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.

Be an Achievement First Advocate

Achievement First has always understood that it is not enough to simply run great schools, but that we must work intentionally to influence the ecosystems in which we operate. Achievement First’s advocacy has had a direct impact on transforming the environment for education reform in the states and districts in which we operate.

Connecticut

Connecticut has the largest achievement gap in the nation. Achievement First is not only the largest charter operator in Connecticut but also the most influential politically—our work has been instrumental in:

Increasing charter per pupil funding from $7,250 to $9,300 over the last four years
Eliminating the cap on the number of charters in the state
Providing a model for public provision and funding of charter facilities (and securing a $24 million state grant for an Amistad kindergarten to eighth-grade building)
Bringing Teach For America to Connecticut and securing meaningful changes to teacher certification statutes

Achievement First is explicitly trying to change the political climate in Connecticut for charters through its own lobbying efforts and in its partnership with ConnCAN, recognized as one of the most effective state advocacy organizations in the country. ConnCAN was founded by Achievement First board members and supporters.

Operating in Connecticut’s three largest cities, with success in changing the political dynamic in New Haven, and ongoing active and vocal support of the leadership in Bridgeport and Hartford, Achievement First is making significant headway toward making Connecticut a leader rather than a laggard in the education reform movement.

Bill Finch, mayor, City of Bridgeport

“The track record of Achievement First is so incredible for underprivileged children.”

Steven Adamowski, former superintendent, Hartford Public Schools

“Achievement First Hartford Academy is a critical element in our plans to reorganize Hartford Public Schools.”

John DeStefano, mayor, New Haven

“I consider Amistad and Elm City College Prep an important part of our overall effort in New Haven to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education. I support their work because of their strong record of student achievement gains.”

New York

Achievement First has influenced the climate in New York City through our consistently strong student achievement results and other efforts:

With Uncommon Schools, KIPP and Hunter College, created Teacher U, which currently trains 300 New York City teachers in a master’s program focused on the practices of our high-performing networks. David Steiner, dean of Hunter Education School, was recently named New York state education commissioner
The 2009 Achievement First New York lottery was a major political event covered by three television stations and three newspapers with more than 3,500 applicants competing for 500 seats
Achievement First formed a cross-school Parent Leadership Council in 2008-09 and trained parent leaders to participate in mayoral control hearings and state budget advocacy

Joel Klein, former chancellor, New York City Department of Education

“I knew about the work Achievement First was doing up in New Haven, and it was really path-breaking work. So, I wanted that model to be available as part of our school reform effort in New York City.”

Politics and Public Funding

Our single biggest political issue is closing the funding gap between charters and traditional public schools in Connecticut. Although we have made headway against this goal, the combination of the poor economy with sustained political opposition means we have not yet achieved our goal—and it is not guaranteed that we will in the next few years. Unless this issue can be solved, Connecticut will not be a sustainable place in which Achievement First can operate.

In New York City, mayoral control was recently renewed and Bloomberg seems poised to win a third term, but we recognize that the current favorable climate (and especially the provision of free facilities) could change with new leadership.