All of our Foundation's efforts are based on founder Allen Mebane’s conviction:

1. That to achieve our nation’s great potential, we must ensure that its young people receive top-tier educations.
2. That educational opportunity and excellence must take root in the early grades, that reading skills are the foundation of all education, and that the opportunity for success in school, the workplace and life is dramatically enhanced for children who can read at or above grade level by the end of the 3rd grade.
3. That EVERY CHILD, regardless of race or socio-economic background, should have the opportunity to receive a top-tier education that will throw doors wide open to extraordinary career opportunities and more fulfilling, successful lives.

From his convictions, we have established the following guiding principles to become a catalyst for innovation and excellence in education:

• The Foundation will use its assets to catalyze collaborations and partnerships among educational professionals (public and private), business leaders, elected officials, and the community at large focused on ensuring that all children have the opportunity to reach their highest potential in school, in career, and in life.
• The Foundation will encourage bold innovation, always seeking collaborations and partnership with enormous potential for and commitment to finding creative solutions by creating new, outside-the-box paradigms that enhance educational opportunities for all students.

The Foundation – as a catalyst for educational innovation and improvement, not a permanent source of funding – will require its education, business, government, and community partners to develop models with long-term, independent sustainability.