In Connecticut, Achievement First’s 10th 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 percent of our s...

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 School. She was invented during a ...

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 your email and your favorite...

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 closing the achievement gap. When I came to AF, I realized...

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 educational paradig...

Interview with Jeremy Shedlosky, AF Hartford Academy Elementary

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. Across New York City in Brooklyn, at Achievem...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705078.html

Achievement First was one of 12 CMOs nationally to be awarded a Charter Schools Program grant from the Department of Education. AF will receive $6.6 million over five years to add additional gap-closing schools to our network. Read more here: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-secretary-arne-duncan-announces-twelve-grants-50-million-charter-schoo

The Quinnipiac University men's basketball team visited AF Bridgeport Academy to encourage students to continue to achieve in the classroom. More information and pictures can be found here: http://www.quinnipiacbobcats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17500&ATCLID=205000425