The mission of University Prep Public Schools (UPPS) is to prepare students for success in high school, college, leadership, and life. Ensuring growth in all these areas is our professional commitment and privilege. University Prep achieves this mission by creating small, college-preparatory learning communities where all stakeholders—administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community—actively engage in the education process. We create a student-centered environment that unifies the efforts of family, community, and school to foster life-long learning, cross-cultural competency, social responsibility, and academic excellence. UP High, a grade 9-12 school, was founded in 2008 and is the highest performing high school in District 7, with an average four-year graduation rate of 98% and a 100% college-acceptance rate. Teachers stay at the school for long tenures—the average teacher tenure at the high school is over six years. In 2016, UPrep High was named a National Blue Ribbon School. In 2019, UP Middle will open to serve students in grades 5 through 8. UP Middle is a Core Knowledge school that is designed around a guaranteed, coherent, and cumulative curriculum; effective and integrated reading practices that help students develop as readers; and an open door ethos that encourages teachers to collaborate and pull together.