Finally, I want to congratulate the students, faculty and administration of the new Uplift School in Uptown, formerly known as Joan Arai. As many of you may know, Uplift is now educating children from the 6th grade to 10th grade with plans to offer a full high school curriculum and experience by 2008. In just their first year of operation, Uplift’s seventh and eighth grade students scored higher than any other open enrollment school in the city on last year’s standardized test—and they scored as high or higher than nearly half of the exclusive enrollment schools in the city. This new renaissance school clearly shows what a united community can accomplish if given an opportunity.

Once again, I cannot thank you enough and I look forward to talking with everyone over the next three months as we engage in this campaign.