Prime Prep Academy

Last updated
Prime Prep Academy
Location
Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas, Oak Cliff
,
Texas

United States
Information
Type Private
Opened2012
Grades K-12
Gender Co-educational
Enrollment300
Color(s)Black, red, and white
   
Athletics conferenceUniversity Interscholastic League
Team nameCardinals

Prime Prep Academy was a grouping of charter schools in Texas cofounded in 2012 by Deion Sanders, a former American football and baseball player (the school's name is derived from his "Prime Time" moniker), who has also coached at the schools. [1] [2] It had campuses in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Oak Cliff.

Contents

History

Initial enrollment was more than 1,100 students. [3] Prime Prep had campuses in Oak Cliff, Dallas and Fort Worth. [4] The school was established with the goal of giving every child a free laptop supported by the VSCHOOLZ program. [4] In January 2014, Superintendent Ron Price turned over documents to the Tarrant County District Attorney's office alleging that hundreds of laptops had been stolen from Prime Prep. He later gave the information to the FBI. The school was closed January 30, 2015, due to financial insolvency. [5]

Journalist Phil Mushnick said of Prime Prep Academy: “After 2½ years, the school closed amidst an avalanche of unpaid administrators, faculty contractors, dilapidated buildings, allegedly misspent public funding and broken promises to black parents and hundreds of their children, mostly with an eye on college athletic scholarships.” [6]

Prime Prep athletics had an initial setback in its first year when the program was unable to field an eligible football team based on the rules of the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which governs interscholastic activities of public schools (including charter schools) in Texas. [7] It had recruited significant portions of existing championship teams [8] and "league hopping" athletes. [9] After the issues were worked out, the school had problems finding opponents for their football team. [10] Ultimately Prime Prep would withdraw from the UIL and participate as an independent program.

The school was accused of racism and influence peddling. [11] [12] In December 2013, Sanders pressured cofounder D.L. Wallace, a local minister, out of the leadership of the schools [13] over accusations of fraud [14] [15] and assault. [16] [17] [18] Shortly afterwards Sanders was fired from his head coach position, [1] [19] sparking an attempt by the school board to oust the superintendent who had fired Sanders. [20] The school then received further negative press for violations of the state's board meeting laws, [21] theft, [22] eviction, [23] [24] and staff members failing to follow established policies. [15] The school was featured in local news coverage again in 2014 for failing to hold open meetings [25] and ranked as the lowest performing elementary school in North Texas as judged by Children at Risk. [26]

In July 2014, it was announced that the Texas Education Agency was going to revoke the school's charter for inconsistencies with the National School Lunch Program and fiscal mismanagement to which the school responded that they were going to appeal the decision. In October 2014, the school stopped forwarding paycheck withholdings to the IRS, which had been averaging $25,000 to $28,000 per month. The IRS would later file a tax lien of $56,625. [27] [28]

In 2012, Prime Prep served as a backdrop for a reality TV series starring Sanders titled Deion's Family Playbook . [29] [30]

Since 2013, Prime Prep and its nonprofit sponsor, Uplift Fort Worth, have been the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging wrongdoing in the National School Lunch Program. As of March 24, 2018, the case was still pending.

The concept was birthed in 2009 as an elite NFL Scouting Combine training facility boasting the name Prime U, and its program was aired on NFL Network for two seasons. Notable members of the original Prime U were Sanders, Kevin Mathis, Omar Stoutmire, Duke Rousse, and Lucas Chizzonite.

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deion Sanders</span> American football coach and former player (born 1967)

Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football team. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made one World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Quinn College</span> Historically black Methodist college in Dallas, Texas

Paul Quinn College (PQC) is a private historically black Methodist college in Dallas, Texas. The college is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). It is the oldest historically black college west of the Mississippi River and the nation's first urban work college.

Robert Elliott Wilonsky is an American journalist, and the former host of Higher Definition, an interview program on the cable television network HDNet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Madeleine (restaurant chain)</span> Restaurant chain in the United States

La Madeleine de Corps, Inc., operating as La Madeleine, is a restaurant chain of 86 locations in the U.S. states of Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Virginia. Its headquarters is in Dallas, Texas.

Greg "Greggo" Williams is an American former radio personality. Williams was most recently co-host of the sports talk program RAGE with Richie Witt. It aired at 2pm-7pm on KRLD-FM, "The Fan" 105.3, in Dallas, Texas. Williams first became popular as 'The Hammer', Mike Rhyner's partner on KTCK's top-rated The Hardline drivetime show, but his tenure there ended abruptly in 2008 after 13 years on the air.

The Backsliders is a rock and roll band from Dallas, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercantile Continental Building</span> Residential in Texas, United States

The Mercantile Continental Building is located at 1810 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is a contributing structure at the edge of the Government District and adjacent to Main Street Garden Park. The building was built and owned by Mercantile National Bank and connected to their complex by an underground walkway.

Little Mexico is a former neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, encompassing the area bordered by Maple Avenue, McKinney Avenue and the MKT Railroad. Formerly a Polish Jewish neighborhood, it was settled by a wave of Mexican immigrants beginning about 1910, and was recognized as Little Mexico by 1919, becoming a center of a Mexican-American community life in the city that lasted into the early 1980s, with a peak of population in the 1960s. Pike Park and a few structures are the remnants of the historic neighborhood, redeveloped as Uptown, including the Arts and West End Districts.

Honors Academy Charter School District was a group of state charter schools with its administrative offices in Farmers Branch, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Randel (Randy) Hershel Skinner is a political, judicial and criminal justice consultant.

The Dunham and Miller Show is a morning drive-time radio show on KTCK The Ticket, broadcast in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show, active since 1994, airs from 5:30 am to 10:00 am on weekday mornings. The Dunham and Miller Show features George Dunham and Craig Miller as the two primary sports hosts, along with Gordon Keith, who adds cultural and comedic commentary. The three hosts are collectively referred to as the Musers, and two of them have been called comic geniuses by Hector Saldana of the San Antonio Express-News. The show has been nominated for the prestigious Marconi Award on seven separate occasions. This seventh time they won the Marconi for Major Market Personality's of the Year 2021. They also have received the Dallas Observer's Best Local Sports Radio Show award for 2011.

Mark Birnbaum is an American producer, director and editor, who has made a number of documentaries. Birnbaum began making films while serving in the United States Army as a photographer and filmmaker in Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trees Dallas</span> Live music venue in Dallas, Texas, US

Trees is an American live music venue opened in 1990 in the Deep Ellum district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The venue has hosted international touring musical acts such as Nirvana, Snoop Dogg, The Flaming Lips, Death Grips, Daughter, The Wailers, Nick Jonas, and Run the Jewels. It has received numerous accolades from the Dallas Observer.

Dallas–Fort Worth is the most populous metropolitan area of Texas, and the Southern United States. Having 7,637,387 residents at the 2020 U.S. census, the metropolitan statistical area has experienced positive growth trends since the former Dallas and Fort Worth metropolitan areas conurbated into the Metroplex. By the 2022 census estimates, its population grew to 7,943,685.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irma Carrillo Ramirez</span> American judge (born 1964)

Irma Carrillo Ramirez is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas from 2002 to 2023. She is a former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Factory in Deep Ellum</span> Live music venue in Dallas

The Factory in Deep Ellum, formerly the Bomb Factory, is an American music venue and event space located in the Deep Ellum district of downtown Dallas, Texas. It originally operated from 1993 to 1997 and was reopened in March 2015 under new management. Since its reopening, the venue has hosted acts including Erykah Badu, Sturgill Simpson, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Disclosure, Don Henley of the Eagles, Future, D'Angelo, Brand New, Hardwell, Chvrches, Kraftwerk, Ludacris and Hatsune Miku.

Susan Hawk is an American attorney. She was the Dallas County District Attorney, elected as a Republican in 2014, until her resignation on October 1, 2016. Her opponent was Democrat Craig Watkins. She is the first female district attorney elected in Dallas. She was previously a state criminal district judge for nine years.

The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex has 1.2 million African-Americans, the 2nd-largest metro population of African-Americans in Texas.

KIPP Texas Public Schools, is the branch of the KIPP charter school network in the U.S. state of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elijah Thomas</span> American basketball player (born 1996)

Elijah Reshard Thomas is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies and Clemson Tigers.

References

  1. 1 2 Mosier, Jeff (2013-12-01). "Deion Sanders' Prime Prep Academy draws scrutiny from Texas Education Agency | Dallas Morning News". Dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  2. ↑ "Deion Sanders Fired By His Own School, Again". ThePostGame. 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. ↑ Minora, Leslie (2012-05-09). "Deion Sanders' Prime Prep Academy Has Registered 1,100 Students and Counting | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  4. 1 2 Minora, Leslie (2012-02-22). "And So It Begins As Deion Sanders Rallies Support for His "Prime Prep" Charter Schools | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  5. ↑ Mosier, Jeff (2015-02-08). "Prime Prep Academy troubles continue after closing". Dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
  6. ↑ "Every fan needs laugh-track device to deal with sports media madness". 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  7. ↑ Nicholson, Eric (2012-08-20). "Deion's Prime Prep Academy Can't Field an Eligible Football Team. Can it Offer a Decent Education? | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  8. ↑ Nicholson, Eric (2012-08-22). "Prime Prep Steals Coach, Basketball Team From State Champ Arlington Grace Prep | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  9. ↑ Tone, Joe (2013-07-03). "Deion Sanders' Prime Prep Academy Has a New League, and Apparently a New Star Athlete | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  10. ↑ Nicholson, Eric (2012-09-18). "Deion Sanders Literally Begs Oklahoma to Play Football Against Prime Prep | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  11. ↑ Nicholson, Eric (2012-11-14). "Deion Sanders Defends Prime Prep By Promising Lawsuit, Calling Brett Shipp an "African American Killer" | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  12. ↑ Hargrove, Brantley (2013-03-12). "Months After Prime Prep Hired Former State Board of Education Member, A Lawmaker Aims to Shut the Revolving Door | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  13. ↑ Nicholson, Eric (2013-11-21). "Prime Prep Academy's Co-Founder Resigned Today Under Pressure from Deion Sanders | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  14. ↑ Mosier, Jeff (2014-01-24). "Prime Prep failed to conduct background checks on 17, including Deion Sanders | Dallas Morning News". Dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  15. 1 2 Leslie Minora (2012-05-03). "Deion Sanders' Charter School and the Making of a Prime Time Scam". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  16. ↑ Silverstein, Amy (2014-01-30). "Deion Sanders Demanded a Raise, Threatened to Break Prime Prep CEO's Neck (Audio NSFW) | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  17. ↑ Silverstein, Amy (2013-12-23). "Deion Sanders' Former Prime Prep Partner Writes Letter Accusing Sanders of Trying to Choke Him | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  18. ↑ "School and Sanders Part Ways". The New York Times. 12 October 2013.
  19. ↑ "Pitbull's school: star promotes a radical idea for at-risk kids". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  20. ↑ Silverstein, Amy (2013-12-09). "Prime Prep Board Tries, Fails to Fire School Superintendent Who Fired Deion Sanders | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  21. ↑ Silverstein, Amy (2014-01-21). "Prime Prep Board Having a Difficult Time Figuring Out How To Schedule Meetings | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  22. ↑ "Prime Prep Academy reports missing computers to Tarrant County DA | Dallas Morning News". Thescoopblog.dallasnews.com. 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  23. ↑ Campbell, Elizabeth (2014-04-02). "Prime Prep sues after being evicted from Fort Worth church building | Fort Worth | News". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  24. ↑ BRETT SHIPP (2014-03-28). "Fort Worth Prime Prep Academy students evicted over rent fight | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth". Wfaa.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  25. ↑ "Prime Prep Academy board meeting ends with shouting match | Dallas Morning News". Thescoopblog.dallasnews.com. 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  26. ↑ Nicholson, Eric. "Deion Sanders' Prime Prep Is the Worst Elementary School In North Texas, Say Data | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  27. ↑ Powell, Michael (August 9, 2014). "A Star-Powered School Sputters" – via NYTimes.com.
  28. ↑ "Texas Has Revoked the Charter of Prime Prep, the Public School Founded by Deion Sanders". Dallas Observer Blogs. Archived from the original on 2015-01-03.
  29. ↑ "OWN orders more of Deion Sanders' reality show". Daytona Times. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  30. ↑ "Deion Sanders - I'm Doing a Reality Show with Kids". TMZ.com. 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.