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.

About Elm City College Preparatory Elementary School

407 James Street
New Haven, CT 06513
Phone: 203-772-7010
Fax: 203-498-0712

Opened: August 2004
Grades: K to four
Number of Students in 2012-13: 293
Student Demographics in 2011-12:
45% Boys, 55% Girls
85% African American or Hispanic
79% Qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch

Overview

Elm City College Preparatory Elementary opened in New Haven in 2004 and was the first Achievement First school with an elementary program. Years later, the elementary reading curriculum continues to center around a three-hour, sacred reading block that uses a phonics-based literacy program and text-rich classrooms. Immersed in sounds and words, students are quickly provided with a solid, early foundation for more advanced reading. At Elm City College Preparatory Elementary, teachers find creative ways to encourage and reward hard work, such as taking students on trips to local book stores and participation in "Funtastic Friday" celebrations.

School Leader

Andrew Poole is the principal of Elm City College Prep Elementary School. Mr. Poole originally joined the Elm City College Prep Elementary team in 2004 as a founding kindergarten teacher because of his desire to work with a group of like-minded people who were launching a high-performing school with the goal to close the achievement gap in Connecticut. He taught kindergarten and second grade before becoming an instructional coach and academic dean. Prior to working at Elm City College Preparatory, Mr. Poole lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked for the nonprofit organization Sports4Kids, now known as PlayWorks, and taught first grade. He was the recipient of the Reach-A-Star Foundation Community Service Award in 2003. Mr. Poole holds a B.A. in government from Connecticut College and an M.S.Ed. from Teacher U at Hunter College.