Several core beliefs drive everything we do at "I Have A Dream":  

• We will only achieve our promise as a nation when all children have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Currently only 50% of students in low-income communities graduate from high school and less than 15% graduate from college, representing a major loss of talent. Inadequate academic preparation, lack of information, and tuition costs present major roadblocks to college, creating a cycle of under-performance and low expectations that limits our children's futures;

• Preparing all students for college will enable us to fully capitalize on our collective talent. The expectations we hold of students will impact how far they will advance, and students who are held to rigorous standards have a higher rate of success. Making sure all children are prepared for college will ensure a high bar that will bring out the best not only in our students but in all those responsible for cultivating their success. Higher education is one of our nation's greatest engines for achieving the American dream and every person should have a chance at it;

• Nearly all students can achieve at a high level when given the opportunity. Rigorous standards combined with adequate support will lead to strong performance;

• An early start is needed to get our students on the pathway to college. We need to start early before the achievement gap becomes too wide. As students fall further behind, expectations slip further and it becomes increasingly difficult to marshal the needed resources to get our students on a college track;

• We need to address not just our students' academic needs but the broader context in which they're operating. We need to take a holistic approach that starts with the goal of college and addresses all the roadblocks along the way, to ensure our students are operating in an environment conducive to learning; and

• Enduring change will require that we empower students, their families, and the broader community in addition to fixing schools. We need students and their families to demand more out of the system and keep the bar high. As more active and knowledgeable consumers of the public school system, students and their families can better navigate school systems, extract value from school services, and champion for needed changes both individually and collectively.

 
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