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 Achievement First Brooklyn High School

1485 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11216
Phone: 718-363-2260
Fax: 718-363-2262

Achievement First Brooklyn High School is a public charter high school in Brooklyn, NY, which shares best practices with Achievement First Amistad High School, the first high school in the Achievement First network of high-performing public charter schools located in New Haven, CT. One of the best lessons learned from Achievement First Amistad High School, which opened in 2006, is the need for urban high schools explicitly committed to closing the achievement gap. Achievement First Brooklyn High School will ensure that students receive the consistent academic rigor and character development they need to complete the path to college. For more information, please visit our high school page.

School Description

Opened: August 2009
Grades: Nine to 12
Community: Urban
School Type: Public charter
School Year: Three trimesters

Student Population

Number of Students in 2012-13: 296
Student Demographics in 2011-12:
39% Boys, 61% Girls
98% African American or Hispanic
72% Qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch
Average Daily Attendance: 98%
Graduation Rate: n/a (inaugural 12th graders to graduate in June 2013)

Overview

Achievement First Brooklyn High School is based on an innovative premise: closing the achievement gap by providing a prep-school quality education to inner-city students. Achievement First Brooklyn High School combines rigorous academics and high expectations with a host of supports, including SAT prep, intensive college counseling, tutoring, explicit character education and a school culture in which it is “cool” to be smart. Key facets of the Achievement First Brooklyn High School program include:

Rigorous course of studies for all students: At Achievement First Brooklyn High School, every student is on a college-preparatory track. All students complete a rigorous course of studies focused on core academics, and acceptance to a four-year college or university is a graduation requirement.
Personal attention for each student: As a small school, we can better meet the needs of each individual student. Small class sizes, small case loads for college counselors and small advisories enable us to make sure that no student “falls through the cracks.”
Focused learning environment: One of the biggest obstacles to learning at many urban high schools is a lack of discipline. At Achievement First Brooklyn High School, our staff works hard to create and maintain a sacred learning environment where all students are focused and engaged and where it is “cool” to be smart.
Commitment to robust student life programs: While providing a strong academic foundation will always be our first priority, we also realize that our students need opportunities to have varied experiences, including internships, community service and summer programs. In addition, it is important that our students have a fun and memorable high school experience made possible through the availability of extracurricular activites, awards ceremonies, senior privileges, dances and other popular high school rituals.

Admission

Achievement First Brooklyn High School is a public charter school open to graduates of Achievement First middle schools. Students are admitted to Achievement First's middle schools by a blind lottery. There are no admission requirements, tests or interviews, and there are no admission or tuition fees for students of our elementary schools, middle schools or high school. We serve special education students, English Language Learners, talented and gifted students and everyone else who comes through the lottery to our schools.

School Leader

Paul Adler is the founding principal of Achievement First Brooklyn High School. In this capacity, Mr. Adler is responsible for assembling a top-notch teaching team, planning and implementing school culture systems and designing curriculum. Before joining Achievement First, Mr. Adler was a founding mathematics teacher and the assistant principal at Brooklyn Preparatory High School, a small public school located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In collaboration with his fellow math teachers, Mr. Adler helped increase student passing rates on the algebra portion of the New York State Regents exam from 23 percent to 80 percent. Mr. Adler also coached the basketball team, which earned a semifinal appearance in its second year in the Police Athletic League. Mr. Adler earned a B.A. in quantitative economics from Tufts University. He received his M.A. in teaching from Harvard University and an M.Ed. in organizational leadership from Columbia University.