Located in the center of Houston's Third Ward, Yellowstone Academy was formed in July 2001 with the purpose of establishing a high quality faith-based private school for students living in extreme poverty. For the 2010-2011 school year, Yellowstone Academy will enroll 320 students, and offer prekindergarten, starting when a child is three years old, through the seventh grade, with plans to expand to eighth grade the following year. The mission of Yellowstone Academy has inspired many Bracewell attorneys to volunteer their time and resources to the school. Recently, the firm was a sponsor for the Yellowstone Academy Golf Tournament, an event the firm has supported every year since its inception.

At a school where the median household income is $8,088, Yellowstone Academy aims to address the crisis of inner cities by serving as a platform that provides educational, social, spiritual, and practical resources. The hope is that this support will allow students to break the cycle that defines illegitimacy, illiteracy and dependency. The school teaches that integrity, self-reliance, persistence, respect for others, deferred gratification, and resourcefulness must form the basis for all interactions and are the tools with which Yellowstone students will become productive members of society.

Yellowstone Academy has been successful in providing opportunities and keeping at-risk children engaged in education. In response to a question regarding the school's retention rate, Bracewell Partner and Yellowstone Board Member Clark Thompson notes "[the school doesn't] allow anyone to fail, [the teachers and volunteers] just spend more time with them."

Bracewell attorneys have given their time to Yellowstone Academy in a variety of capacities. The firm provides pro bono legal work for Yellowstone, serving as an unofficial general counsel and giving advice on various school contracts as well as real estate and insurance matters. Attorneys also help by participating in the Shepherd program, where they are both a mentor and a friend to a student. Associate Billy Murphy even leads a Boy Scout group comprised of students from Yellowstone Academy.

When asked about his hopes for the students at the school, Mr.Thompson says "I can't wait for the day when our first Yellowstone Academy student graduates from law school. That is the sort of success we are hoping to foster through providing a stable educational environment for these youth starting at such a young age."