Pride College Prep Academy
Opening in the fall of 2009, Pride College Prep is a pre-k through second grade school committed to providing new opportunities to learn for the children of New Orleans. We believe that by focusing on the physical and social wellness of each student, we can create the necessary conditions for academic excellence. We believe that by setting our sights on college success, our children will be encouraged, empowered, and prepared for life.
We are expert educators whose approach to teaching is warm and firm. We combine overexposure to basic skills in an extended day, year-round program with the latest in enrichment strategies derived from brain research.
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Values
Perseverance – We know challenge as an opportunity to innovate and increase efforts.
Achievement – We focus on results to inform and set ambitious goals for improvement.
Teamwork - We reach our goals by supporting and learning from each other.
Healthy Learning - We know that children learn best when they are healthy and active, in a physically and emotionally safe environment that provides engaging and challenging instruction.
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Mission
We nourish each of our students to excel in college.
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What is the meaning of Pride?
Pride is the acknowledgement or our potential for greatness. Pride is the crown upon which our values lay. It is the refusal to allow fear to supplant our self-esteem. It is achieved by consistently working toward our mission with respect, honesty, integrity, and justice.
Pride is neither hubris, nor arrogance. It neither looks down, nor up for that matter. It draws strength from what we are and what we do.
Pride is also the group word for lions. We are inspired by the perseverance, playfulness, cooperation and strength of prides. We know that the strength of the lion is the pride, and the strength of the pride is the lion. We also are hunters, hungry for knowledge.
The values at Pride College Prep serve as a template off of which all decisions are made. They are not the systems or the language. This we develop over time. The systems and language are both systematic and organic. We begin with a plan with the knowledge that we must adapt and evolve in order to serve our mission.
Perseverance – We know challenge as an opportunity to innovate and increase efforts. Perseverance is both an attitude and a system. We don’t avoid disappointment and failure. We anticipate it. If at first we get it wrong, then next we get it right. The work we do is challenging. It requires steadfast positive commitment toward our mission. We know the most powerful of forces is within each of us.
The staff at Pride College Prep will demonstrate the value of perseverance by continually meeting the demands of students, families, school leadership, and their own personal lives. There is no “I” in “Team”, but there is in “win.” We model this value to our students through our hard work, positive attitude, and willingness to innovate
Achievement – We focus on results to inform and set ambitious goals for improvement. As a staff, we know that our days are filled with many victories great and small. In order to assure that we continue toward our mission, we choose to frame this experience into measurable goals. Each week we define specific learning, behavioral, and operational objectives. At the end of that week we celebrate our successes and learn from our failures. Ultimately, we will be evaluated by objective standardized measurements. We welcome this element of accountability and strive to excel within its conditions.
Our students and families know that achievement is real and measurable. They are continually involved in goal-setting and tracking.
Teamwork - We reach our goals by supporting and learning from each other. The strength of our school and our world depends on the vibrancy and cohesiveness of our diverse communities. The team at Pride College Prep includes students, faculty, staff, families, and community partners. The work we do together is carefully structured for efficiency and effectiveness. At the same time, our students are taught specific techniques and trained to be successful team members contributing to the success of the Pride.
Healthy Learning - Healthy learning is the junction at which caring and excellent teaching meet. We know that children learn best when they are healthy and active, in a physically and emotionally safe environment that provides engaging and challenging instruction. At Pride College Prep, teachers and staff are continually seeking to improve the way we deliver on our promise to serve children. We incorporate the latest in education and brain research in order to work toward our mission. This includes daily recess and P.E.A.C.E. (physical education and character education) programming, a comprehensive nutrition and wellness program, integration of movement and exercise in teaching methodology, and school-wide language and systems that are respectful toward the developing students.
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Leadership Team
Pride College Prep’s leadership team consists of an outstanding group of committed professionals dedicated to bringing an exceptional college preparatory program to the families of New Orleans.
Michael Richard, Founder and School Director, is leading the effort to develop and submit a successful charter school application to launch Pride College Prep. Michael is a successful urban educator with seven years teaching experience who is currently studying proven charter school design and practice as part of the New Schools for New Orleans incubator program, a training program that recruits and trains high capacity individuals to design an uncompromising, practice-proven urban charter school for students in New Orleans.
Michael is a native of Louisiana, born in Washington Parish and raised in Sulphur. He found his passion for teaching while instructing undergraduates in logic at San Jose State University. The following year, he taught Kindergarten at Alain Locke Charter Academy in Chicago, where he learned a no-nonsense approach to basics that earned the school national attention for high test scores. Alain Locke was one of seven schools in the United States highlighted by the U.S. Department of Education’s recent study of excellence and innovation, K-8 Charter Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap.
In 2003, Michael joined Teach For America, committing to provide excellent educational opportunities to all children. He spent three years teaching fourth grade in an urban Southside Chicago neighborhood school. In addition to consistently raising achievement levels for his students, he resurrected and led his school’s Professional Personnel Leadership Committee.
Before returning to Louisiana, Michael taught fourth grade for two years at the American School of Guatemala in Guatemala City. While at the American School, Michael served as the elementary school’s curriculum liaison as well as the elementary Faculty Concerns Committee representative. He also produced and directed the American School’s first ever school-wide celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In his two years as a teacher at the American School, his students averaged a 28 point gain on their total Development Reading Assessment scores. This is the equivalent of 2.5 grade levels. More significantly, he transformed students from children who had reading skills into children who loved reading. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Northwestern University and an MA in Teaching from National Louis University. He is married and the father of two daughters.
Director of Finance and Operations: Ting-ting Liang serves as Pride’s Director of Finance and Operations. Prior to joining Pride, Ting-ting provided quantitative analysis and investment banking services for municipal clients across the country while working at Bank of America and UBS. She has also served as a Capital Budget Analyst for the country’s largest municipal provider of affordable housing and as a legislative aide focusing on education issues for an elected official in New York State. Ting-ting holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a BA from Yale University.
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Governance
The Founding Board of Directors is a high-capacity group possessing the wide array of professional skills necessary to launch and govern a highly successful charter school in New Orleans. All Founding Board members are dedicated to the mission and vision of Pride College Prep and are uncompromising about delivering a school that fulfills the promise of academic achievement for every student. Each member of the founding board has committed their professional experience and expertise to Pride College Prep, and is prepared to execute their duties as a governing Board of Directors. Along with Lead Founder Michael Richard, members of the current founding group include:
Janice Piazza, a life long resident of New Orleans, has been involved in healthcare in New Orleans for 35 years with experience in administration and leadership and for the past 5 years has been Vice President of the Academic Division at Ochsner Health System with responsibilities for education and research activities.
Jacquelyn Cole is the Director of Communications and Special Projects for the New Orleans City Council President. She lends expertise in community relations and marketing to the board.
Scott Jacobs is a New Orleanian with a commitment to public service and education. Currently the Chief Administrative Officer of Strategic Comp, he has nearly thirty years of experience in business and insurance, as well as the formal training of an MBA. He brings substantial experience with board governance and accountability, including seven years of direct involvement in governing schools, including four years as Chair of a board.
Lisa Tabb is the Director of Programs for Jewish Children’s Regional Service. She has over 8 years experience working in the New Orleans public schools and in collaboration with local social service/health organizations.
Allen Square has over 13 years of private sector experience in telecommunications, semiconductors, manufacturing, transportation, business process outsourcing, and private equity industries. Currently Allen is a consultant with Henry Consulting, LLC where he has been working with clients to identify strategic and operational improvements. Prior to completing a Masters of Business Administration at The Wharton School Allen earned BS & MS in Electrical Engineering from Tulane University and Southern Methodist University. Allen is also a product of New Orleans Public Schools (McDonogh #15 and McMain).
Michael Hall is a trial lawyer who focuses in the areas of personal injury, family law, wills and successions, criminal defense law, construction litigation, business formations and litigation, and general liability defense.
Lauren Bierbaum is research director for the Afterschool Partnership for Greater New Orleans. She brings more than ten years of experience in education, research, and academic evaluation.