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.

Across Achievement First In Connecticut In New York

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 Network Support

Achievement First's Network Support team works tirelessly to ensure that our teachers and students can dedicate all of their time to what is most important—teaching and learning. Meet some of the Network Support team members who work hard every day to support and encourage the important work being done in our schools.

Elana Karopkin

Regional Superintendent

Undergraduate Degree: B.A. from Bryn Mawr College
Graduate Degree: M.A. from New York University

As a regional superintendent for Achievement First, my most important responsibility is supporting our amazing principals so that their schools are as successful as possible. I am so lucky to work for Achievement First where I have a portfolio of only three schools. Most people in other organizations who have positions similar to mine work with 20 or more schools. The type of scale obviously limits the type of support you can provide. I get to work in schools almost every single day—side-by-side with principals in their daily work of coaching teachers, meeting with parents and teaching our incredible students. It’s a very exciting time for Achievement First, especially as we prepare to graduate our first class to college ever!

Best job: Immediately before joining Achievement First, I was the founding principal of the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, a small, unscreened public school in Brooklyn, NY. Being the founding principal of a school was an extraordinary experience. I got to watch teachers create rigorous and engaging curriculum and deliver top-quality instruction as we prepared our students for college. The school now has two graduating classes where 100 percent of the students applied to and were accepted to college. Graduates have received millions of dollars in grants and scholarships and are at colleges across the country. I am so proud of all of them!

Best thing about working at Achievement First: I love the culture of Achievement First. Being nice really matters here. Being humble and hungry to learn really matters here as well. I love being surrounded by so many smart, passionate and dedicated people who are relentless about asking themselves how they can create the best possible schools for our students.

Proudest accomplishment: My proudest accomplishment was graduation day for the Class of 2008 from the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice.

Childhood career ambition: A lawyer. I founded a school for law and justice so I got sort of close. After I served on a jury, I knew that practicing law would get me involved too late in the game in the lives of young people. I decided to pursue teaching and knew immediately that education was a calling for me.

Special talents: I can make a mean lasagna that lasts all week if you don’t mind eating the same thing for lunch and dinner every day.

Favorites:

Food: New Haven pizza—who knew? Thanks, Achievement First!
Movie: So many! I tend to like anything with Clint Eastwood as an actor or a director.
Book: Most recently, Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. I also try to stay up-to-date with my New Yorkers. It’s a losing battle.
TV Show: I am a closet reality show addict. I love Mad Men and The Wire, but my secret passions are American Idol and Project Runway.
Holiday: Thanksgiving—what else? How can you not love a holiday entirely built around eating?
Teacher: My statistics teacher, Mr. Schneider. He really made us think—both about statistics and about ourselves and the world around us. He made me feel as though he truly valued my opinion; he was the first teacher who welcomed me into the adult world of ideas and sophisticated concepts. That sticks.