Achievement First

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Closing the achievement gap is the civil rights issue of our time. From the moment students arrive at Achievement First schools, they are held to high expectations built around the belief that they can and will achieve academic success.

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All Achievement First students know they can and will go to college.

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The culture at our schools is one of rigor and joy—you can sense the urgency and energy when you enter an Achievement First school. Our lessons are geared to engage students and foster a lifelong love of learning.

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Achievement First schools emphasize the REACH values—Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship and Hard Work.

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At Achievement First, we believe all children can succeed when presented with the right educational opportunities. Across the Achievement First network, our students—low-income, African-American and Latino students—are outpacing their state and district peers.

For the third consecutive year in as many graduating classes, 100 percent of seniors have gained acceptance to four-year colleges and universities.

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We work hard every day to close the achievement gap and deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all children, regardless of race, economic status or zip code. Our first priority is to provide a truly outstanding, gap-closing education to our thousands of students.

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We believe a great education can level the playing field, break the cycle of poverty and create a brighter future for all of us.

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Achievement First is proud to serve special education students, English Language Learners, talented and gifted students, and all other students accepted through our blind lotteries. We don’t have admission requirements or interviews, and there are no admission or tuition fees.

Students, teachers and parents work as a team to achieve success.

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At Achievement First, we help individual students, entire schools and partner districts close the achievement gap. We are committed to engaging volunteer tutors, increasing public awareness, and advocating for public policies that would support education reform and the expansion of high-quality school choices.

We host hundreds of visitors—including community members, elected officials and educators—in our schools each year.

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People matter mightily at Achievement First. We spare no effort to recruit the best teachers, school leaders, subject-area and functional experts, and operations specialists from around the country, provide them with outstanding professional development, and create opportunities that will inspire and support them in their careers.

We develop, recognize and reward teachers through constant professional development and the Teacher Career Pathway.

Achievement First Donors

We are profoundly grateful and appreciative of the support displayed by our many benefactors. Their gifts sustain and inspire our aspiring students and dedicated teachers. Meet some of our wonderful supporters and learn about their commitment to the Achievement First mission, students and schools.

: The Foundation is a supporter of Amistad Academy’s Encore! extracurricular program.

Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

William W. Ginsberg, president and CEO

"As the state with the largest achievement gap in the nation, Connecticut has historically failed to provide its urban students with the quality educational opportunities they need and deserve, and we are paying the price for this failure economically and socially. As a community foundation with more than 80 years of service in New Haven, we have always been dedicated to investing in programs with a proven track record of success. This is why we have proudly supported Achievement First since 2003. They are successfully closing the achievement gap for thousands of New Haven students and inspiring city- and state-wide public education reform." –William W. Ginsberg

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven was established in 1928 and is among the oldest and largest community foundations in the United States and is the largest grant maker in a region of twenty towns located in the heart of central Connecticut. The mission of the Foundation is to create positive and sustainable change in Connecticut's Greater New Haven region by increasing the amount of and enhancing the impact of community philanthropy. Through over 700 charitable funds established by individuals, families and non-profit and for-profit businesses, the Foundation distributes approximately $14 million annually in grants to non-profit organizations in Greater New Haven.

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has generously supported Achievement First’s New Haven academies since 2003. Through grants for our New Haven grade level expansion, the Amistad Academy Alumni Program and the Amistad Academy Encore! extracurricular program, the Foundation has helped provide students with the opportunities and resources they need to climb the mountain to college.

: Photo courtesy of Harold Shapiro.

NewAlliance Foundation

Kim Healey, executive director
Maryann Ott, associate director

"As the regional, state, national and global markets become more competitive, great schools like Amistad Academy and Elm City College Preparatory help ensure that our urban students are prepared to compete with the top students from the state, nation and world." –Kim Healey

The NewAlliance Foundation, created by NewAlliance Bank in 2004, provides grants to non-profit organizations in communities served by the Bank in support of the arts, community development, health and human services, and youth and education. Through its grants, the Foundation seeks to enhance the economic vitality and to improve the quality of life for community residents.

NewAlliance Bank served as Amistad Academy's first philanthropic leader and supporter when the school opened in 1999 and has remained a generous supporter of Achievement First's New Haven academies over the last decade. The NewAlliance Bank and NewAlliance Foundation’s history of support has been critically important to our success in New Haven, helping to foster achievement gap-closing student performance gains and inspiring others to support urban public education reform in Connecticut.