGE

ACCEPTANCE FOR 1 1 YEARS

99.6%COLLEGE

MATRICULATION FOR 10 YEARS

M O R E T H A N

450F IRST

GENERATION

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Results & ImpactELEVEN CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF 100% COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE AND 99.6% MATRICULATIONIDEA’s Class of 2017 achieved unprecedented college success this year. Everyone was accepted to at least one college - making this the eleventh consecutive year in which IDEA has achieved 100% college acceptances. What’s more, IDEA Public Schools achieved a record number of admissions into Ivy League, Tier 1, and Tier 2 colleges and universities this spring—more than in any previous year dating back to our first graduating class in 2007. These included acceptances to Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Since its first graduating class 11 years ago, IDEA has also achieved a 99.6% matriculation rate as the district continues to fulfill its unwavering commitment to College For All Children. The network has maintained its near-perfect matriculation rate and has added 61 schools and nearly 36,000 students since 2000—more than any other charter school in the nation during that time period.

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKINGSIn U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools Rankings - 2017, four IDEA College Prep high schools eligible for this year’s rankings are among the top 30 in Texas: IDEA Quest- 6th in TexasIDEA Frontier- 7th in TexasIDEA Mission- 14th in TexasIDEA San Juan- 26th in Texas

The same four IDEA high schools were awarded gold medals given to the top 500 schools (top 3%) in the nation based on highest college readiness. Additionally, IDEA San Benito was ranked 66th in Texas, and IDEA Donna was ranked 159th in Texas. Both campuses received silver medals, and IDEA Alamo received a bronze medal. WASHINGTON POST RANKINGSIn the latest rankings of America’s Most Challenging High Schools by The Washington Post, five IDEA high schools were ranked the Top 25 Most Challenging in the Nation:

IDEA Frontier – 6th in the nation,IDEA San Juan – 10th in the nation,IDEA Mission – 12th in the nation, IDEA San Benito – 13th in the nation, IDEA Quest – 21st in the nation, IDEA Donna – 90th in the nation.

More than 2,900 public high schools across the country were analyzed in order to determine this ranking. Specifically, The Washington Post analyzed the number of students who participated in Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate tests in relation to the overall size of the high schools graduating class.

TOP 1%I N T H E N A T I O N

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IDEA Public Schools is a growing network of tuition-free Pre-K - 12 public charter schools serving more than 36,000 students in 61 schools throughout the Rio Grande Valley, Austin, and San Antonio.

NEW IDEA CAMPUSES:For the 2017-18 school year, IDEA opened IDEA Rio Grande City in Rio Grande City, IDEA Tres Lagos in Edinburg, IDEA Ewing Halsell , IDEA Brackenridge, and IDEA Harvey E. Najim in San Antonio.

Where We Serve Students

IDEA EWING HALSELL

IDEA Rio Grande City IDEA Ewing Halsell

IDEA Brackenridge IDEA Harvey E. Najim

EXPANSION AND GROWTHBy 2022, IDEA will operate 173 schools in ten regions educating 100,000 students on their road to and through college.

IDEA Public Schools is expanding to Southern Louisiana and El Paso, Texas in 2018 and Tarrant County (Fort Worth/Arlington), Texas in 2019.

In the exploration of new regions for IDEA Public Schools, no communities made larger impressions than Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Tarrant County and El Paso, Texas. In all three communities, the achievement gap is starkly present - thousands of students are in need of a high-quality education and families want more quality educational options for their children.

IDEA El PasoOpening in 2018

IDEA Tarrant CountyOpening in 2019

IDEA San AntonioEst. 2012

IDEA AustinEst. 2012

IDEA Southern LouisianaOpening in 2018

IDEA Rio Grande ValleyEst. 2000

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IDEA Public Schools recognizes that strong leadership across the district, as well as on each of our campuses, is critical to our success. IDEA’s Senior Leaders are poised to speak on a variety of topics. Under their titles see their areas of expertise in the event you’d ever like a subject matter expert for stories you’re working on.

Leadership at IDEA

Tom TorkelsonFounderChief Executive OfficerIDEA historical data and information

Misty MartinChief Administrative OfficerBenefits, Retirement, and Compensation

JoAnn GamaPresidentSuperintendentTeacher and Leader impact

Irma MuñozChief Operating OfficerHealthy Kids Here, School Operations

Phillip GarzaChief College and Diversity OfficerCollege acceptance and matriculation, student and teacher diversity

Jamey RobertsChief Human Assets OfficerStaffing, Hiring

Sam GoesslingChief Advancement OfficerExpansion, Philanthropy, and Charter School Growth

Dolores GonzalezChief Program OfficerCurriculum

Wyatt TruscheitChief Financial OfficerFinances, Budget

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2017-2018 Network Profile

W H E R E I T A L L S T A R T E D

RIO GRANDE VALLEYDuring their stints as Teach For America Corps Members in the Rio Grande Valley, Tom Torkelson and JoAnn Gama founded an after-school program in Donna, Texas, focused on student achievement and college readiness. In 2000, the state of Texas granted them a charter to operate IDEA Public Schools. Now, sixteen years later, IDEA has expanded both in and beyond the Rio Grande Valley. In the RGV, IDEA currently operates 31 schools. Over 2,400 IDEA alumni from the RGV are currently in, or have graduated from 150 colleges and universities across the country.

SAN ANTONIOIn 2012, NBA legend David Robinson invited IDEA to partner on solving educational inequality in San Antonio. In August of that year, IDEA and the Admiral joined forces to operate IDEA Carver Academy and College Prep, implementing IDEA’s successful individualized learning model in the existing Carver Academy. Today, four years later, IDEA operates 14 schools serving over 5,000 students and families across San Antonio, including IDEA Carver which recently achieved the academic honor of earning 100% of Texas Education Agency (TEA) distinctions for which it was eligible.

AUSTINIDEA Austin has been serving students and families in the Austin community since 2012. Today, IDEA operates six schools throughout East Austin, Rundberg, and Bluff Springs neighborhoods and has plans to expand to 26 schools by 2022 thanks to initial support from a local foundation and other community leaders. In 2016, the Austin American Statesman said in an editorial, “IDEA Public Schools has struck the right balance in its plans to expand in the Austin area...competing on its merits, record and community efforts.”

61Free Public Schools

PK-12Grade Levels

85%Low-Income(projection)

100%College-Bound

36KStudents

Nearly

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Videos & News

Evelyn SaldivarIDEA Alumna, Texas A&M Graduate, IDEA TeacherWatch Video

Student Spotlight: IDEA Public Schools Celebrates 100% College Acceptance, 99.6% College MatriculationContinue Reading

Osvaldo LealIDEA FatherWatch Video

6th Grade at IDEA Public SchoolsContinue Reading

Pre-K at IDEA Public SchoolsContinue Reading

Sarah OrtizIDEA 4th GraderWatch Video

Michael MirelesIDEA SeniorWatch Video

IMPACT Magazine 2016View Online

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Interested in learning more about IDEA or covering us throughout the year? Take a look at some of the key dates and events that occur annually across our network.

Important Events

August

2018

January

September

February

October

March

November

April

December

May

Back to School Bash: IDEA’s annual staff celebration to kick-off a new school year.

Beginning of the School Year

National School Choice Week: The goal of National School Choice Week (NSCW) is to raise public awareness of all types of education options for children. These options include traditional public schools, public charter schools, magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling.

IDEA’s Lottery: We typically receive 10x the applications versus seats available

National School Counseling Week: Learn more about the impact of College Counselors at IDEA and how they go the extra mile to see our students off to college each year.

Digital Learning Day: Learn about IDEA’s digital learning programs, iLearning HotSpot and Accelerated Reader.

IDEA Alumni of Excellence: Recognizing and celebrating the success of IDEA Alumni.

Read Across America Day: At IDEA, we have a robust reading program that starts in Pre-K.

Nutrition Month: Learn more about how IDEA’s Healthy Kids Here Initiative provides students with healthy and nutritious school breakfast and lunch options.

College Signing Day: Watch as our seniors reveal their college choices to an arena full of 6,000 people.

WATCH VIDEO

Earth Day: Highlight IDEA’s innovative and enriching farm and garden programs.

Teacher Appreciation Week:Spotlight some of our teachers. We are currently the most diverse CMO in the country!

College Matriculation Announcement:IDEA announces the percentage of the senior class who matriculates to college each fall. For the past ten years, more than 99.6% of IDEA graduates have matriculated to college each fall.

College Savings Month: Learn more about Give me 5, IDEA’s staff giving campaign that awards students in need with scholarships and emergency loans. Our goal is to consistently achieve an annual participate rate of at least 90%.

College Visits: College field lessons begin as early as 1st grade for IDEA students. IDEA Public Schools strives to have students and their parents visit colleges and universities across the country.

Positive Attitude Month: Learn more about IDEA’s unique approach and focus on character building.

National Diabetes Month: IDEA has a comprehensive initiative that provides a healthy and active lifestyle for our students to help combat childhood obesity and diseases.

New Site Selection: IDEA begins announcing its new sites and regions.

College acceptance announcements and reveals begin.

Computer Science Education Week:Learn more about computer science and STEM education at IDEA.

2017

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MediaFor all media inquiries please contact

Sharise Johnson, Director of Communications, or Kisella Cardenas, External Communications Manager.

Sharise JohnsonDirector of Communications

IDEA Public Schools

(956) 272-2548sharise.johnson@ideapublicschools.org

Kisella CardenasExternal Communications Manager

IDEA Public Schools

(956) 998-9120 kisella.cardenas@ideapublicschools.org

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