305 Greenfield Street
Hartford, CT 06112

Opened: August 2008
Grades: Five to six (growing to five to eight)
Number of Students in 2009-10: 175
Student Demographics in 2009-10:
47% Boys, 53% Girls
99% African American or Hispanic
65% Qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch

Overview

Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle opened as part of Superintendent Steven Adamowski’s ambitious reform plan for Hartford Public Schools. At Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle, the backbone of the daily program is a schedule that provides three-and-a-half hours of literacy instruction for every student, in the form of a 90-minute literature class, a 30-minute reading skills block and a 45-minute “literacy” workshop where students at similar reading levels receive targeted instruction in small groups. Students also receive 90 minutes of math instruction and 45 minutes of history and science instruction daily. All of this intellectual activity is offset by a 45-minute daily physical education class. One hour is set aside every Friday afternoon for community-building activities. The school is also excited about its after-school program, which will grow in proportion to the school until scholars are participating in a full array of sports teams, music and arts opportunities and academic clubs.

School Leader

Jeff House is the founding principal at Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle School. Mr. House prepared to become a founding principal as a principal-in-training at Amistad Academy Middle School in New Haven in the 2007-08 school year. Prior to joining Achievement First, Mr. House was the lead teacher and grade level coordinator for fifth and sixth grades at Edward W. Brooke Charter School in Boston. In his last year as a full-time teacher, Mr. House’s sixth-grade students outperformed all of their peers in the city of Boston on the state math exam. Mr. House earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Haverford College.