Families Investing In Reading Excellence (FIRE 700)

The Uplift Foundation supports Families Investing In Reading Excellence (FIRE) 700 to improve the reading levels of African American students in Colorado Springs. The vision of FIRE is that all African American third graders in Colorado Springs schools will be ranked the highest performing ethnic group based on state reading tests. The goal is for every student to achieve proficiency.

To achieve the vision and goal, FIRE 700 has built a model program locally to demonstrate how all students can succeed. There are five key elements to the program: (1. Connecting with the families and maintaining an ongoing relationships; (2. Ensuring students and family members have access to computers with internet connection so they complete on-line training; (3. Establishing high expectations and building a sense of purpose and commitment to success; (4. Securing sufficient resources; and (5. Building a program that is effective, manageable, and scalable.

The Foundation is not only providing financial support to FIRE 500, but also marketing the concepts to other non-profits, assisting the Director with securing grants, recruiting other organizations to assist, and identifying business sponsors.