Achievement First is a
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
network in the United States. Achievement First operates schools in Connecticut (beginning with Amistad Academy in New Haven in 1999 along with other schools in
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
,
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
and
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
), New York City (beginning in 2005 with schools in
Brownsville,
Bushwick,
Crown Heights and
East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...
) and Rhode Island.
Achievement First was one of the charter school organizations helping to establish
Relay School for Education (formerly
CUNY's Teacher U).
Achievement First runs 34 schools that serve approximately 12,500 students.
List of Schools
Achievement First has 11 schools in Connecticut, 24 schools in New York, and 7in Rhode Island.
Special Education Lawsuit
In 2015, five special education students at Achievement First Crown Heights (in Brooklyn) sued the school because (as a New York Times article paraphrased the lawsuits) they "did not get mandated services and were punished for behavior that arose from their disabilities." According to the New York Times, Achievement First responded that “We serve a substantial number of students with both modest and significant special education needs, and our school leaders, teachers and other professionals work tirelessly each day to serve all our students well
...Most of our students who receive special education services are experiencing real growth, and we have high levels of overall parent satisfaction." The lawsuit was settled in early 2018.
New Model
In 2016, Achievement First introduced "a new school model that they hope can maintain their high expectations and strict rules, while letting students develop independence and a sense of identity."
The model was called Greenfield. The founding principal of a Greenfield school said that, "“Part of the model is addressing the idea that our students need to be prepared for college, and not just prepared academically."
Other adjustments over time include shortening the school day by an hour.
References
External links
Achievement First website
{{Authority control
Charter schools in Connecticut
Charter schools in New York (state)
Charter schools in Rhode Island
Charter management organizations