Almost 1,000 seniors at Uplift Education campuses in North Texas announced their college plans during an event Monday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Uplift has 45 public charter schools that work with kids from low-income or minority families.
At the event, cheerleaders led chants for their schools and mascots held dance-offs.
"This is one of the ways we celebrate our students before they leave our schools," Uplift Managing Director of College and Career Daniel Grey said. "No matter what journey they take after us, we want to make sure we're supporting them, loving on them, and giving them appreciation for what they're doing."
Grey said Decision Day can also show students the organization will support them through college and into their first job. He said Uplift has a career services team and an alumni team who work with students. He said 78% of graduates are the first in their family to attend college.
"We have a lot of students who are the first in their family to ever go to college, so we have an alumni team to help them figure out, 'Who should I be talking to or connecting with? Who should I be making sure I get in front of to make sure I'm successful when I go to school?'" Grey said.
"They are amazing. They go out of their way all the time just to help prepare students, staying long nights at the school," Uplift Wisdom Senior Caden McKinney said.
McKinney said he will attend McMurry University in Abilene this fall. He plans to study computer science and minor in business. He said Uplift schools urge students to work together to solve problems.
"We do a lot of collaborative projects, so we can all piggyback off each other just in case somebody else has an idea one of us may not have thought of," McKinney says.
This was the organization's 13th Senior Decision Day. Uplift said students have submitted more than 9,000 applications, received 4,000 acceptance letters, and received $124 million in scholarships and grants.
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