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.

Achievement First Results in Connecticut

Achievement First’s Connecticut network has been growing and achieving at high standards since the founding of its flagship school—Amistad Academy Middle—in 1999, and we are pleased to share the 2012 Connecticut state test results of our oldest elementary, middle and high school students. To view 2012 Connecticut state test results for each of our Connecticut schools, please visit their individual school pages under the Schools section.

Elementary

Achievement First opened its first elementary school—Elm City College Preparatory Elementary—in August 2004 and has since opened three additional elementary schools—Amistad Academy Elementary in August 2006, Achievement First Hartford Academy Elementary in August 2008 and Achievement First Bridgeport Elementary in August 2010. While Achievement First Bridgeport Elementary continues to grow by one grade level each year, Amistad Elementary and Elm City College Preparatory Elementary offer a full K to fourth-grade program. The graph below compares the Connecticut Mastery Test scores of Achievement First’s oldest elementary students—Elm City College Preparatory Elementary, Achievement First Hartford Elementary and Amistad Academy Elementary fourth graders—to those of their peers in Connecticut’s three biggest cities and state-wide. At goal, Achievement First fourth graders outperformed their peers in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven in math, reading and writing by double-digit margins and were only 1 percentage point short of the state-wide mastery average.

Middle

Achievement First’s first middle school—Amistad Academy Middle—opened in August 1999, followed by Elm City College Preparatory Middle in August 2004, Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle in August 2007 and Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle in August 2008. The graph below compares the Connecticut Mastery Test scores of Achievement First’s oldest middle school students—Amistad Academy Middle, Elm City College Preparatory Middle, Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle and Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle eighth graders—to those of their peers in Connecticut’s three biggest cities and state-wide. Achievement First eighth graders outperformed their peers in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven in math, reading and writing mastery by double-digit margins and exceeded the statewide mastery average by 8 percentage points.

High

Achievement First opened its first high school—Amistad-Elm City High—in August 2006 (the school was renamed Achievement First Amistad High in 2011). In 2009-10, the school offered a full ninth to 12th grade complement for the first time. The graph below compares the Connecticut Academic Performance Test scores of Achievement First 10th graders to those of their peers in Connecticut’s three biggest cities and statewide. Achievement First 10th graders outperformed their peers in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven in math, reading, writing and science mastery by double-digit margins, and achieved on par with the statewide mastery average.