Our Mission & Story

Our Mission & Story

Why University Prep?

University Prep’s three elementary schools in Northeast Denver and Commerce City are tuition free public charter schools with a simple and clear mission – prepare every child for a four-year college degree and a life of opportunity.

At University Prep (U Prep) we dream big with our children and families. We call our students scholars because we believe that’s what they are, and we want them to believe it too. We’re not just preparing our children for college, we’re preparing them to pursue whatever dreams they may have.

In 2008, Founder & Executive Director, David Singer was a high school math teacher at the historic Manual High School in northeast Denver. After years of teaching high school, he became deeply frustrated with the reality in front of him – far too many young people entering 9th grade significantly below grade level and with limited visions for their futures. In researching the elementary pipeline, Singer discovered what families across the community already knew – children were falling behind very early in their K – 12, education journey.

The solution? Work alongside families and the larger community to create something different – a school that would genuinely place all children on a path to limitless opportunities. After multiple years of planning and incredible efforts from a founding board, community leaders, parents and educators, U Prep opened its first, “college starts in kindergarten” school at 24th and Arapahoe St. in August of 2011. Launching with only 100 kindergarten and 1st grade scholars in that inaugural year, U Prep has since grown into three campuses, two in Northeast Denver (Arapahoe St. and Steele St.) and one in core Commerce City.

Today, there are more than 650 children served annually in grades PreK – 5th across the U Prep network, which will grow to over 1,000 once the newest campus (Commerce City) grows to its full scale. And, more than 800 alumni have continued from the networks’ elementary campuses.

Our Approach – we’re doing things differently

Achieving big dreams takes hard work and a team effort. Our approach to education and the genuine partnership we build with our families means the possibilities for U Prep scholars are unlimited.

Academics

Academic excellence for every child sits at the center of our schools. U Prep offers all scholars challenging, college prep content, along with the support and encouragement necessary to master it. We believe every child will achieve greatness when they are equally challenged, supported, and loved.

Character

A focus on growing good students and good people is at the heart of our mission. U Prep knows that to succeed in life, scholars must have a strong and confident character. Our schools go beyond a foundation of academic skills and knowledge with the development of our PREP values – Pride, Responsibility, Enthusiasm, and Perseverance.

Vision

You can only dream as far as you can see – we make sure all of our students are exposed to what’s truly possible. All children deserve to see the limitless opportunities that live outside of their classrooms. Within our PreK – 5 experience, our scholars visit a range of post secondary institutions and career pathways that will become their reality.

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