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 Rhode Island Schools

Opening in August of 2013, Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy is a college-preparatory public charter school that will work from day one to prepare students, even its youngest children, for success in college and beyond. The elementary school will be part of a network of highly successful K-12 Achievement First schools currently located across Connecticut and Brooklyn, NY. At Achievement First, students are provided with a rigorous academic and character development program that includes a longer school day and year, uniforms, and meaningful parent involvement.

Learn more in this radio interview with the director of school operations on Lite Rock 105 and WPRO-FM: Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy Elementary.

Read about us in Providence en Espanol and The Valley Breeze.

Students Served

In its introductory year, Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy will open with kindergarten and first grade, adding an additional grade in each of the following years until it is a fully enrolled K-4 elementary school. All students will be admitted through a blind lottery that will include preferences for low-income families. We will serve all students, regardless of special needs, language or citizenship. There are no admission requirements or interviews, and there are no admission or tuition fees.

Location

Achievement First’s inaugural Rhode Island school will be located in Providence, but the school will also serve the communities of Cranston, Warwick and North Providence. Any and all students from those communities will be eligible for our lottery (to be held in the spring of 2013).

Mission Statement

Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy will provide students with the academic and character skills they to need to graduate from top colleges, succeed in a competitive world and serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities. At Achievement First, we embrace that we are a reflection of our community. In every community there is work to be done, and in every heart lies the power to do this work.

Our students can and will start on the journey to lead true change in their communities and themselves from day one. In order to achieve this, we will equip students with a college-focused education infused with community leadership projects that will teach them to honor their unique gifts and voices and those of their communities—school, peer, city and family. Through joyful, student-centered, rigorous instruction, unwaveringly high academic and character expectations for all students, and an appreciation and celebration of each child as an individual, we will develop self-confident leaders who believe they can forge the path to accomplish any goal they set to better themselves and their communities—now and in the future.

School Leader

Morgan Carter is the founding principal of Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy Elementary. To prepare for this role, she participated in rigorous leadership training through Achievement First’s principal-in-residence program and KIPP’s School Leadership Program. Over the last six years, Ms. Carter helped drive student achievement at Amistad Academy Elementary in New Haven, Connecticut, where she was a founding teacher, grade level chair and academic dean. She earned a B.A. in history with a secondary teaching endorsement from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in elementary literacy and math from Walden University. Ms. Carter is excited to work closely with Rhode Island families and communities to help students from Providence, North Providence, Cranston and Warwick climb the mountain to college. She is also looking forward to helping her students understand the unique strengths of each community as they grow to become leaders in Greater Providence and the world.

Board of Directors

Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy's board of directors is a talented and experienced group of professionals. The board's strong expertise in multiple fields—education, community development, business, law, youth programming and finance—allows it to provide strong governance and oversight of the school. The board includes members who have a deep understanding of the Achievement First approach.

A schedule for all meetings for the 2012-13 school year is below. All meetings will take place at the offices of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, LLP (50 Kennedy Plaza).

November 29, 2012 (5:30 - 8:00 p.m.): agenda | minutes
January 31, 2013 (5:30 - 8:00 p.m.): agenda | minutes
February 11, 2013 (6:30 - 7:00 p.m.): agenda | minutes
March 28, 2013 (5:30 - 8:00 p.m.): agenda | minutes
May 30, 2013 (5:30 - 8:00 p.m.): agenda | minutes
July 25, 2013 (5:30 - 8:00 p.m.): agenda | minutes

Officers and Directors:
Mayor Angel Taveras, Chair
Macky McCleary
Reverend Jeffrey Williams
Judge Jorge Elorza
Betty Bernal

Please click here to learn more about Rhode Island Mayoral Academies (RIMA).