Our students are proving every day that all students—regardless of race, class or life circumstances—can close the achievement gap, graduate from college and become leaders in our communities. Achievement First schools show that demographics do not determine destiny.

Why Work at Achievement First?

• To focus relentlessly on student achievement and character development: At Achievement First, student achievement is our number one priority, and the needs of students always come before the interests of adults. We are a team of people doing “Whatever It Takes” for our students to close the achievement gap. We expect that our students will develop extremely strong academic and character skills. To this end, we frequently assess student progress and strategically use data to drive student achievement.
• To be part of a team and family: We know that closing the achievement gap is a team sport. At Achievement First, you can expect to be part of a community of hard working, smart and driven individuals who are all working together as a team to fulfill our mission. Our team members constantly support and hold the highest respect for each other. We want our students to love learning and to be excited to come to school every day. We want our teachers, leaders, operations and network team to feel the same way about coming to work.
• To constantly grow and learn: We believe investing in our people is the key to our organization’s success. Achievement First team members are constantly supported, challenged and inspired to take their skills to the next level. Every member of the Achievement First family (including all teachers, school leaders, operations and network team members) meets regularly with their manager or a coach to discuss areas of strength, areas for learning and to identify opportunities to stretch their skills. Our belief is that we can always do better, and we support our team members to do so.
• To have a strong foundation of network support and resources: The Achievement First network team provides full operations, office and information technology support so that school-based team members can focus almost exclusively on student achievement. Our curriculum team creates standards-based curricular materials, providing our teachers with a wealth of high-quality instructional tools. Additionally, the network team provides full recruitment, marketing, external relations and finance support.
• To impact the broader education reform movement: Achievement First is at the forefront of the education reform movement that is working to close the achievement gap. At this pivotal moment in our country’s history, we are a team of people driven to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all children.

Work in Our Schools

If you are interested in working in one of our schools, please click on the APPLY button in the right column. You may also click on the LEARN button to review the hiring process and watch video FAQs from teachers.

Internships at Achievement First

Information Technology Summer Intern

The Information Technology (IT) Summer Intern is a key member of Achievement First’s IT Team and will help to ensure that information technology equipment and systems are in place and operational at one of the four new school facilities that we are opening in fall 2010. The intern will work closely with members of the IT team, but will report to the IT Support Manager. The ideal candidate is an intelligent, driven, personable and hard-working individual with a “whatever it takes” approach to accomplishing goals.

For a complete position description and application information, please follow the links below.

IT Summer Intern (Connecticut)
IT Summer Intern (New York)

Summer Teaching Fellows Program

Achievement First has joined forces with Uncommon Schools to offer the Summer Teaching Fellows Program (STF), a highly competitive, paid summer fellowship designed to introduce college students to the world of teaching and urban public education reform. We aim to recruit a diverse group of individuals to our schools who exhibit perseverance, hope, a passion for teaching, and a deep understanding of what it takes to work effectively in racially and ethnically diverse urban school communities. The STF program consists of four key components: hands-on classroom experience, professional development and field lessons, mentoring, and social activities around New York City. Find more information and apply to the program here.

Click here to watch a video on the Summer Teaching Fellows Program.

Summer Teaching Residency

The Achievement First Summer Teaching Residency provides an opportunity for excellent rising second-year educators to teach Summer Academy at a high-performing, urban charter school in Connecticut or New York. Achievement First will offer learning and development, and provide Residents with instructional resources to advance student achievement in their own classrooms. Residents will be observed by outstanding instructors and will receive one-on-one feedback to improve their teaching. As part of the Achievement First team, Residents will have the opportunity to connect with excellent teachers to further their professional growth. In addition, Residents will receive a $3,000 stipend.

Applications are due by March 31, 2010. Early applications are strongly encouraged. Click here to apply.

Read the 2010 Summer Teaching Residency job description here.

For more information, contact Tasha Cannon in Connecticut at tashacannon[at]achievementfirst[dot]org or Ernie Clarke in New York at ernieclarke[at]achievementfirst[dot]org.

Join Our Network Team

If you are interested in joining Achievement First’s network or school operations teams, please review the open jobs below and follow the links to detailed job descriptions and application information.