Education is the civil rights issue of our time. Far too many low income Black and Latinx scholars are attending failing schools and/or achieving at levels far below their white counterparts. Through the case study of Democracy Prep Public Schools (DPPS), we will learn how we can be the final leg of this movement. At DPPS, we have an 84% college persistence rate and 48% college completion rate (in 4 years). We expect to exceed the college completion rate for the wealthiest Americans within the next 5 years. But, what is the key ingredient that gets us there? Rigorous academics! This session will help explain this and give you some direction on how to inspire your staff to see rigor as social justice in their daily work.