Brian’s Story 

Originally from Ohio and coming from a large family, Brian Vannest has always enjoyed interacting with children of different ages, and so he knew he wanted to work in various levels of education. His first teaching experience was as a second-grade teacher, followed by third grade, and then seventh-grade math, which he taught for several years at YES Prep. He has also served at the high school level in an administrator role for three years and as an elementary school principal for four years, both with HISD.   

Vannest has worked in several Houston schools districts but decided to come back to YES Prep in 2020 to join the Principal Pathway program. “When I learned that YES Prep would open elementary schools, I knew I wanted to be a part of that work. The principal residency allowed me to transition back to YES Prep and make many new connections in the organization before founding YES Prep East End Elementary.” Vannest added that through the program, he was able to both observe as well as practice the key moves that YES Prep principals make in order to achieve jaw-dropping results alongside their teams.  

Prepared to lead YES Prep East End Elementary 

As Vannest works to lay the foundation for a successful opening of YES Prep East End Elementary, he shared that he and his team will lead with the belief that students, staff and families deserve great care and are destined for great things. He added, “taking great care means offering powerful learning experiences for each student every day. Great care looks like support when students and families need help and will be seen in our best-in-class service and open communication.” Vannest shared that he is committed to achieving success by demonstrating great care to his staff through the tools, training and help needed to do their jobs effectively. “When our staff truly connects with students and their families, we will be better able to understand one another, trust one another and accomplish amazing things together!” 

When our staff truly connects with students and their families, we will understand one another, trust one another and accomplish amazing things together! 

To read more about YES Prep East End Elementary, we invite you to click here.