Uplift Education (Uplift) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates a network of 36 high-performing, tuition-free, public charter schools serving 16,000 students in under-served areas across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. We are a reform-minded organization that has attracted funding from local and national donors such as the Communities Foundation of Texas and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Uplift's mission is to create and sustain public schools of excellence that empower students to reach their highest potential and inspire a lifelong love of learning, achievement, service, and responsible citizenship. Each school provides free college preparatory education in a community that has limited high quality public education options. Our goal is to completely CLOSE the achievement gap between students, regardless of their ethnic or socio-economic background, while ensuring that 100% of our students graduate and enroll in college. Commit to Community: Our community approach means that we actively reach out to local leaders and invite them to help us improve education in their communities by serving on our local boards and being advocates for our mission in their local neighborhoods. Commit to Change: By nurturing academic performance and civic responsibility from kindergarten through high school, we do more than expand our studentsÕ horizons. We also change peopleÕs perceptions of what is possible in public education.