THE Quiet Revolution

IS TAKING Hold
Achievement First 2010 Annual Report
 Dear Friends,
We believe that we are at the beginning of what
We’re not close some have called a “quiet revolution” in education
to reaching the reform. As a revolutionary prerequisite, there is a
educational growing awareness of the magnitude and impact of
the problems we face. According to a recent report
Promised Land, by the College Board, the United States once led the
but we may be at world in the proportion of adults ages 25 to 34 with
the start of what postsecondary credentials—today we rank 12th.
In other words, we are now in danger of producing
Rahm Emanuel the first generation of adults in modern times to be
calls the Quiet less educated than their parents. As we allowed an
Revolution. achievement gap to grow between the rest of the
world and us, we have also seen the rise of pernicious
achievement gaps within our own country that leave
David Brooks low-income students, on average, four years behind
The New York Times
their middle- and high-income peers by the end of high
school. Behind all of these statistics are the faces of real
kids and the lasting impact of an inadequate education
on individuals, families, communities and our country.
Thankfully, the much-needed revolution in education
policy and practice is starting to take hold. In
many states, the unprecedented Race to the Top
competition led to the passage of a number of state
policy reforms that had historically been sidelined
by status quo politics but were finally passed with
the incentive of significant federal dollars. We are
experiencing a critical shift from a focus purely on
process or inputs to a more balanced focus on
outcomes, in part inspired by the great results of
gap-closing schools. We saw the adoption of globally
competitive, “common” learning standards across
states, requirements for performance-based teacher
evaluations, and support for the expansion of high-
performing charter schools. Across the country, more
progress was made in state education policy in the
past 18 months than we had experienced in the
past 18 years.
Just because this revolution is quiet does not mean it
should be underestimated—it is powerful and picking
up steam. This momentum has been fueled by the
powerful documentaries The Lottery, A Right Denied,
and Waiting for “Superman,” all of which left millions of
people with less patience to “wait” for more meaningful
reforms. More people have realized that, especially
in these tough economic times, nothing will do more
to ensure our long-term, collective prosperity than
creating outstanding public schools for all students. A
great education can break the cycle of poverty and set
all of our students up to compete in a global economy.
It is this transformative power that compelled us to
open the first Achievement First school more than 12
Dacia M. Toll Doug McCurry
Co-CEO Co-CEO
years ago and that drives us today in our work with
19 schools serving 5,400 students in Brooklyn, NY,
and in Connecticut’s three biggest cities—New Haven,
Bridgeport and Hartford. In Connecticut, our 2010
results again showed our fourth- and eighth-grade
students (the oldest students in our elementary and
middle schools) outperforming state-wide averages,
proving that the achievement gap can be closed—
and that it can be closed at scale. We are pleased
to be ranked #1 in the state in African-American
performance at both the elementary and middle school
levels. Sadly, our schools are amongst only a handful
of schools in the state where African-Americans and
low-income students outperform the state averages.
We also celebrated the graduation of our first high
school class with 100 percent of its students admitted
to four-year colleges or universities. The performance
of these schools and other top-performing charter
schools is setting the bar, defining what others see
as possible and providing powerful pressure for more
widespread reform.
While there is much to celebrate, 2010 was also a
challenging year for Achievement First. In New York, the
State Board of Regents raised the cut score for what
was considered “proficient”—a bold and much-needed
move to raise expectations for New York students
to true college-prep levels. This change in standards
resulted in a significant decline in student performance
scores across the state and at Achievement First. We
had to confront the brutal fact that, while our students
still outperformed their local districts and even the state
in some subjects, it was painfully obvious that we had
focused on the wrong standard and were not preparing
them well enough for the rigors of college.
Fortunately, the entire Achievement First team
responded to these challenges not with excuses or
frustration, but with a call to action to do whatever it
takes to help our students meet the higher bar. Instead
of taking it as grim news for Achievement First, the
disappointing 2010 New York results have served as a
wake-up call and catalyst. We are now more focused
than ever on helping our students get the great, gap-
closing education they need and deserve. We know
that, just as with our students, we are limited only by
the expectations we set for ourselves.
As we celebrate another year of milestones and
learning, we want to thank you for your continued
support and partnership. The more we do this work, the
more optimistic we become about the potential of our
collective commitment to make a real difference in the
lives of kids and the future they will create for all of us.
William R. Berkley
Board Chair
 Library of Congress

© Bettmann/CORBIS Library of Congress

The truth is—there are indefensible and

unconstitutional inequities in our school
system—in terms of funding, teacher quality,
access to rigorous curriculum and student
outcomes. Half a century after Brown v. Board of
Education, this is an epic injustice for our society.
Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education
 EDUCATION = FREEDOM
Ensuring that ALL American children
can access a quality education is
the civil rights issue of our time.
We cannot stand idly by and allow this
institutionalized inequality to continue.
John Legend, recording artist, concert
performer and philanthropist

In 1954, a landmark and Unfortunately, over the last 56

unanimous decision handed down
by the United States Supreme
Court declared that racial
Courtesy of U.S. Army segregation in public schooling
was unconstitutional. In his
majority opinion to Brown v. Board
of Education of Topeka, Chief
Justice Earl Warren writes:
“In these days, it is
doubtful that any
child may reasonably
be expected to
succeed in life if
he is denied the
opportunity of an
education. Such
an opportunity,
where the state
Library of Congress
years, the U.S. education system
has failed to provide far too many
low-income and minority children
with access to the high-quality
education they need to compete
on a level playing field with their
white, affluent peers.
+
·· According to Teach For America,
fourth graders growing up in
low-income communities are
already, on average, three years
behind their peers in high-
income communities
+
·· By 12th grade, these students
have fallen four years behind
their middle- and high-income
peers
+
·· Only about 50 percent of low-
income students will graduate
from high school by the time

they are 18 years old

has undertaken to +
·· At America’s leading 150
provide it, is a right colleges, 90 percent of incoming
which must be made freshmen come from families
with annual household incomes
available to all on in the top 50 percent
equal terms.”
+
·· Only one in 10 low-income
students will go on to graduate
from college

THE Quiet Revolution
is TAKING Hold
There is growing awareness of the
magnitude of problems facing our
country’s education system—and
of our ability to fix them. In
response to Davis Guggenheim’s
recent documentary, Waiting for
“Superman,” an increasing number
of people have said that they are
done waiting. What used to be a
second-tier policy conversation
dominated by institutional interests
is now increasingly a national
priority; what used to be small
ripples of reform in individual cities
are starting to form a tidal wave
of action. It is truly incredible to
see how far the conversation
has come since the early days of
Amistad Academy in 1999—and
how high-performing, public
charter schools have played
a central role in inspiring this
level of attention, optimism and
urgency. The example of several
inspirational superintendents
and a few hundred gap-closing,
public charter schools has helped
to elevate the entire national
conversation. Not only are we
now having this conversation in
countless venues, but there is
a fire to it that we haven’t seen
before, sparked by the federal
government’s Race to the Top
competition and fanned by hard-
working students, teachers, school
leaders, parents and partners.
WE CONTROL OUR DESTINY
For gap-closing schools that are
driving the conversation, we can
look to our own network of 5,400
students climbing the mountain
to college. In Connecticut,
Achievement First has closed
the achievement gap at both
the elementary and middle
school levels, with our students
consistently surpassing state-
wide averages after four years
at an AF school. In June 2010,
Achievement First graduated its
first senior class, with 100 percent
of its students accepted into
four-year colleges or universities.
Achievement First students are
themselves acting as revolutionary
proof points in the national
conversation by showing that
inner-city students can achieve at
the same high levels found within
affluent communities.
The dam of the status quo is
cracking under the pressure of
this quiet revolution—but it will
only give way if smart, committed
people like you and those found
within our 19 schools become
engaged, demand more and show
the way to a better future. Whether
at dinner parties or on blogs or at
town hall meetings, you should
work to make sure your passion,
urgency and opinions are heard.
Fortunately, the public, and our leaders in government, are
finally paying attention. The Waiting for “Superman” documentary,
the defeat of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to Newark’s public schools, and a tidal
wave of media attention have helped spark a national debate and
presented us with an extraordinary opportunity.
Joel Klein, NYC Schools Chancellor
 As complicated as we have made [the debate], it boils down
to what parents already know: It’s all about great teachers,
it’s all about who’s standing in front of the kids every morning.
Davis Guggenheim, Director, Waiting For “Superman”

TEACHERS ARE PLATin

Very little is invested in understanding

great teaching. We’ve never had a
meaningful evaluation system that
identifies the dimensions of great teachers
so we can transfer the skills to others.
BILL GATES
 The Quiet Revolution
IN Achievement First
num As the nationwide conversation intensifies, a quiet revolution is
taking place within Achievement First through a powerful new
initiative to recognize effective teachers that has the potential for
widespread impact.
Currently, at almost every public
school in this country, teaching
salaries are based solely on
seniority and earned graduate
degrees—two “seat time” inputs
that mean that compensation
for teachers has no direct tie to
performance or effectiveness. In
terms of annual evaluations and
continued employment, most
teachers receive one-dimensional,
subjective evaluations that do not
include an explicit focus on student
achievement results. For those with
tenure, it is incredibly difficult and
time consuming, if not impossible,
to terminate a teacher simply for
being ineffective.
With Race to the Top’s focus
on performance-based teacher
evaluation, much of this is
changing. Achievement First
knows that great teaching is the
biggest driver of high student
achievement and has been
working for the last 18 months
to create a new evaluation
process and “career pathway”
to define, develop, reward and
sustain excellence in teaching.
The Teacher Career Pathway
provides increased compensation
and differentiated professional
development based on a teacher’s
proven effectiveness.
Specifically, AF’s Teacher Career
Pathway provides:
+
·· Significant salary increases for
all teachers who demonstrate
effectiveness, with the greatest
increases (more than $20,000
over current scales) for the most
effective teachers
+
·· Holistic evaluation of teacher
outcomes and inputs,
including a teacher’s value-
added contribution to student
achievement and a teacher’s
influence on student character
development
+
·· Rewards that include
development opportunities
and recognition, in addition
to salary increases
+
·· School-wide performance
bonuses that reward team
achievement and individual
salary increases that celebrate
individual teacher effectiveness
For the first time, outcome
measurements include both
student achievement and student
character education, and input
measurements are spread across
multiple assessments throughout
the year (instead of an isolated
lesson observation or test score)
conducted by a wide range
of partners: school principal,
regional superintendent, peers,
parents, students and a personal
teacher coach.
Individual teachers will have a
well-defined career path to
become master teachers with
potential salaries over $100,000,
and all team members in a school
could earn a bonus of up to 10
percent of their salary based on
the overall success of the school.
Master teachers will also benefit
from self-directed professional
development budgets of $2,500
per year and other learning and
recognition opportunities.
The Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation awarded Achievement
First a grant to support the
development of the Teacher Career
Pathway. This initial investment
then led to a $6.3 million Teacher
Incentive Fund grant from the U.S.
Department of Education that we
will invest directly over the next five
years into compensation and other
rewards for our best teachers.
We owe much of this success
to our partnerships with other
districts and charter management
organizations—and to The New
Teacher Project, which advised us
in our design and communications.
 KNOW YOUR IMPACT
The Quiet Revolution
IN PARTNERSHIP
The next wave of the revolution is focused on an active partnership
to share and replicate best practices. With that in mind, Achievement
First is excited to work with New Haven Public Schools to launch
an innovative leadership development program to recruit, train and
support a corps of outstanding principals and assistant principals for
New Haven’s highest-need schools.

Public charter schools and
traditional public school districts
have historically had an adversarial
relationship—with traditional
districts often trying to dismiss
or even actively undermine the
success of charters, and charters
taking a purely competitive and,
at times, equally undermining
approach to working with districts.
In the past, there has been little
to no dialogue between the two
groups about our shared work.
However, in a growing number
of cities, we are now seeing a
quiet revolution in partnership,
and Achievement First is proud
to act as a pioneer in this
collaborative work.
The first wave of the revolution
started with visionary leaders
like Chancellor Joel Klein in New
York City and Superintendent
Steven Adamowski in Hartford
who worked to actively recruit top
charter operators to their cities,
inviting them to become a key
part of city-wide reform initiatives
and providing free access to
public school facilities and other
resources. They have energetically
supported the success of public
charters and the city students they
serve. In these “portfolio” cities, the
focus is no longer on a school’s
governance structure but instead
on how well schools perform.
The next wave of the revolution is
focused on an active partnership
to share and replicate best
practices. With that in mind,
Achievement First is excited to
work with New Haven Public
Schools to launch an innovative
leadership development program
to recruit, train and support a
corps of outstanding principals
and assistant principals for New
Haven’s highest-need schools.
This pipeline of future leaders
will receive one year of full-time
training and coaching, enabling
them to leverage the best
practices of high-performing
schools from both the charter and
traditional district sectors.
The Residency Program in School
Leadership combines experiential
residencies, seminar-style
learning and intense individualized
coaching—with candidates taking
part in two residencies over the
course of one academic year (four
to seven months each), first at
a high-performing Achievement
First school and then at a top
New Haven public school. In
each school, candidates will be
mentored by an outstanding
principal, given specific leadership
responsibilities, and receive
focused feedback on their growth
and development as a school
leader. Candidates will also receive
formal training to develop key
school leadership skills by expert
practitioners from Achievement
First, New Haven and the broader
education reform world. Following
the residencies, candidates who
meet competency standards will
be placed in New Haven Public
Schools as assistant principals
or principals. Program alumni will
also continue to receive access
to Achievement First professional
development opportunities, change
management coaching and school
turnaround planning assistance.
This unique partnership is a key
aspect of the district’s broader
School Change Initiative to close
the achievement gap between
New Haven students and the
state-wide average, to cut the
student dropout rate in half, and
to ensure that every graduating
student has the academic
preparation and resources to
attend and succeed in college.
Developing strong leaders for New
Haven’s highest-need schools is a
critical step toward accomplishing
this bold agenda, and Achievement
First is excited to co-create this
important reform initiative.
Increasingly, district and charter leaders are recognizing
the need to learn from one another, influence each other and
leverage each others’ relative strengths to solve the complex
challenges we face in improving American education.

Adam Porsch, Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Achievement First
really pushes
you. They believe
in perseverance,
climbing the
mountain to
college, achieving
your goals and
going toward what
you believe in.

Dyani Willis
STUDENT, Amistad
Academy

Mayro Valenzuela Jr.

DREAM BIG
The Quiet Revolution
in MY LIFE
Mayro Valenzuela Jr.
Student, Elm City College Preparatory

Education is valuable because it makes you free. Many

people in the world are really poor and can’t get a good
education, so they can’t do well in life. Education helps
you to dream big, and when you are finished and have a
good education, you can think about your future. You’ll
have a better life if your education was a success. You
can pick the right school for yourself and get the attention
and respect that you need. Your family will look up to you,
and you will represent them. You can teach them and
help them. You will have great value to your family and
your community.

I have seen unequal education before. When my mom

grew up in Guatemala, she didn’t have a good education.
She couldn’t get the opportunity to do what she wanted.
She takes care of us, but she can’t help us too much on
homework because her education was very low. Now
today, my mom still goes to school to learn English and
to get a better education. I come to school to accomplish
my goals and be able to help my own kids someday. Right
now I am just a kid, but I am evolving. Someday I will
have the freedom to do anything I want to do and fulfill
my big dreams.
many minds ONE MISS

David Hardy

At Achievement First I know that everyone does

whatever it takes to give our students the love, care and
top-quality instruction they need. We all end the day
feeling the good, healthy exhaustion of knowing that we
helped all of our students climb the mountain to college.
Morgan Barth, PRINCIPAL, Elm City College Preparatory Elementary
SION
The Quiet Revolution
in MY SCHOOL
David Hardy
Principal, Achievement First East New York Middle
For five years after college, I
taught in Miami Public Schools
and found myself in the middle of
a widening achievement gap. I felt
disheartened by the disparities that
plagued the communities in which I
taught, and I became accustomed
to seeing others feel the kind of
complacency that is driven by
low expectations. From the first
day of my career at Achievement
First in 2007, I was grateful to be
in a place where giving less than
our best was not an option; not
reaching our goal was something
that was not even considered;
complacency remained a noun—
but was never used—and college
became a verb.
Now as the principal of AF East
New York Middle, it has become
easy to see why this quiet
revolution is working. Walking into
our building you will find 23 like-
minded educators who want and
expect breakthrough results—and
are working with a sense of
urgency and grace to ensure that
our students are prepared for the
complexities of life and their climb
to college. It is this mindset that
has created a better track for our
students to follow—one with a
clear destination, purpose and
expectation. Our quiet revolution
hasn’t been easy or quick. It has
come after countless hours of
critical reflection as a team on
how our students will raise their
hands to participate, respectfully
disagree, think critically, support
their assertions with evidence and
learn to believe in themselves.
It is our unwavering and obsessive
desire to take every detail and
combine it into a prophetic
symphony that creates subtle,
smooth and harmonic music.
However, that subtle musical
undertone doesn’t just resonate
at our surface. It creates a sound
that permeates deep into the
core of what we desire for our
students. It reverberates loudly in
the attitudes of our future college
graduates. This sound beats in the
hearts of all of us, carefully playing
one note at a time to ensure that
our music is of the highest quality.
We call this song REFORM. It is a
powerful melody that one can hear
blasting from every teacher in our
school and from every message
on our walls that students read,
internalize and personify.
We realize that we cannot wait for
Superman or hope for the best
from the lottery. We must actively
strive for a better future, and it is
the courage, passion, love and
dedication of an educator that is
going to take us there. Especially
at this time of year, I often arrive
at school before the sun rises and
leave well after it has set, but not
one day passes when I feel that
what we do is not worth every
last bit of sunlight I miss outside. I
instead see the light of 200 faces
that are in search of a college
diploma. I am fortunate to open my
eyes every morning to a revolution
sparked by my work; a revolution
that is quiet, yet full of vibrancy. I
am causing change by creating
a future of people who desire
change—change that gives more
of our urban youth the opportunity
to obtain a great education and
reap the benefits of the passion
we sow as educators. That is
why I am proud to be part of the
Achievement First revolution.
The Quiet Revolution
TEA
in MY HOME
Khadijah Muhammad
Parent, Amistad Academy

Over the last 10 years, I have been
the proud parent of four Amistad
Academy students. My oldest
daughter, Amirah, graduated from
Amistad Academy Middle in 2005
played soccer and was the first
violinist in the orchestra.
My youngest daughter, Azizah,
a fourth grader at Amistad
an excellent education in great
schools with fantastic teachers.
I take pride in my 10 years with
the Amistad Parent Leadership
Council, and I am currently serving

before Achievement First had a
high school. Fortunately, she was
so well prepared that she still
went on to excel in high school
and is now enrolled in college.
Shehu, my son, is a sophomore
at Amistad-Elm City High, where
he is enrolled in a junior-level
math class, plays basketball and
maintains honors status. He also
received a full scholarship to
participate in a Penn State science
and engineering program.
My middle daughter, Aminah, is
in the ninth grade at Amistad-Elm
City High and participates in cross
country, band and musical theater.
She struggled with structure and
behavior during her first two years
at Amistad Academy Middle.
Ultimately, with dedication from the
teaching staff—who we consider
family—Aminah showed great
improvement in her academics.
She achieved honors, received the
“heart” award from her principal,
Parent Profile
Academy Elementary, is reading
as its president. Achievement
at an advanced level and loves
First creates productive citizens
math. She received the “R” award
for today’s society. Many of our
in REACH for respect and has
inner-city students lack access to
followed in her brother’s footsteps
top-notch education, despite living
as an orange belt in Tang Soo Doo
within walking distance of some of
martial arts.
the best colleges and universities
All of my children are an inspiration in the world. I asked Azizah when
to me, and I am very proud of their she will graduate from college, and
achievements. When Azizah asked she told me the answer without
me a couple of years ago when missing a beat: “2023”—and she
I received my college degree, it said this after only her first week at
was my wake-up call to go back Achievement First.
and get the education I was now
Achievement First encourages
pushing them to achieve. Going
students to include college as part
back to school after 10 years was
of their daily routine. Closing the
very hard, but maintaining the
achievement gap is a monumental
4.0 average was even harder—
task, but my family knows that
especially since my children check
education is something that
my academic progress every day.
can never be taken from us. My
My children ask, “Could you have
children will utilize the knowledge
done better? Nothing less than an
they are obtaining at Achievement
A, Mom. Try harder next time.”
First to improve society for future
I am fortunate to have four generations.
wonderful kids who are receiving
AM & FAMILY

Khadijah Muhammad

When I walk into an Achievement First school, sometimes

I just want to pause and hang out for a little while
because it’s so electric. The teachers and the faculty are
just so interested—each and every one of them—and so
engaged in what they are doing.
Christopher Champion, Parent, Amistad Academy
The Quiet Revolution
in OUR COMMUNITIES
DAN WEISBERG
The New Teacher Project
In 2009, we released a paper on
teacher evaluation and dismissal,
“The Widget Effect,” based on
our study of 12 diverse school
districts across four states,
involving surveys of over 15,000
teachers and examinations of over
40,000 personnel records. Though
abundant research reflects that
teachers are the most powerful
school-based factor in student
academic success or failure, and
that different teachers obtain
dramatically different outcomes,
we found that our policies are
based on a false assumption that
one teacher is just as good as any
other. In every district we studied,
regardless of size and student
demographics, virtually all teachers
were rated as being good or great,
excellent teachers were ignored,
teachers were not provided with
quality feedback and support,
novices received no special
attention, and poor performance
was widely tolerated.
Since the release of “The Widget
Effect,” significant changes in laws
and policies have occurred that
parallel the quiet revolution
occurring at Achievement First
and elsewhere. Twelve states,
responsible for educating one in
four U.S. children, have changed
their laws on teacher evaluation to
make evaluation more meaningful
and rigorous. Teacher and
principal evaluation was a key
component of the Obama
Administration’s innovative Race
to the Top program, and the 12
states that won the competitive
grant program are hard at work
implementing reform plans
focused on improving educator
effectiveness.
At The New Teacher Project,
we work with a number of these
states and districts on redesigning
their teacher and principal
evaluation and development
systems, and we are pleased to
have the opportunity to work with
Achievement First to support its
Career Pathway work.
Achievement First’s Career
Pathway initiative is entirely
consistent with its core beliefs
around the paramount importance
of its people. However, we know
from our work around the country
that talking about breaking out of
the mold of traditional evaluation,
compensation and career
pathways is one thing; changing
systems that teachers and school
leaders are used to and have
come to rely on without disrupting
a truly positive culture is another
thing entirely.
We are impressed with the
design of Achievement First’s
Career Pathway initiative—it
truly is state of the art in setting
clear and ambitious performance
standards, providing quality
feedback against those standards
from multiple source evaluators,
and providing recognition and
rewards for excellent teachers.
But Achievement First also
understands something we have
learned well—design matters,
but implementation matters
just as much. So, for example,
Achievement First is investing a lot
of time and effort designing a data
system to support the initiative
because a good evaluation and
career pathway system won’t be
of much use to the organization if
the data on teacher performance
and development aren’t captured
outside of a spreadsheet on a
principal’s computer. Achievement
First is also investing significant
time engaging with its teachers
and school leaders, ensuring that
educators are well-informed and
that they have ample opportunity
to share their practitioners’
perspectives to shape
implementation.
As we see so much progress
being made across the country on
policies and practices that affect
teachers, it is truly exciting to be
involved in the progress being
made at Achievement First and to
see the impact that the initiatives
have on its schools, teachers
and students—and, through their
powerful example, on the broader
education reform movement.
PEOPLE MATTER MIGHTiLY
Charter schools
are not the only
solution—but the
strategies that have
been proven in
charter schools
are the solution—
solutions that can
be replicated in
all schools using
existing funds.
Let’s not allow the
contrived charter
versus public
school argument
distract us from
providing quality
schools for all
children.
John Legend
recording artist,
concert performer
and philanthropist
 Only 1 in 10 Achievement First students
work hard every day to climb the
low-income mountain to college. Our students
make this climb with the help of
students in the effective instruction from great
U.S. graduates teachers and leaders, a longer
school day and school year, a
from college rigorous college-prep curriculum,
assessments that track their
progress and inform re-teaching
and tutoring, and a disciplined,
joyful and achievement-oriented
school culture. At Achievement
First, it is cool to be smart and
everyone feels cared for as a part
of an extended school family.
Despite the promise of equal
educational opportunity, the
Over the last 10 years, thanks
to the example set by individual,
United States has largely failed high-performing schools across
to provide low-income children the country, conventional wisdom
access to a high-quality education. has shifted from a belief that
The difference in academic “demographics are destiny” to
performance between poor and an acknowledgment that success
affluent students, known as the is possible for all students.
achievement gap, has serious Education reform skeptics now
implications for the future life question whether success is
opportunities of students and for possible at scale.
our society at large. With only
one in 10 low-income students in
the U.S. graduating from college,
closing the achievement gap is
both an economic and moral
imperative—the modern frontier of
the civil rights movement.
Stephanie Montufar
Graduate, Amistad-Elm
City High
FIRST THINGS FIRST Achievement First’s
theory of change
Achievement First’s theory of change is that by creating the
equivalent of a high-performing urban public school “district,”
we prove that the achievement gap can be closed at scale
and can thus inspire and inform broader district-wide reform
efforts. Our current strategic plan calls for us to expand
from 19 to 34 schools, eventually serving more than 12,000
students. At this size, we will serve more students than 95
percent of school districts in the United States.

As we develop the Achievement First network, we are guided

by three big goals: quality, scale and sustainability. We remain
committed to creating the kind of top-quality schools our
students need and deserve, and to doing so at a meaningful
scale and with a per-student cost equal to or less than that of
our host public school districts.
 EXCELLENCE IS A HABIT
ConnCAN Top 10
Rankings 2010
CONNECTICUT SCHOOLS
#1 African-American elementary school
student performance (Elm City College
Prep)
Hartford
#1 African-American middle school
student performance (Amistad Academy)

#3 Hispanic middle school student

performance (AF Bridgeport Academy)
New Haven
#4 African-American middle school
student performance (AF Bridgeport
Bridgeport
Academy)

* Amistad Academy Elementary #5 African-American high school

* Amistad Academy Middle
* Amistad-Elm City High
* Elm City College Preparatory Elementary
* Elm City College Preparatory Middle
* Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Elementary
* Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle
* Achievement First Hartford Academy Elementary
* Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle
student performance (Amistad-Elm City)
#5 Overall elementary school
performance gains (Elm City College
Prep)
#6 Overall middle school performance
gains (AF Hartford Academy)
#7 African-American elementary school
student performance (Amistad Academy)

HIGHLIGHTS #7 Low-income middle school student

+··Achievement First schools
are prominently featured in
ConnCAN’s annual Top 10 lists,
+··Achievement First Bridgeport
which highlight schools state-wide
that are serving as exemplars in
closing the achievement gap.
We are especially pleased to be
ranked #1 in the state in African-
American performance at both
the elementary and middle school
levels (see sidebar for a complete
list of Achievement First rankings).
+··One-hundred percent of Amistad-
Elm City High’s inaugural senior
class was accepted into four-year
+··Kiara Fuller, a member of Amistad
colleges and universities, with an
average of more than four college
acceptances per student.
+··Achievement First opened one
new school in Connecticut in
2010. AF Bridgeport Academy
Elementary opened in the
performance (Amistad Academy)
fall, welcoming a class of 91
kindergarteners.
#7 African-American middle school
student performance (Elm City College
Academy Middle piloted Life Prep, Prep)
an innovative character education
curriculum designed to teach #8 Low-income elementary school
character values as explicitly as student performance (Elm City College
academics. As a part of this, the Prep)
school conducted a penny drive
that yielded nearly $1,200 for #8 Low-income middle school student
11 local charities, with students performance (AF Bridgeport Academy)
volunteering at one of the 11
“adopted” charities. #9 Hispanic elementary school student
performance (Amistad Academy)
Academy Middle’s first graduating
class in 2002 and a 2010
#9 Hispanic middle school student
performance (Amistad Academy)
Connecticut College graduate,
became the first Amistad
#9 Overall middle school performance
Academy alum to return to work
at Achievement First. In July 2010, gains (Amistad Academy)
she became the office coordinator
*Compared to all CT schools
at Amistad-Elm City High.
RESULTS
+··Our Connecticut schools—which + At Amistad Academy Middle
were already heralded as local,
state and national exemplars—
had their best year yet, posting
student achievement scores
that increased an average of
seven points across all subjects,
an impressive gain for a single
year. Seventy-five percent of our
fourth-grade students—selected
by lottery from our big cities,
overwhelmingly poor—performed
“at goal” on the state test versus
only 64 percent for poor/non-
+··Achievement First Bridgeport
poor students state-wide and
39 percent for poor students.
Seventy-nine percent of our
eighth-graders performed “at
goal” versus 68 percent for poor/
non-poor students state-wide and
41 percent for poor students. We
are especially pleased with our
network-wide math performance,
which has now completely closed
the achievement gap for parity
with the wealthiest districts in
the state.
in New Haven, math, reading
and writing scores were similar
to those attained by schools in
+··Achievement First Hartford
affluent communities like Madison
and Guilford. Eighty-four percent
of Amistad’s eighth graders
scored at or above goal on the
Connecticut Mastery Test in math,
with 76 percent meeting this
goal in reading and 88 percent
achieving the state goal in writing.
Academy Middle continued
its trend of significantly raising
student achievement. The school
welcomed its inaugural class
of fifth-grade students in 2007,
+··Our Connecticut schools also
when only 40 percent of students
met or exceeded goal in math, 36
percent in reading and 33 percent
in writing on the Connecticut
Mastery Test. After three years at
AF Bridgeport Academy Middle,
79 percent of these now seventh-
grade students scored at or
above goal in math, 66 percent in in 2008 for its third graders on
reading and 77 percent in writing. the Connecticut Mastery Test, the
school set itself on an assertive
path to close the achievement
Academy’s inaugural middle
gap with Connecticut’s non-poor
school class, which entered the
students. The school made a
school in fifth grade in 2008, also
resounding leap in 2009 to 56
showed similar progress. In the
percent at goal on the third-
fifth grade, only 55 percent of
grade CMT, and in 2010 hit 61
students were at goal in math, 31
percent at goal—two percentage
percent in reading and 50 percent
points above the state’s average.
in writing. After their second year
Elm City’s fourth graders
at AF Hartford Academy Middle,
outperformed the state’s average
significant improvement is evident
by 11 percentage points.
with 68 percent of students
meeting or exceeding goal in
math, 49 percent in reading and
61 percent in writing.
provide an exciting story that
school turnaround is possible.
Elm City College Prep Elementary
has made significant gains over
the last three years, continually
reaching for excellence. With a 47
percent overall mastery level
 CONNECTICUT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
AMISTAD ACADEMY Principal: Amanda Alonzy
ELEMENTARY Opened: August 2006
Grades: K to 4
The school-wide The school raised over Number of Students: 408

$1000
average for submitting
homework was Students can participate in a variety of

99% in the “AmeriCares Pennies extracurricular activities, including

for Haiti” relief campaign pom-poms, Drill Team, sparring, physics,
Math Club and other exciting opportunities
for the entire year

ACHIEVEMENT FIRST Students collected holiday

goods for families with
BRIDGEPORT ACADEMY the greatest need in a
Thanksgiving
ELEMENTARY food drive

Principal: Katherine Baker Over 50 percent of the As one of two new

school’s parents attended a
Opened: August 2010 Parent Reading Night,
Grades: Kindergarten where Joshua Prince
autographed his book,
Number of Students: 91 I Saw an Ant on the
Railroad Track, and donated
a copy to every student
schools in the network,
the school held a “get
to know our parents
and extended families”
potluck—and 85%
of families came to join
in the celebration
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST 11 second graders trained for three months during an
after-school club to participate in the Hartford Kid’s
HARTFORD ACADEMY Marathon. Of these students, nine registered for
ELEMENTARY the marathon and completed the 1.2 mile race.

Principal: Claire Shin

Opened: August 2008 82%
of students in kindergarten through
100%
of team members believe
Grades: K to 3 second grade are reading at or that all colleagues are

Number of Students: 352 above grade level, according to the committed to doing top-
Fountas & Pinnell test quality work

ELM CITY COLLEGE The school hosted an annual “Taste

Nations” potluck dinner where students and
of

PREP ELEMENTARY parents brought a dish representing their family and

wrote a story or created a poster about their culture

Principal: Morgan Barth The school is listed as a More than

Opened: August 2004 Success 100 Parents

Grades: K to 4
Story attended the third annual “Parent

Number of Students: 296

School Reading Mania Night”—a workshop to
by ConnCAN based on teach parents how to use the school’s
significant student reading strategies to support their
performance gains children at home
 CONNECTICUT MIDDLE SCHOOLS
AMISTAD ACADEMY Principal: Matthew Taylor
MIDDLE Opened: July 1999
Grades: 5 to 8

85% 100%
of students achieved
of students achieved
proficiency in sixth-grade
Number of Students: 295

On average, our fifth

graders
mastery in seventh-
math—the first 100% grew by 1.86 years in reading
grade reading during a single year
milestone in Achievement
First Connecticut history

ACHIEVEMENT FIRST 51 students traveled to Atlanta,

GA for five
days to
BRIDGEPORT ACADEMY visit colleges and
museums and celebrate high
MIDDLE performance results

Principal: Challa Flemming Over 230 students
showcased a piece of their
Opened: August 2007 artwork at the school’s
Grades: 5 to 8 first annual art show, with
over 100 families and
Number of Students: 320 community members in
attendance, including the
mayor of Bridgeport
The Art Club won
“Best Whimsical
Scarecrow” with a
Michael Jackson-inspired
entry into the annual
Scarecrow Competition
at Connecticut’s
Beardsley Zoo
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST Principal: Jeff House
HARTFORD ACADEMY Opened: August 2008
Grades: 5 to 7
MIDDLE
Number of Students: 258
After three years, Students raised over

100%
of the school’s founding teachers
$2000
for the “Hope for Haiti”
campaign
The school has partnered with the

Artists Collective
to provide vocal lessons during the week

are still part of the team

Eighth graders visited NYU for a panel discussion with

graduate students at the Tisch School of Arts and a tour
ELM CITY COLLEGE of the university, while sixth graders held a
PREP MIDDLE mock trial with law students at Yale Law School based on
“Goldilocks and the Three Bears”

Principal: Rebecca Good On its annual parent survey The school participated in

Opened: August 2004

Grades: 5 to 8
97%
of Elm City parents are pleased with
the quality of teachers at the school,
Number of Students: 217
and 98% of parents believe the
school has very high academic
standards and a rigorous curriculum
Tent City, a fundraiser
to support the emergency
overflow shelter in New
Haven, with students setting
up tents on the New Haven
Green and learning more
about homelessness
AMISTAD-Elm ACHIEVEMENT FIRST
CITY HIGH BROOKLYN
HIGH
Principal: Jeff Sudmyer
Opened: August 2006 Principal: Paul Adler
Grades: 9 to 12 Opened: August 2009
Number of Students: 194 Grades: 9 to 10
Number of Students: 112
By the end of The Amistad-Elm City

95%
their senior year, High Wolves competed
of students passed
students have the in Connecticut
the Living Environment
opportunity to earn Interscholastic Athletic
Regents Exam
13 UConn Conference sanctioned
games for the first time in
credits basketball and volleyball All students participate 10 students
in 90 minutes participated in the
All students participate in a pre-college of a leadership seminar New York State
experience or internship over and community circle School Music
the summer at campuses such as Yale University, each week, where they Association “Vocal
Bryn Mawr College, Penn State University and recognize character Adjudication Festival”
University of Maryland gains, work on character and scored Excellent
needs and perform or better; two received
community service scores of Outstanding
NY & CT HIGH SCHOOLS
 OWN IT. FIX IT. LeaRn FROm IT.
NEW YORK SCHOOLS

* Achievement First Apollo Elementary

Bushwick * Achievement First Brooklyn High
* Achievement First Brownsville Elementary
Brownsville
Crown Heights
* Achievement First Bushwick Elementary
East New York * Achievement First Bushwick Middle
* Achievement First Crown Heights Elementary
* Achievement First Crown Heights Middle
* Achievement First East New York Elementary
* Achievement First East New York Middle
* Achievement First Endeavor Middle

A 7-year-old girl HIGHLIGHTS

won’t make it to college
someday because her
teacher has two decades
of experience or a
master’s degree—she
will make it to college if
her teacher is effective
and engaging and
compels her to reach
for success.
Joel Klein
NYC Schools Chancellor
+··In August 2010, we opened
another new AF school in
Brooklyn, Achievement First
Apollo, with 176 kindergarteners
and first graders. Achievement
First is now serving 3,000
Brooklyn students—more than
any other charter management
+··Achievement First has partnered
organization in New York.
+··Both Achievement First Crown
Heights and Achievement First
East New York received full five-
year charter renewals by the New
York State Board of Regents.
In addition, the SUNY Charter
Schools Institute approved a new
charter for Achievement First
Aspire, which is scheduled to
open in East New York in August
2012. This marks the seventh
charter AF has received to
operate schools in New York.
with Democracy Builders,
a charter school advocacy
organization, to assist our
parents in voicing support for AF
schools and students.
RESULTS
In 2010, New York State
significantly raised the standard
for the score necessary to reach
proficiency on the annual state
test. State leaders had conducted
an analysis that showed that
students who had been scoring
“proficient” under the old standard
would often still need to take
remedial courses before they
could start college. When they
raised the standard, scores across
the state—and at Achievement
First—plummeted.
We applaud the political courage
of the education commissioner
and Board of Regents and think
this was exactly the right thing to
do. However, the new standard
led to a real wake-up call at
Achievement First. Instead of
having 99 percent of our third
and fourth graders (across three
different elementary schools in
Brooklyn) achieve at proficiency in
math, under the new regime only
76 percent scored proficient in
math. In English Language Arts,
the old regime would have meant
83 percent of our elementary
school students were proficient.
The new bar revealed a new,
brutal fact: only 46 percent of
our elementary students had the
reading skills they need.
Many organizations experience
dips or challenges, and the
real test of the strength of an
organization is how it responds to
these challenges. In response to
the 2010 New York results, there
was a resounding chorus of “not
good enough” and real urgency to
get it right within Achievement First.
On what could have been a grim
day for Achievement First, the day
we received our lower scores will
likely prove to be one of the most
crucial turning points for us as
an organization. Now more than
ever, we are laser-focused on
helping our students get the great,
gap-closing education they need
and deserve.
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
NEW YORK
BUSHWICK
ELEMENTARY
Principal: Stacey Park
Opened: August 2006
Grades: K to 4
Number of Students: 426

94
percent of team members feel their
colleagues are committed to doing
top-quality work

In addition to offering The college graduating

afterschool drama
club, martial arts, chorus,
yoga, soccer, French
and Spanish classes,
the school has partnered
with The Piano School of
New York to offer piano
lessons to students
class of 2022 (fourth
graders) took their first
trip to SUNY Albany
and experienced a mock
class in a lecture hall,
had lunch in the school
cafeteria and toured one
of the dorms
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST ACHIEVEMENT FIRST
EAST NEW YORK CROWN HEIGHTS
ELEMENTARY ELEMENTARY
Principal: Hilary Cymrot Principal: Marin Smith
Opened: August 2005 Opened: August 2005
Grades: K to 4 Grades: K to 4
Number of Students: 431 Number of Students: 415

100% 99.7% 100

percent of team members say
they are personally contributing
to Achievement First’s mission
of team members feel of families agree that
that their professional the school has very high Students, staff and The school achieved
growth is encouraged academic standards and parents participate in major math gains
and supported a rigorous curriculum a school-wide on the Terra Nova test,

REACH a nationally normed

99.7%
of families agree that their
child goes to a great school
standardized test used to
assembly every four
evaluate math achievement
weeks to highlight the
in grades K-2, doubling
monthly service
scores in second grade
project and celebrate
and significantly increasing
homework and
scores in kindergarten
attendance awards
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST ACHIEVEMENT FIRST
BROWNSVILLE APOLLO
ELEMENTARY ELEMENTARY
Principal: Gina Ribiero Principal: Jabari Sims
Opened: August 2008 Opened: August 2010
Grades: K to 3 Grades: K to 1
Number of Students: 340 Number of Students: 179

75
93% of students The school had 100% percent of parents have already
in the founding class parent attendance for fall volunteered at least twice at
of 2024 now read at report card conferences, the school during the first three
or above grade level, giving every family the months of the academic year
with 60% at least a opportunity to discuss student
year above grade level, progress in all academic Every six weeks, students The school has
despite having entered areas, and every teacher the focus on a particular partnered with
first grade with only 6% opportunity to learn more REACH value; in its first Fit4Life
reading at grade level about the students cycle as a new school this
year, 80 percent of students
Kids
The school’s family leadership council, teachers and to provide daily
demonstrated mastery of the
students work together to host three school-wide Arts Capoeira classes for
“Respect” value, as assessed
and Culture Nights each year, where children have the its kindergarteners
by classroom observations
opportunity to show their skills in music, dance and art and first graders
NEW YORK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
 NEW YORK MIDDLE SCHOOLS
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST Principal: Amy D’Angelo
BUSHWICK middle Opened: August 2007
Grades: 5 to 8

100
Seventh graders
Number of Students: 333
closed the
achievement
percent of team members
feel that the principal values
gap in math,
scoring higher than
98% 99%
student teacher
and creates a culture of affluent Scarsdale
attendance attendance
great teaching

ACHIEVEMENT FIRST Principal: David Hardy

EASt NEW YORK Opened: August 2009
Grades: 5 to 6
MIDDLE
Number of Students: 174

99%
The school ranked

#1
Students performed The Lion King at
the end of the year and have taken
of parents believe that First Place in spoken
and #2 in the AF-wide their student attends a word competitions
Spelling Bee great school throughout New York City
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST Students in the orchestra program practice
intensively during and after school to prepare for
CROWN HEIGHTS performances at the school’s Black History Month
celebration, the Crown Heights Affair school assembly
MIDDLE and off-campus venues like Lincoln Center

Principal: Wells Blanchard The lower school Math Team
competed in the Charter
Opened: August 2005 School Math League, taking
Grades: 5 to 8 First Place in the
individual and team categories
Number of Students: 296
Students can participate in
a variety of enrichment and
extracurricular
activities, including step team,
basketball, photography, dance,
track and chess

ACHIEVEMENT FIRST All students participate in 60 minutes of Life

seminars and a 45-minute community circle each week
Prep
ENDEAVOR MIDDLE where teachers introduce real-life examples of REACH
in action

Principal: Tom Kaiser Book clubs, literature
circles and guided
Opened: August 2006 reading groups provide an
Grades: 5 to 8 additional 45 to 90 minutes
of reading per day to
Number of Students: 304 an already rigorous
English Language Arts
curriculum
Teachers and school leaders log
at least five calls to every parent
each week to provide status
updates on student behavior and
academic performance and build
strong relationships
with the greater AF Endeavor family
VITAL STATS
NO EXCUSES
VITAL STATS
*CSD 17 and state values are from 2008-09 (since 2009-10 values
are not yet publicly available)
REACH Respect Enthusiasm Achi
THE ACHIEVEMENT FIRST APPROACH
Unwavering Focus on
Student Achievement
All Achievement First teachers
and principals are focused
on completely closing the
achievement gap for our
students, and student
performance is the chief factor
in school, principal and teacher
evaluations.
Talent Development
Achievement First firmly
believes that the most important
determinant of student
achievement is the quality of
the teacher in the classroom.
Likewise, the quality of school
leaders is the most important
driver of teacher success.
Achievement First goes to great
lengths to recruit, develop,
recognize and retain a team of
talented teachers and school
leaders. All new Achievement
First school leaders train for
an entire year before launching
a new school, and all new
Achievement First teachers
participate in nearly three weeks
of professional development.
Achievement First schools
release early on Fridays to
provide two additional hours of
staff meeting and learning time.
Every Achievement First teacher
has a coach (a principal, dean
or master teacher) who meets
with them at least once every
two weeks to provide individual
coaching and support.
More Time on Task
The Achievement First school
day is nearly two hours longer
than the traditional public school
day, allowing many students to
have two reading classes and
an extended math class every
day. Tutoring is available during
and after school, an average of
one to two hours of homework
is assigned per night, and an
intensive independent reading
program is prioritized so that
students READ, READ, READ
both at home and at school.
In addition, the Achievement
First school year is at least two
weeks longer than the traditional
school year. Over the course of
a K to 12 education, this extra
time amounts to one additional
year of instruction.
Rigorous Curriculum
Achievement First outlines the
ambitious academic standards
that all Achievement First
students are expected to
master at each grade level,
so that success in one grade
can be seamlessly built on in
the next. Teachers understand
that “covering material” is not
our goal; what is important is
how well students master the
essential knowledge and skills.
Strategic Use of Data and
Interventions for Struggling
Students
Every six weeks, Achievement
First teachers give interim
assessments (IAs) that measure
whether students have actually
mastered what we have taught
them. These results are then
uploaded to AF Athena, a
custom-built assessment
system. Teachers and principals
spend a Data Day after each
IA dedicated to reviewing the
individual assessments and
together creating data-driven
instructional plans that target
whole class, small group and
one-on-one instruction to
address any gaps in student
learning.
evement Citizenship Hard Work
Strong School Culture
Immediately upon entering an
Achievement First school,
you can feel a sense of urgency,
order, focus and joy. Key
elements of Achievement First’s
school culture include
the following:
Commitment to character
education: All students live by
the REACH values (Respect,
Enthusiasm, Achievement,
Citizenship and Hard Work). Our
goal is to develop well-rounded
students, and we teach these
character values as explicitly as
we teach academics.
Sweating the small stuff: In
many urban schools, teachers
and leaders “pick their battles,”
only addressing egregious
instances of poor behavior.
Achievement First, on the other
hand, has adopted sociologist
James Q. Wilson’s “broken
windows” theory that even small
details can have a significant
effect on overall culture, and we
believe that students will rise to
the level of expectations adults
have for them.
College focus: The message
at Achievement First schools
is that all students are going to
college. We continuously expose
students to college—all of our
classrooms are named after
universities, and students make
field trips to college campuses,
hear speakers talk about college,
write research papers on
colleges and, most important,
master a college-preparatory
curriculum. From the moment
our students arrive, they know
what year they are expected
to graduate from college (our
current kindergarteners are
known as the “Class of 2027”).
Teachers know and care: Uniforms: All Achievement First
Achievement First schools are students wear their school’s
small learning communities in chosen uniform.
which all teachers and leaders
Joy factor: Achievement First
know the names of all students.
believes that great education
Every Achievement First school
should be rigorous AND fun,
has some form of advisory
challenging AND engaging,
program so that teachers are
structured AND joyful. In fact,
able to develop meaningful
we coach teachers to ensure
relationships with each student
that the J-Factor (the “joy
in their advisory.
factor”) is high in every class
Parents as partners: At and dominates regular school-
Achievement First schools, wide celebrations. Students are
parents, students and leaders frequently and systematically
all sign a contract that outlines recognized for academic
their shared commitment to hard achievement and good behavior.
work and consistent support of
one another. While this contract
is not legally binding, it is an
important symbolic commitment
and plays an integral role in
strengthening the relationship
between parents and the school.
 EVERYTHING WITH Integrity
FINANCES

Our Network Finances Network Expenses

(2009-10 unaudited financials)

3.1%
Revenues
Management Fees 4,142,953
Philanthropy 4,158,198
Other 284,570
Total Revenues 8,585,721
16%
Expenses 24%
Personnel Expenses 6,412,564
Non-personnel Expenses 2,058,142
Total Expenses (before depreciation) 8,470,706
18%
Surplus/(Deficit) (before depreciation) 115,014

Depreciation Expense 239,871 19%

Surplus/(Deficit) (after depreciation) (124,857) 22%
Athena*
Revenues 1,021,801
Expenses 950,656
Surplus/(Deficit) 71,145

Curriculum, Prof. Dev. & School Support

Talent Development & Recruiting
*Athena™ is Achievement First’s custom-built, web-based interim assessment
platform, providing performance data analysis and knowledge management General, Administrative & FInancial
for teachers and school leaders to create data-driven instructional battle plans
Development & Community Relations
as they help every student climb the mountain to college. Athena is a stand-
alone software platform that is independently managed by Achievement First’s Operations & IT
Network Support team.
Depreciation

President Barack Obama got this

one exactly right when he said
that whoever “out-educates us
today is going to out-compete
us tomorrow.”
Thomas Friedman, The New York Times
 America’s GDP would have been
$2.3 trillion higher in 2008 if we
had closed the gap in educational
performance between ourselves
and nations like Finland and Korea.
McKinsey & CoMPANY

Our School Finances

(All figures are from 2008-09 when the latest district data was available)

NEW YORK CONNECTICUT

Achievement First Model Achievement First Model

Achievement First operates college-preparatory public Revenue, Philanthropy

charter schools at a per-student cost equal to or less Revenue, Federal
than its host public school districts in New York and
Revenue, State and District
Connecticut.
Facility Operating Expenses
*Host district per-pupil data is based on 2008-09 budgets. The amount was Non-Personnel, Non-Program Expenses
adjusted to control for expenses provided in-kind to Achievemet First, such as
facilities, food service and transportation.
Non-Personnel, Program Expenses
Personnel Expenses
Host District Expenses
 Design: Pentagram Photograph: Peter Mauss, Esto
FACILITIES NEW YORK
+··Our spectacular 190,000-
square-foot Brooklyn high
Achievement First has surpassed one school facility opened in
million square feet of space dedicated August 2010. The space
is shared with Uncommon
for educational use across our network. Schools, a cousin charter
Providing suitable facilities is a constant management organization.
This facility looks and feels
challenge for all public charter schools, highly collegiate and does not
and Achievement First has made miss a single opportunity to
provide inspiration for students
great progress toward meeting this on their way to college. This
goal. Our facilities success is possible incredible property was made
possible by the generosity of
through generous support from donors, the Robin Hood Foundation in
partnership with the New York
cooperative partnerships with local
City Department of Education.
school districts and effective assistance
+··Construction was completed
from support organizations. in Brooklyn on the Waverly
building which is home to
AF Endeavor Middle and our
Achievement First Network
Support offices for New York.
The certificate of occupancy
was received in December
2009 and AF Endeavor Middle
moved into the facility in
February 2010. Of particular
note are the spectacular fourth-
floor, two-story library and
incredible seventh-floor rooftop
play field overlooking Brooklyn.
This $55 million project was
built in partnership with the
New York City Department of
Education and Civic Builders.
+··Our remaining New York
schools continue to occupy
facilities provided by the
New York City Department
of Education, thanks to the
strong support of public
charter schools by Chancellor
Joel Klein and Mayor Michael
Bloomberg.
SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
CONNECTICUT
+··Construction began at the
former Dwight School at 130
Edgewood Avenue in New
Haven. This will become the
permanent home for Amistad
Academy Elementary and
Middle. The $32 million project
includes renovation of the
former school and construction
of a two-story addition. Funding
has been provided through
private support and a $24 million
state grant, the first of its kind
for a public charter school
in Connecticut. The building
+··Achievement First partnered
is on schedule to open in
August 2011.
+··Elm City College Preparatory
Middle in New Haven received
an HVAC upgrade, masonry
repairs and replacement
windows this summer. The old
boilers were replaced with more
efficient models, a chiller was
added to provide much-needed
air conditioning during Summer
Academy and the drafty
windows were replaced. This
$1.4 million capital investment
will reduce the ongoing
operating costs of the building
and will provide a higher quality,
more comfortable learning
environment for our students
year-round.
with Hartford Public Schools
to renovate the Lewis Fox
Middle School located at
305 Greenfield Street. This
building has great common
spaces—including two full-size
gyms and an auditorium—and
will serve as the permanent
home for AF Hartford Academy
Elementary and Middle. This
year, Achievement First and
Hartford Public Schools
together invested a total of
$1.2 million into the building
to bring it up to current code,
reconfigure space to meet our
programmatic needs and infuse
the building with Achievement
First personality. The building
+··We have started design work
opened for our middle school
in August 2010, with a second
round of renovations planned to
ready space on the second floor
for our elementary school to join
in July 2011.
+··We purchased the former
Garfield School at 655
Stillman Street from the City of
Bridgeport and renovated the
space to make it ready for AF
Bridgeport Academy Elementary.
The first class of kindergarteners
arrived in August 2010. Through
these renovations, Achievement
First put a strong emphasis on
local hiring and is proud to report
that 40 percent of the hard
construction costs went directly
to Bridgeport-based businesses.
to add a new gymnasium to AF
Bridgeport Academy Middle,
located at 529 Noble Avenue.
Currently, these students do
not have an indoor recreation
area nor is there any assembly
space that can fit the entire
student body. We anticipate that
construction will begin in the
spring of 2011.
DONORS
We are profoundly grateful and appreciative of the support displayed by
our many benefactors. Your gifts sustain and inspire our aspiring students
and dedicated teachers. Thank you!

Individuals Barry and Pamela Fingerhut Richard and Jane Levin Mark Shufro

Bruce and Christine Alexander Catherine Frantzis David Levinson Constance Silver

Steve Anbinder Denise Gallucci Dr. Benjamin and Mrs. Ruth Littman Bruce and Pamela Simonds

Dave Anderson Lyn Gammill Walker Schuyler Livingston Benjamin Smeal

Anonymous Viral Gandhi Kevin and Erika Long Christopher Sommers

Elaine Appellof and Jerry Saunders Isaac Gerber Henry Lord Andrew Stark

Dr. Walter and Mrs. Diane Ariker Chris and Toddie Getman Richard and Katherine Loughlin John and Susan Steuer

Mary Arnstein Frank and Marjorie Gillis Matthew Lucke Dana and Mary Streep

Avlyn Ashterman-Reece Lynn and Thomas Goldberg Robert and Ann Lyons Lawrence and Joyce Stupski

Jon Atkeson Edwin Goodman Leora Magier David Sullivan

Rhett Austell William and Jean Graustein Stephen and Susan Mandel Anne Summers

Martha Banks Adam and Carolyn Greene Joan McCabe Patricia and Stedman Sweet

Morgan Barth Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Greenfield Grant McCracken Zebulon C. Taintor

Richard and Ilene Barth Charles and Melinda Greenlee Paul and Cynthia McCraven Matthew Tartaglia

Gary and Myrna Baskin Josh Greenman Ian and Sonnet McKinnon David Tattan

Jonathan Beane Geoff and Sheri Griffin Daniel G. McMahon Holland Taylor

Dr. Eric and Mrs. Ethel Berger Michael D. Griffin and Molly Butler Hart Rachel Meisel David Tepperman

William R. Berkley Daniel and Lesley Groff Robert Meissner Ben Thomases

Beverly Beutel Harriett Guin-Kittner Margaret Moers Wenig Christopher and Shirley Toll

Diahann Billings-Burford Allen Hadelman Emerson Moore Daniel Toll

Andrew and Carol Boas Todd Halky William B. Morris Mike and Monica Toll

Doug Borchard Marnie Halsey John Motley Dacia Toll and Jeffrey Klaus

Jonathan Brandt John and Joanna Hamby Wiley Mullins Ellen Torrance

Harold and Rachel Brooks Aaron Hamer Jeffrey Myers Kenneth and Kathleen Tropin

Robert and Holly Burt Jim and Melinda Hamilton Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Netter Alexander and Dale Troy

Julie Burton and George G. Sharrard Taylor and Amy Harmeling David Newton Michael S. Van Leesten

Guido and Anne Calabresi Mike Harris Harold and Sandra Noborikawa Lee Vance and Cynthia King

Henry Clark III Steven Harris Kenneth Oba Catherine Vaughn

Thomas Cody Steven and Marilyn Hart Brian and Jill Olson Jay Vetter

David L. Cohen Elizabeth Hartzell Peter and Beverly Orthwein Steven Vetter

Justin Cohen Darrell Harvey Sharon Oster and Raymond Fair Kelly Wachowicz

Richard and Ann Cohen Jonathan Hayes Tricia Pacelli and Eric Wepsic Giselle Wagner and Paul Myerson

William Cohen William and Judy Heins Colleen Palmer Clifford L. Wald

Brian Cole Malda Hibri Susan Parente Mark Weissler and Nancy Voye

Brooke A. Connolly Alexis N. Highsmith Patricia Pierce and Marc Rubenstein Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener

Michael and Joyce Critelli Carlton and Letamarie Highsmith Josh and Sharon Polan Tiger and Caroline Williams

William Curran Dick and Angelica Hinchcliff Maury Povich and Constance Chung Edward and Martha Winnick

Sarah Curtis-Bey Kenneth M. Hirsh Edward Raice Richard Witmer

Kevin and Katrin Czinger Norman and Sandra Jellinghaus William Reese and Dorothy Hurt Hope Woodhouse and Richard Canty

Tony Davis and Suzy Franczak Jeff Johnston-Keisling Patricia Rehfield Rolan Young

Nancy DeLisi Richard and Lydia Kalt Lystra and Renelle Richardson Roland and Dona Young

Milton and Margaret DeVane Shelly and Michael Kassen Morgan Rodd David Zussman

Carolyn Downey Jean Kelley Gerald Rosenberg and Cheryl Wiesenfeld

Mary Kelly Karl and Elaine Rosenberger
Corporations
Susan B. and Thomas Dunn
Blue State Coffee, LLC
Meyer Dworkin Dorsey Kendrick Harvey and Diane Ruben
Chapel Construction of New Haven, Inc.
Andrew and Eileen Eder Shannon Kete Marshall Ruben and Carolyn Greenspan
Clasp Homes
David and Cindy Eigen Dr. Richard Kiley Alan and Mally Rutkoff
Eaton Corporation
Dr. Steven Eisen and Dr. Emily Littman-Eisen John and Barbara Kimberly Jonathan Sackler and Mary Corson
Greenlight Capital
Emily Eisenlohr Charles and Gretchen Kingsley Michael and Virginia Sarezky
Merck Partnership For Giving
Greg Eisner Matt Klein Ken and Laura Saverin
Monitor Company Group, LP
Martin Erb Herbert Kohler Jr. Lawrence and Gloria Schaffer
Newman Architects
Jim Essey Harvey Koizim Anne Schenck
The Wave, Inc.
Daniel and Elizabeth Esty Carol Kranowitz Jennifer L. Schiff
Williams Trading
John and Katharine Esty Andrew Lachman and Ruth Messinger Rebecca Schiller
Wyeth Corporation
Kelly Evans Jean LaVecchia Gabriel Schwartz
Yale New Haven Hospital
Susan Evans John and Amanda Layng Jon Schwartz
Yale University
Eric and Anne Ferguson Robert Lebby Byron Scott
Yannix Management, LP
Richard and Marissa Ferguson Ira Lederman William Shaw
William and Kate Lee Sarah Sherwood
WHATEVER IT TAKES
Foundations
Anonymous
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Carnegie Corporation
Carson Family Charitable Trust
Casey Family Services
Cerimon Fund
Charles Hayden Foundation
Charter School Growth Fund
Clark Foundation
Credit Suisse Americas Foundation
Ensworth Charitable Trust
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Fairfield County Community Foundation
Frederick DeLuca Foundation
Fund for Greater Hartford
George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation
H. A. Vance Foundation
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels Trust
Hoop-A-Paluza Foundation
Jana Foundation
Jericho Leiserach Trust
Kirby Family Foundation
Lindmor Foundation Fund
Lone Pine Foundation
Near & Far Aid Association, Inc.
New Profit
NewAlliance Foundation
Newman’s Own Foundation
Northeast Utilities Foundation, Inc.
People’s United Community Foundation
Robertson Foundation
Robin Hood Foundation
Shippy Foundation
Silverleaf Foundation
The Achelis Foundation
The Andrew and Barbara Bangser Charitable Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Bank of America Foundation
The Charter Oak Challenge Foundation
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
The Leo and Libby Nevas Family Foundation
The Louis Calder Foundation
The Moody’s Foundation
The Ohnell Family Foundation, Inc.
The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation
The Pitney Bowes Foundation, Inc.
The Schwedel Foundation
The Seedlings Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William H. Pitt Foundation
Tiger Foundation
Tortora-Sillcox Family Foundation
Woodward Fund

We are recognizing gifts of $100 or greater received

between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010.
 TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
It is intolerable that
in America today a
bouncing bingo ball
should determine
a kid’s educational
future, especially
when there are
plenty of schools
that work and
even more that are
getting better.

Thomas Friedman
The New York Times
BOARDs of directors
Achievement First Network
Support Board
William R. Berkley Chair W.R. Berkley
Corporation, Chairman and CEO
Steve Anbinder Treasurer First Marblehead,
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
Andrew Boas Carl Marks Management Co., LP,
General Partner
Doug Borchard New Profit, Inc., Managing
Partner and Chief Operating Officer
Barry Fingerhut Fingerhut Management Corp.,
Director
Carlton L. Highsmith Specialized Packaging
Group, CEO (retired)
James Peyser NewSchools Venture Fund, Partner
Stefan Pryor City of Newark, Deputy Mayor,
Commerce & Economic Development
Jon D. Sackler Bouncer Foundation, President
Jennifer Smith Turner Girl Scouts of Connecticut,
CEO
Achievement First Apollo
Wanda Felton Chair Private Equity Consulting,
Principal
Denise Gordon Vice Chair Deloitte & Touche
LLP, US Director of Human Resources
Hasoni Pratts Treasurer Empire State
Development Corp., Director of External Relations
Mashea Ashton Newark Charter School Fund,
Chief Executive Officer
Jonathan Beane Time Warner, Executive Director,
Diversity and Multicultural Initiatives
Matt Klein Blue Ridge Foundation, Executive
Director
Patricia Pacelli New York City
Lesley Esters Redwine Achievement First, Vice
President of External Relations – NY
Achievement First Brownsville
Kelly Wachowicz Chair Real Estate Investment
Group, Alliance Bernstein, COO
Lee Gelernt Secretary ACLU Immigrants’
Rights Project, Deputy Director
Chrystal Stokes Williams Treasurer
American Express Company, Director
Elgina Brooks Parent Representative
Vanessa Jackson Achievement First, Director,
College Readiness
Max Polaner Achievement First, Chief Financial
Officer
Amy Arthur Samuels JP Morgan, Vice President
Achievement First Bridgeport
Academy
Andrew Boas Chair Carl Marks Management
Co., LP, General Partner
Max Perez Secretary City of Bridgeport,
Senior Economic Development Associate
Ed Raice Treasurer Raice & Ramaekers LLC,
Principal
Shelly Kassen Town of Westport, Selectman
Richard Ferguson Newcity Foundation
Richard Kalt CRN International, Inc., Vice
President
Max Medina Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, P.C.,
Partner
Wiley Mullins Uncle Wiley’s Specialty Foods, Inc.,
President
Emily Saunders Teacher Representative
Achievement First Bushwick
Deborah Shanley Chair Brooklyn College,
School of Education, Dean
Jalak Jobanputra Secretary New York City
Investment Fund, Senior Vice President
Emerson Moore Treasurer TMP Worldwide,
General Counsel
Iris Chen I Have a Dream Foundation, CEO/
President
Harris Ferrell Achievement First, Chief Information
Officer
Malda Hibri Highbridge Capital Management,
LLC, Senior Vice President
Shannon Kete Project Lead the Way, Chief
Operating Officer
Judith M. Rodriguez NYC Comptroller’s Office,
Community Associate
Achievement First
Crown Heights
Hon. L. Priscilla Hall Chair Supreme Court of
the State of New York Appellate Division, Second
Judicial Department, Justice
Holly Washington Secretary JP Morgan,
Vice President
Gabriel Schwartz Treasurer Davidson
Kempner Capital Management, LLC, Managing
Director
Vivian Lau Serengeti Asset Management, Partner
Ethel Phillips Parent Representative
Christopher Sommers Greenlight Capital, Analyst
Dacia Toll Achievement First, Co-CEO and
President
Elizabeth Ward New York City
Achievement First East New York
Anthony Davis Chair Anchorage Capital Group,
LLC, President
Jonathan Atkeson Treasurer Fortress
Investment Group, Managing Director
Diahann Billings-Burford City of New York,
Chief Service Officer
J. Colin Gibson Citi Global Wealth Management,
Director
Aaron Koffman The Hudson Companies, Senior
Project Manager
Sara Keenan Achievement First, Vice President,
Leadership Development
Marsha Lawson Parent Representative
Melaine Mullan Turnaround for Children, Inc., VP
of Field Operations
Cathy Mitchell Toren The Roosevelt Institute,
Vice President, Director of External Affairs and
Development
Matt Tartaglia Deloitte Services LP, Director
Achievement First Endeavor
Claire Robinson Chair Moody’s Corporation,
Senior Managing Director
Frances Messano Secretary Monitor Group,
Consultant
Sarah Curtis Bey Treasurer Estee Lauder,
Director Global Makeup Marketing
Khephra Burns Author and Playwright
Justin Cohen Eton Park Capital Management,
Investment Analyst
Chris Growney Clearwater Analytics, Co-Founder
and Vice President of Business Development
Elana Karopkin Achievement First, Regional
Superintendent
Shaka Rasheed Citadel Asset Management,
Director (chair through 1/2010)
May Taliaferrow-Mosleh Parent Representative
Achievement First Hartford
Academy
Steve Harris Chair Community Leader
Marshall Ruben Vice Chair Ruben, Johnson
& Morgan, P.C., President
Colleen Palmer Secretary Monroe Public
Schools, Superintendent
John Motley Treasurer MotleyBeup, Owner
Dominic Basile Teacher Representative
Tom Cody Robinson & Cole, Partner
Denise Gallucci CREC, General Director of
Magnet Schools
Ja Hannah Parent Representative
Alexis Highsmith Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.,
Attorney
Jean LaVecchia Northeast Utilities System, Vice
President – Human Resources and Ethics
Amistad Academy
Alexander Troy Chair Troy Capital, LLC, CEO
Michael Van Leesten Vice Chair Hopkins
School, Director – Breakthrough New Haven and
Math Teacher
Jane Levin Secretary Yale University, Director
of Undergraduate Studies of Directed Studies
Michael D. Griffin Treasurer Warmaug
Associates, CEO
Anne Tyler Calabresi Community Activist
Katrin Czinger Philanthropist
Mayor John Destefano Jr. Board of Education
Representative
Lorraine Gibbons Parent Representative
Kurtis Ingdorf Teacher Representative
Judge Clarance Jones Board Emeritus
Dorsey Kendrick Gateway Community College,
President
Andrew Lachman Connecticut Center for School
Change, Executive Director
Paul McCraven New Alliance Bank, Senior Vice
President
Beverly Orthwein Community Activist
Ray Smith Board Emeritus
Caroline Williams Event Coordinator
Elm City College Preparatory
Richard Ferguson Chair Newcity Foundation
Melinda Hamilton Vice Chair Trilogy
Enterprises, Retired
Lystra M. Richardson Secretary Southern
Connecticut State University, Professor –
Department of Educational Leadership
William F. Heins Treasurer Private Investor
Harold Brooks Parent Representative
Joyce Critelli Community Activist
Carolyn Greenspan Blue State Coffee, CFO
Allen Hadelman Hadley, Inc., President
Marnie Halsey Education Reform Advocate
Hadley Kornacki Teacher Representative
M. Ann Levett Board of Education Representative
Sharon Oster Yale School of Management, Dean
Patricia Pierce Yale University, Major Gifts Senior
Associate Director
Laura Saverin Community Activist
Rolan Young Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C.,
Senior Partner
We are including individuals who served on our
boards between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010.
CT Office
403 James Street
New Haven, CT 06513
NY Office
510 Waverly Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
www.achievementfirst.org