Achievement First Crown Heights High School’s four-year program is designed to provide the academic foundation, lifelong learning skills and habits of mind required for students in their pursuit of higher education.

An Intense Focus on Using Evidence

It is our belief that the most important set of skills and habits of mind required for college success involve the ability to identify, gather and mold evidence into arguments both in oral and written expression. Every class at Achievement First Crown Heights High School requires students to read for evidence, discuss using evidence and write with evidence. We teach students an array of reading and annotation strategies to help them interact with and make sense of texts and to discern important evidence. On a regular basis, students are required to discuss answers to open-ended questions in seminar format, and we assign persuasive essays throughout the year and provide students with targeted feedback on their ability to marshal evidence in support of a thesis and to articulate their ideas clearly.

Advanced Placement Tests

Every student must take at least two Advanced Placement (AP) courses: AP U.S. History and AP Biology. Students may also elect to take other AP courses.

A Focus on Core College Skills

Achievement First Crown Heights High School’s curriculum focuses on the core knowledge and skills required for success at top tier colleges. The many admissions officers, college professors and researchers that we consult unanimously agree that the best preparation for college is considerable time devoted to reading, writing and thinking critically about English, math, history and science. This is why our curriculum focuses intensely on these skill sets and subject areas.

More Time Immersed in Academics

Achievement First Crown Heights High School seeks to prepare students for selective colleges, and our students must compete with students from across the state and country who possess strong academic skills, who work hard, who score well on standardized tests and who are well prepared for the rigors of college course work. Given this stiff competition, we go the extra mile for students by providing a longer school day that allows for more instructional time and more practice. All courses last a minimum of 60 minutes, with 90 minutes allocated for English and math, and our academic day runs until 4:00 p.m.

An Obsession With Data and Tracking Student Progress

Achievement First Crown Heights High School is committed to regularly assessing students to track their progress. Every six weeks we administer interim assessments that enable teachers to diagnose student misconceptions. After each round of interim assessments, teachers dedicate an entire day to analyzing the data and developing lesson plans to target whole class, small group and individual strengths and weaknesses.