STRIVE Prep is a community of public charter schools that challenges each of our scholars  to learn to change their worlds. Founded on the belief that every child deserves a high-quality education right where they live, STRIVE-  Prep serves 3,800 students in 10 schools across Denver.

In 2006, Chris Gibbons, founder and CEO of STRIVE – Prep, opened the first STRIVE – Prep school with the goal of closing historic achievement gaps in Denver. Over a decade later, Chris’ vision continues to guide our schools. Whether students join us in elementary, middle or high school, we welcome every child to achieve a bright future, regardless of their background or previous academic achievement.

As an organization, STRIVE Prep centers itself around three core beliefs: Achievement, Justice and Perseverance. It is our belief in Justice which anchors our work, and our responsibility, to disrupt systems of oppression in our schools. It is imperative to our students and community that this work is meaningful and has an impact on broader societal changes.

We’ve taken some important steps over the past several years in our network, but also recognize that we have a great deal of work to do to fully align our practices with our core beliefs. As a network, we have committed to the following actions:

• Adopted the network commitment, “I commit to disrupt inequity, bias, and systems of oppression,” to raise our collective accountability and acknowledge that we have much work to do to make this statement true.
• Convened the IDEAS Advisory Council (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accountability, and Support), a team of STRIVE Prep staff representing each campus and the central office.
• Led a network-wide book study for the past two years (Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race, and DiAngelo, White Fragility).
• Conducted culture audits in schools focused on equity and inclusion.