(Dallas, Texas, January 15, 2016) – The Young Women’s Preparatory Network (YWPN) has announced two hires for newly created positions within the organization. Vivian Taylor, the first principal of the founding network school, Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, has been hired as the Chief Program Officer. Marketing and public relations veteran Juliette Coulter has been hired as Chief Marketing Officer.
Founded in 2002, the Young Women’s Preparatory Network is a nonprofit agency that partners with public school districts across the state of Texas to operate the largest network of all-girls, public, college preparatory schools in the nation. The first network in Texas, YWPN formed its initial public/private partnership with the Dallas Independent School District in August 2004, opening Irma Rangel, which at the time was the only all-girls public school in the state.
Under Taylor’s leadership through 2014, the school produced strong academic performance, including a 100 percent graduation rate from high school and 100 percent acceptance rate to college, with millions of dollars awarded to students in merit and academic scholarships. The school is ranked consistently at the top of U.S. News and World Report’s best schools list and has been rated by the Texas Education Agency as Exemplary from 2006 to present. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education recognized Irma Rangel as a Blue Ribbon School.
Taylor served in the DISD for 34 years, with 22 as a school administrator, and helped produce strong academic success at all of the schools she led. Taylor said, “Serving as principal of the first Young Women’s Preparatory Network school provides me with insight into how to develop programs that our network schools can use to educate and prepare our graduates for college, careers and serving their communities.”
Coulter brings a strong marketing and public relations background to YWPN. For the past 17 years, she has operated The Coulter Group, a public relations firm with a specialty in serving nonprofits. Some notable projects Coulter led include the openings of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, two Audubon centers, the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden, the new Ronald McDonald House of Dallas and The 12 Days of Christmas exhibition at the Dallas Arboretum. Previously, she worked for Cox & Company and FleishmanHillard in Dallas and Washington, D.C. She has served on the boards of the Junior League of Dallas, Community Partners of Dallas women’s auxiliary, Genesis Women’s Shelter’s auxiliary and is involved in many other organizations.
Coulter said, “This is the perfect opening to help YWPN advance its mission of giving more young women the opportunity to receive a top-notch college preparatory education so that they will be well prepared to attend college. I’ve seen the positive results of a single-sex education with my daughter and am honored to be a part of an organization with an incredible track record.”
YWPN network schools currently serve students in grades 6 through 12 on seven campuses across the state of Texas. An eighth school in El Paso will be added in fall 2016. YWPN’s results are amazing—100 percent of the girls graduate from high school and 100 percent are accepted into college. Sixty-eight percent of all students come from economically disadvantaged homes, and 68 percent of the Class of 2015 are first generation college students. Last month, one of San Antonio’s seniors received the network’s first ever acceptance into Yale University.
Lynn McBee, Young Women’s Prep CEO, added, “I’ve known Vivian and Juliette and worked with them for several years. They are bringing their passion and know-how to further our mission of providing a quality education to many minority and first generation young women. We are expanding our network of schools, and each one will help us reach our marketing and strategic goals as we help our schools educate many young women and prepare them to become tomorrow’s leaders.”
About Young Women’s Preparatory Network:
Founded in 2002, the Young Women’s Preparatory Network is a nonprofit agency that partners with public school districts across the state of Texas to operate the largest network of all-girls, public, college preparatory schools in the nation. The organization provides funding and other resources to schools in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Houston, Lubbock and San Antonio. In 2014-2015, total enrollment included 4,150 students in 6th through 12th grades.* Each YWPN school features a STEM-focused curriculum and is largely attended by disadvantaged students who are second-generation immigrants. The core values are leadership development, college readiness and wellness life skills. Additionally, each school serves as a laboratory example of an innovative public-private education model that results in high student achievement. In 2014-2015, the network’s 247 graduates received more than $29 million in academic and merit scholarships and have matriculated to 87 different colleges and universities. More information can be found at http://youngwomensprep.org/.
For immediate release:
Media contact: Juliette Coulter, 214.824.1400 or 214.394.5532, jcoulter@ywprep.org
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*Texas Education Agency
PHOTO LINKS:
Vivian:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vmklfn5y9ttj05n/Vivian%20Taylor.jpg?dl=0
Juliette:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mqy1zq35ptl8cre/Juliette%20Coulter.jpg?dl=0
