In Connecticut, Achievement First’s 10^th grade writing scores were ranked second in the state behind only Simsbury, with 100 percent of our scholars achieving proficiency and 92 percent achieving  at goal. On the New York eighth grade math test, scholars at both Achievement First Bushwick Middle and Achievement First Endeavor Middle outperformed their peers in Rye, NY, one of the wealthiest and highest-performing school districts in the state. Our student body is 98 percent African-American or Latino and 79 perce...

Now that we have focused on how we can shift our own behaviors to better use our prep periods, let’s shift to discuss the external environment—our beloved colleagues, our workspace, and our materials. Again, none of these things will magically recover hours in your day, but if we can learn to save precious minutes, then we are lugging less work home! 1. Don’t be a “Penelope”.  Who is Penelope? Good question. Penelope is a fictional teacher invented by the team at Amistad Academy Elementary ...

This is the first in a series of monthly posts by AF’s Chief Talent Officer, Maia Heyck-Merlin. She recently wrote a book called The Together Teacher: Plan Ahead, Get Organized, and Save Time! Part 1--Making the Most of That Prep Period: Emergencies, Procrastination and Distractions! Let’s describe what happens to most of our prep periods. You talk to one student right after class, race to the restroom, stop to fill your water bottle, pop into a colleague’s classroom for a “quick” chat, check yo...

Interview with Stephanie Blake, founding principal at AF Endeavor Elementary AF Endeavor Elementary                          
Opened: August 2011
Grades served: K-1 (growing to K-4)
Enrollment: 177 What inspired you to found an Achievement First school?
Having taught in the classrooms of public schools in various settings, I’ve seen many approaches to ...

There are two ways to react to the stark statistics about the achievement gap: despair and excuses, or hope and action. Unfortunately, until recently, many have chosen the former. In fact, most of the educational community relied on the most famous piece of educational research in history, James Coleman's famous 1966 report, to let themselves off the hook. Coleman found a correlation between socioeconomic status and student achievement: poor, minority kids did worse than affluent, white kids. The dominant ed...

Why did you choose Achievement First?
The people. There are a lot of place where I could do similar work but I get to collaborate and be challenged by the most intelligent, most passionate, and most downright hilarious people in the business at Achievement First. I couldn’t imagine doing this work anywhere else. What did you wish you knew when you started at AF?
Where it would take me.  It’s taken me from Brooklyn to Hartford (and back on several occasions).&...

Have you heard the news? 100% of our seniors have been accepted into four-year colleges! Yeah, very cool. Watch this video of "Signing Day" when they announced college choices and spoke about the importance of college: http://www.vimeo.com/24699723

I’ll be joining 10,000 other Teach For America corps members and alumni this weekend at the 20^th Anniversary Summit in Washington, DC. I could not be more excited. Several years ago, for the first time, I was beginning to question my career path. I had started my career as a TFA corps member and then entered education policy, but was beginning to wonder if I wanted to continue working in education. Was this a fight that could be won? At this pivotal moment, I attended Teach For America’s 15th Annivers...

The phrase "standing on the shoulders of giants" has meant a number of things over the course of history. As the Teach For America 20^th Anniversary Summit draws near, it has me thinking about Bruce McCandless and how he used the phrase when inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. He took a moment to thank everyone who contributed to his success as the first astronaut to fly in space un-tethered to another vehicle. He expressed his gratitude for those around him and those who had laid the groundwork with the word...

Achievement First Brownsville is highlighted in the newly published book "A Chance To Make History" by Teach For America Founder and CEO Wendy Kopp. Wendy draws on what she has learned in her 20 years at the center of a growing movement to end education inequality in America. We congratulate Wendy on her new book and are excited to join her in doing whatever it takes to achieve our goals. Read one of the AF Brownsville passages below, and buy the book here http://amzn.to/ekm8IT. A...