HOUSTON – A local school is getting the tools it needs to make sure its students are successful, thanks to a grant from NBC.
Jack Yates High School has some very famous alumni, including actress Phylicia Rashad, and who knows who could be next. The school's theater program recently received a big shot in the arm. The theater program serves dozens of students who said it's life-changing.
"I joined the theater arts in the seventh grade but when I came to Yates -- It's a whole other ballgame," said senior student Zytiek Harrison.
Harrison is one of dozens of students who have found a home on the school's stage.
"You get to put everything that's troubling you -- everything at home -- on this stage and take on a persona that's not your own," he said.
"I can sit back. I don't have to watch my back. I can rely on others," senior student Christian Morris said.
"It changed my life for the better. Before I started theater, I was an introvert. I didn't really speak," said senior student Gabrielle Braziel.
For years, because of the budget, students had to work with the limited resources the school had. The department had limited costumes, props and sets that were decades old.
The students put together a video application for a $10,000 grant from NBC. The grant was awarded to 50 schools, including Yates High School. The program, called Recognizing and Inspiring Student Expression, or R.I.S.E., America, was inspired by the network’s upcoming drama “Rise” about a high school theater department and its effects on a small town. The program is awarding a half-million dollars to high school theater programs across the country.
Schools had to have an existing theater program that endured budget cuts. Students had to send in a video about why their program deserved the grant. The principal of each school had to send a letter of endorsement. Christian Morris, a senior at Yates, led the effort to put together the video. When his school won, the students were ecstatic.
“At first, I didn’t believe it,” Morris said.
“One of my dreams was to always take kids to New York. With this grant, that is possible,” said Yates’ theater arts instructor Margo Hickman. "The money represents hope, options."
For 17-year-old Jason Morris, also a senior, the grant is life-changing.
"It shows that no matter how hard you work, what you've been through, there's always somebody watching out for you and your school,” Morris said.