The University of Chicago Charter School is a neighborhood charter school on the South Side of Chicago, operated by the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute. Comprised of four campuses spanning all grades from early childhood through high school, UChicago Charter is a PreK to 12 superhighway that empowers students to RISE to excellence at every level, cultivating critical thinkers and leaders for success in college and in life. UChicago Charter provides students with rigorous instruction and comprehensive academic and social supports to accelerate learning, develop college readiness, and cultivate self-responsibility and leadership. Our campuses provide extensive instructional time, including a longer academic day and an extended day, week and year. We take a research-based approach to instruction, engaging students in ambitious intellectual work. Students undertake research projects in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, beginning in elementary school and culminating with thesis projects in the senior year. Each campus envelopes students in a culture of high academic achievement, with explicit attention to issues of race, class, culture, and gender that affect urban schooling.