Achievement First is a growing network of non-profit, high-performing, college-preparatory, K to 12 public charter schools in Connecticut, New York and, in 2013, Rhode Island. In 1998, a group of New Haven founders came together with a clear goal in mind: to prove that urban students can achieve at the same high levels as their affluent suburban counterparts. Confronted by the popular attitude that demographics were destiny, we decided that the best way to address the problem was to change the system. We set out to create a public charter school—Amistad Academy—that would enable its students to achieve at high levels. Over the last 10 years, Amistad Academy has produced Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) results that have shattered the notion that "those kids can't learn." For the past seven years, Amistad Academy students—100 percent of whom are selected by blind lottery, 78 percent of whom receive free and reduced lunch and 98 percent of whom are African American or Hispanic—have beat state averages in reading and math, demonstrating that they can achieve on par with their wealthiest peers statewide. In June 2003, we created a separate 501(c)3 non-profit, Achievement First, with the goal of using Amistad Academy's knowledge and best practices to have a greater impact. We opened the second school, Elm City College Preparatory, in 2004 and expanded the model to include elementary grades. Achievement First was established in 2003 by the founders of Amistad Academy, a nationally acclaimed public charter school in New Haven, CT. Amistad Academy, which was founded in 1999 to prove that urban students can achieve at the same high levels as their suburban peers, enabled its students to achieve at such extraordinarily high levels that the founders were asked to use Amistad Academy's knowledge and best practices to have a greater impact. Achievement First has grown into a network that includes 22 public charter schools in four cities.

2003

7,000

Alumni, local community organizations and other monetary donations

Achievement First is a growing network of non-profit, high-performing, college-preparatory, K to 12 public charter schools in Connecticut, New York and, in 2013, Rhode Island. The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America's children. We believe that all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide all of our students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities.

Achievement First will continue to create public charter schools that close the achievement gap, while also looking to partner with other like-minded, reform-oriented organizations and traditional school districts to maximize our collective impact.