Uplift Education Celebrates the Achievements of Diploma Programme Seniors from 10 IB® Continuum World Schools

    DALLAS, TX, June 11, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Uplift Education celebrates its first cohort of graduates from the intensive and highly regarded, IB Diploma Programme, graduating classes are from our 10 International Baccalaureate (IB®) Continuum World Schools. This is a program which only 80,000 high school graduates world-wide complete each year. Uplift is one of the largest consortiums of IB® Continuum World Schools in the world. Uplift offers the IB® continuum, and the rigors of the Diploma Programme, to all students, regardless of status, who are interested in this achievement. Uplift has focused on instructional strategy and delivery to support students in achieving the required competencies of the Diploma Programme classes.

The Diploma Programme is considered an excellent level of academic attainment. It also helps gain admission to the world's elite universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Stanford, but it is also highly regarded at public and private postsecondary colleges and universities all over the United States. "Success in an IB program correlates well with success at Harvard. We are always pleased to see the credentials of the IB Diploma programme on the transcript. "If a student has to choose, choose the diploma over protecting the GPA." –Marilyn McGrath Lewis, Assistant Dean of Admissions at Harvard University. Three of our high school students received prestigious scholarships for their performance and tenacity in this rigorous program! We wish to celebrate publicly:

• Omar Camacho (Uplift Grand Preparatory) – Lehigh University
• Aamilah Chowdhury (Uplift Summit International Preparatory) – Johns Hopkins University
• Janet Suarez (Uplift Summit International Preparatory) – Swarthmore College

We are also happy to announce our community has won the Texas IB® Schools Roundtable Grant to further support our community's IB® continuum expertise. We celebrate that this award is demonstrative of the way the IB® curriculum challenges students not only to become academically competent but also to become their "best self." We wish to celebrate the program leaders:

• Uplift Education Programme Continuum Academy (All)—Elizabeth Sutton, Sophia Myers, Brian Hills, & Remy Washington

Each Uplift school is either an authorized International Baccalaureate® World School or on track to become authorized, and all high schools offer the prestigious IB® Diploma Programme. The programme is an academically challenging and balanced educational framework presented to students in the 11th and 12th grade that prepares them to succeed in postsecondary education and life beyond by developing students to have an excellent breadth and depth of knowledge as well as encouraging students to flourish physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically.

Upon entry to the Diploma Programme, students select one of two routes: the "full diploma" route or the "course" route. Both routes lead a student through exceptionally rigorous developmental work and allow students the opportunity to earn post-secondary credits. Full Diploma students study the programme's six subject groups over two years and complete three additional requirements: the Theory of Knowledge, the extended essay, and participation in Creativity, Activity and Service tasks outside of the classroom. The six subject groups include language and literature; language acquisition; individuals and societies; sciences; mathematics; and the arts. Course Candidates select specific courses of interest and may participate in parts of the core classes, but do not receive the full diploma.

All candidates must pass oral and written exams at the end of their Diploma Programme courses, pass work in these courses which includes internal and external assessments, and demonstrate academic stamina and independent tenacity. Students accomplish all of this while living the life of a high school student, participating in school clubs, sports, jobs, and other activities as well as balancing their social lives. Though all graduating students earn a Texas High School Diploma, the IB® Diploma Programme allows students to earn the additional IB® Diploma, which has gained respect and recognition as an academic admission credential at all post-secondary research institutions around the world.

"The amount of work and dedication required to be successful in this programme is unlike that of any other high school program," said Uplift CEO Yasmin Bhatia, "and each student rose to the occasion — becoming remarkable thinkers who actively seek opportunities for independent learning and using their skills to accomplish the incredible. It has been a pleasure watching our students achieve such success, and it is now a bittersweet moment for all of us here at Uplift to bid them farewell as they move on to the next stage of the education journey. They have achieved much over the years, not only in their academic success but also in their character developed while at Uplift. Congratulations are due not only to our students, but also to our dedicated, world-leading teaching staff who have helped contribute to these tremendous results."

Uplift is proud that we have spent the last three years preparing our school community for this moment. Our teachers and leaders have spent years preparing to use instruction and alignment to support vulnerable students in executing the IB® diploma programme. This was our first assessment cohort as a network of 10 continuum IB® World Schools. The students achieved quite a lot in the endeavor regardless of score outcome. The "DP" courses are very rigorous in that all the activities and investigations model what practitioners in these disciplines do in academia and in the work world.

About the International Baccalaureate

In 2018, the International Baccalaureate (IB) celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Pioneering a movement of international education in 1968, the non-profit foundation now offers high quality and challenging educational programmes to students aged 3-19 years old. Through a unique curriculum with high academic standards, we champion critical thinking and flexibility for learning by crossing disciplinary, cultural and national boundaries. Currently, more than 1,4 million IB students attend 4,896 schools in 153 countries. To learn more, please visit www.ibo.org.

Uplift Education

Uplift Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of teachers, families, and, most importantly, students. With a network of 43 college preparatory, public charter schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Uplift offers students of any background the powerful chance to study within a multidisciplinary curriculum and prepare for the college career they deserve. Uplift is the largest International Baccalaureate district in Texas and the #2 IB district in the nation because of the number of holistic extracurricular and educational programs. The incredible educators in the Uplift network guide and teach nearly 20,000 students in Pre-K- 12th grades, with the majority being low-income and minority students who will be the first in their family to attend college. For more information Uplift's mission and their blind lottery selection system, visit uplifteducation.org or facebook.com/uplifteducation.

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