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 Alumni Support

The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. We believe that all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools will provide all of our students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders for our communities. Our alumni program is a critical piece of fulfilling our mission of college graduation and supports two groups of graduates:

The Amistad Academy Alumni Program was created to provide continuous support for Amistad Academy alumni as they transitioned from middle school to high school, and from high school to college and life beyond. The program began informally in 2002 upon Amistad Academy’s first eighth grade graduation. The Amistad Academy Alumni Program currently serves Amistad Academy alumni who graduated from the middle school between 2002 and 2006, prior to the founding of the Achievement First Amistad High School.
The Achievement First Amistad High School Alumni program began in 2010 to support the first class of Achievement First Amistad High School alumni who matriculated to college. For more information, please visit the alumni programming page on our high school website.

Mission

Achievement First Alumni Support is school-based and assists Achievement First alumni in their pursuit of collegiate, personal and professional success. The primary responsibility of our alumni support teams is to track, support and coach all alumni to reaching their full potential. Through advocacy, counseling and programming, students are coached to build character, independence and professionalism in order to transcend social barriers. Students are provided with the tools they need to develop as community-minded young leaders with a sense of integrity and life-long-learners who challenge themselves and others to exceed expectations.

Alumni support teams maintain regular contact with alumni and cultivate relationships with parents and key college contacts to ensure success. These academic and personal supports, coupled with enrichment opportunities, foster connectedness and bring alumni back to the community.