Member school system Uplift Education currently serves students in the greater Dallas area and was recently ranked the 14th best public high school in America – and highest ranking public school from Texas – by Newsweek magazine. Read their take on how they accomplished this achievement:
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Newsweek magazine recently ranked North Hills Preparatory, Uplift Education’s oldest campus and one of the original charters granted in Texas, as the 14th best public high school in America. This marks North Hills’ fifth consecutive appearance in the Top 20 – a showing that Newsweek itself was quick to point out was quite an accomplishment. Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way and that we keep in the forefront of our minds as we scale our model to educate 10,000 students in underserved communities by 2020.

1. College access and success for all students is the goal

This is the first and last measure of success in everything we do at Uplift. We take pride in our ability to be an incubator for innovation in education and embrace best practices to develop a model that advances student achievement for all students in meaningful ways.

2. Entrepreneurial innovation is critical to our human capital strategy

Having the best school leaders and teachers drives student achievement. We’ve invested considerably into recruiting and retaining the best through professional and leadership development efforts, “pay for performance” measures, Master Teacher career paths, and using predictive research to recruit teachers who will be successful under the Uplift model.

3. ALL students can be successful academically – regardless of their ZIP code

Uplift offers a proven model that emphasizes high expectations and rigor, based on our belief that ALL students can benefit from a rigorous curriculum including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes. In addition to North Hills, we have successfully replicated this model at our six urban campuses – Peak Prep (East Dallas), Hampton Prep (South Dallas), Summit International Prep (Arlington), Williams Prep (Northwest Dallas), Heights Prep (opening in West Dallas in August 2010), and Laureate Prep (opening in Downtown Dallas in August 2010). We set the bar high for our students and continually move expectations forward, using data to tailor student plans and key initiatives. We are committed to spending more time on task and being relational with our students and families. The result? Our students will continue to outperform their peers and have a passionate desire to succeed in college.

4. If college is the end goal, it has to be the focus from day one

The Uplift culture stresses that every student will go to college. By providing a K-12 continuum, we’re able to ensure rigor and college readiness from the first day a student comes into one of our kindergarten classrooms. Participation in our Road to College program gives all students access to college field experiences, test prep, and help applying to schools and scholarships. Because we work with many first generation college-going students, we work closely with both students and their parents, ensuring they believe in their ability to enter and succeed in a college environment.

– Yasmin Bhatia, Uplift Education CEO

Yasmin joined Uplift Education in 2009 after having been a consultant at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, for 9 years.  While at McKinsey, Yasmin served the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the City of Dallas, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. 

Yasmin holds an undergraduate degree in Finance and Business Honors from the University of Texas in Austin and a MBA from Stanford University.  She and her husband reside in Dallas with their daughter Isabel and son Ian.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 3:19 pm and is filed under Voices and Victories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.