Chinquapin Preparatory School

Through its rigorous curriculum and an emphasis on community service and earning what one receives, Chinquapin Prep aims to produce responsible, well-educated citizens who will become constructive leaders in the community.

Chinquapin’s emphasis on rigorous academics in a supportive community results in a variety of impressive outcomes:

Year after year, our ACT average is 20% higher than the national average.
100% of our seniors are accepted into at least one four-year college, and many students are accepted to top schools such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, Rice University, Notre Dame, among others.
Over 85% of Chinquapin grads earn a four-year degree or are on track for completion, far higher than the typical success rate of 10% for low-income students nationally. Of that 85%, more than one-third go on to earn post-graduate degrees. Alumni have served as President and Treasurer of our Board of Trustees.

Our students receive a remarkable array of scholarships. The 17 graduates of the 2020 class earned nearly $700,000 in college scholarships and grants for their freshman year.

In the last eight years, 16 students have been named Posse Scholars by The Posse Foundation. The Class of 2020 includes two Posse students, one at Carleton College and another at Colby College.

Each student is given opportunities that develop a sense of responsibility and leadership skills through the Student Leadership Committee, the National Honor Society, Interact Club, chore and kitchen crews, athletics, our Campus Ambassador Program and Ladies of Chinquapin, a high school group that promotes women’s empowerment.

Chinquapin students participate in a demanding college-preparatory program with educational opportunities designed to cultivate a lifelong enthusiasm for learning. They have access to advanced courses and receive college counseling and faculty support to ensure success in their classes and to attain their postsecondary goals. A low student-teacher ratio (7:1) means students receive a great deal of personalized attention. Students mentor one another, creating a culture of peer support and encouragement. We offer AP courses in the following areas: English Literature and Composition, English Language and Composition, Calculus AB, Environmental Science, Biology, Physics, U.S. History, Spanish Language and Composition, Spanish Literature and Composition, and Computer Science. Teachers live on campus and are available to help with homework and life lessons.

Chinquapin lives by its motto, quid pro quo, literally ‘something for something.’ Figuratively, it means paying it forward, having skin in the game, always being a contributor. All students give back to the school and their community in return for their education.

What Sets Us Apart: High Academic Expectations and a Strong Emphasis on Giving Back

Chinquapin students participate in a demanding college-preparatory program with educational opportunities designed to cultivate a lifelong enthusiasm for learning. They have access to advanced courses and receive college counseling and faculty support to ensure success in their classes and to attain their postsecondary goals. A low student-teacher ratio (7:1) means students receive a great deal of personalized attention. Students mentor one another, creating a culture of peer support and encouragement. We offer AP courses in the following areas: English Literature and Composition, English Language and Composition, Calculus AB, Environmental Science, Biology, Physics, U.S. History, Spanish Language and Composition, Spanish Literature and Composition, and Computer Science. Teachers live on campus and are available to help with homework and life lessons.

Although Chinquapin’s primary focus is academics, athletics and extracurriculars provide important opportunities for students to gain confidence, learn about leadership, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

Chinquapin lives by its motto, quid pro quo, literally ‘something for something.’ Figuratively, it means paying it forward, having skin in the game, and always being a contributor. All students give back to the school and their community in return for their education. They all physically add to the school by performing daily chores: cleaning dorms/classrooms, washing dishes, or mowing lawns. Chore crews are cross-graded; upper class captains teach younger students by example.

Only a few other college preparatory boarding schools specifically for underserved students exist nationwide, and we are proud of the fact that Chinquapin is the only one in the state of Texas that is answering the needs of this population in such a specific way. Chinquapin’s emphasis on rigorous academics in a supportive community results in a variety of impressive outcomes:

Year after year, our ACT average is 20% higher than the national average.
100% of our seniors are accepted into at least one four-year college, and many students are accepted to top schools such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, Rice University, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Baylor, Smith, Duke, Bryn Mawr, Northwestern, The University of Virginia, Emory, The University of Texas, and Texas A&M, among others.
Over 85% of Chinquapin grads earn a four-year degree or are on track for completion, which is far higher than the typical success rate of 10% for low-income students nationally. Of that 85%, more than one-third go on to earn post-graduate degrees. Alumni have served as President and Treasurer of our Board of Trustees.

Our students receive a remarkable array of scholarships. The 17 graduates of the 2020 class earned nearly $700,000 in college scholarships and grants for their freshman year.

In the last eight years, 16 students have been named Posse Scholars by The Posse Foundation. The Class of 2020 includes two Posse students, one at Carleton College and another at Colby College.

Each student is given opportunities that develop a sense of responsibility and leadership skills through the Student Leadership Committee, the National Honor Society, Interact Club, chore and kitchen crews, athletics, our Campus Ambassador Program and Ladies of Chinquapin, a high school group that promotes women’s empowerment.

Chinquapin provides a rigorous and hands-on, college preparatory education in a supportive environment to students with high potential and the desire to attend college. Our emphasis on academic achievement and community service helps students develop a sense of ownership and strong ties to their community and creates heightened commitment to serving as an active, contributing citizen. Our rigorous college-prep curriculum is exclusively developed by our highly qualified teachers in science, mathematics, social studies, language arts, foreign language, and fine arts.

About 25 miles east of Houston lies a small school full of success stories. Since 1969 this rigorous, college preparatory school has pursued the sole mission of serving students from Houston’s underserved communities. Here, we are a family of co-ed students in grades 6-12 and the faculty that not only instruct them but help them to develop life skills.

Chinquapin is a unique school on a 60+ acre campus, formerly a chicken farm. Here, a Quid Pro Quo or Something for Something mentality teaches us to develop skills for success in college and beyond. Through a rigorous education, Chinquapin students learn lessons on character development, community, self-reliance, grit, and integrated academics that all foster success as students and responsible citizens in today’s world. Chinquapin stands firmly amongst the top college prep schools in Texas. Five decades of graduates say Chinquapin defined them, positioned them for success, and changed their life trajectory. Chinquapin alumni see themselves as participants rather than spectators in their world.

Chinquapin is a positive, uplifting, familial community working towards the same goal - college acceptance and graduation. Our day students are bussed in and out of Houston daily, while our 5-day boarding students are members of Living-Learning Communities in our on-campus dormitories. Through our wide range of elective and sporting activities, students learn to work together in a creative and respectful environment which helps them develop leadership skills that translate into the real world.

Chinquapin graduates are prepared to excel in college and beyond. Bob Moore, a former head of the English Department at St. John’s School in Houston and his wife, Maxine, founded to be a supportive, college preparatory community for Houston’s underserved students. The school relies on the work of its inhabitants to meet its basic needs. Each student has a daily job that develops a sense of usefulness and responsibility. Our students have a strong sense of who they are and what it takes to be a responsible and contributing citizen and member of the community. Today, Chinquapin’s largest class consists of 24 students with a 7 to 1 student to teacher ratio. At Chinquapin, every student belongs, each is successful, and all learn that what they do matters.