PERSEVERANCE2012 ANNUAL REPORT

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Inside Front Cover

Dear Friends,

For Achievement First students—almost all of whom will be the first in their families to graduate from college—it is not enough to simply matriculate to college. In fact, more than 80 percent of first-generation college students who start college do not graduate within six years. Increasingly, educators understand the critical importance of perseverance in students realizing their goals and accessing all of the opportunities that flow from a college education. Over the last 13 years, we have learned that perseverance is as important to us as an organization as it is for our students. In this report, we will explore moments when we failed to achieve the high goals we have for our students and ourselves—and how the Achievement First team responded to these challenges. We faced the brutal facts, re-evaluated our approach, planned more and worked harder—because we know that we must join our students in passionately pursuing our shared goals. It is this commitment to continuous improvement that has led to some of the strongest student performance gains in our organizational history.

Two years ago, in an effort to better meet true college readiness standards, New York State officials courageously raised the minimum scores for what the state would consider “proficient.” As an immediate consequence, achievement results across the state—and at Achievement First—plummeted. We are pleased to report that after two years of hard work, our New York math and English Language Arts results have improved 20 percentage points compared to a 3 percentage point increase across the state. Further validation came last month with the release of the New York City Department of Education Progress Reports, a comprehensive assessment that includes a number of factors and weighs most heavily the progress of individual students from one year to the next. Four out of five eligible Achievement First charters received an “A”—and all four of these scored in the top 15 percent of schools across New York City. Most impressively, AF Bushwick was the highest-scoring K-8 school in the entire city!

The importance of perseverance is as much about our future as it is our past. With the arrival of the new, internationally benchmarked Common Core State Standards, our schools, teachers and students will soon face another big challenge. As we work toward these higher standards, we will strive to demonstrate the gritty, no-excuses determination that has proven to be a part of the Achievement First character. We are not perfect, we certainly make mistakes, and we sometimes even fail—but the real proof of who we are as people and as an organization comes through in those moments. We get back up and we go back at it—and, as it turns out, this is one of the best ways for us to show our students the real secret to success.

We know you share our belief that a great education can level the playing field, break the cycle of poverty and help the next generation create a bright future for all of us. Thank you for your support, partnership and perseverance.

Dacia M. Toll

Co-CEO

Doug McCurry

Co-CEO

William R. Berkley

Board Chair

In his book, “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character,” New York Times Magazine journalist Paul Tough writes that the most successful students are not always those with the highest academic skills—they are the students who are able to persist through challenges without losing sight of their goals. Named “grit” in research by University of Pennsylvania’s Angela Duckworth, this combination of perseverance and passion to pursue long-term goals out-predicts IQ in terms of high achievement. In fact, according to Duckworth, students who score higher on measures of grit earn better grade-point averages at top colleges.

Grit is just as important for Achievement First as an organization as it is for our students. Our schools and teams have certainly faced challenges, and we must persist through them in order to constantly improve and provide the best possible education for all who come through our doors.

With this in mind, we will share four recent moments when our students, parents, teachers and Network Support team members demonstrated grit in the face of setbacks rather than settling for “good enough.” And, as we look to the future, especially given the implementation of the new Common Core State Standards, we know there will be similarly difficult moments when tenacity and dedication will be just as important. We won’t give up on our resolve to put more low-income students than ever before on the path to college—our promise to families must endure through our challenges.

What is the Secret of Success?

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Tom Kaiser PRINCIPAL, AF ENDEAVOR MIDDLE As a school, we are obsessed with striving to become better and better. It is this mindset that allowed eighth-grade student Johnathan Clemmons to succeed. After repeating the seventh grade once, Johnathan seemed destined to repeat again. By the end of the year, Johnathan had not only passed with proficient marks on state exams, but he had changed his academic trajectory and was articulating a profoundly different picture of his future—a path in which he knew he possessed the persistence to achieve.

Stuart Warshawer DEAN OF STUDENTS, AF ENDEAVOR MIDDLE We teach our students core character traits predictive of first-generation college success: grit, zest, optimism, gratitude, integrity, self-control and humor. We were discussing grit in class last February when Johnathan raised his hand. It had clicked for him. As he articulated it, grit was essential to his life; it meant overcoming the death of a parent and the embarrassment of having to repeat a grade. After that day, Johnathan has exemplified the grit necessary for academic success in our rigorous college-preparatory program.

Johnathan Clemmons STUDENT, AF ENDEAVOR MIDDLE Education is my key to getting out of the projects. It is my key to a future with a college degree and a career I love. It is my key to everything, and everything is possible if I commit to hard work. I did not feel this way two years ago when I failed seventh grade. But when Principal Kaiser told me that I risked repeating the seventh grade again if I did not work harder, I thought of everything my teachers had taught me and became determined to succeed. I refused to give up, thinking of all they had taught me about grit and persistence. At Achievement First, I have absolutely no doubt that I am going to college.

SOLUTION In response to the higher standards, Achievement First revised the rigor and structure of our curriculum, and doubled down on teacher coaching and development, data analysis, and building a shared vision of excellence for our schools and our students. We also put in place additional small-group instruction and tutoring to help students who were still struggling.

RESULTS Two years after the higher standards were introduced, Achievement First schools and students posted breakthrough gains. Across our schools in New York, we’ve seen an outstanding 20 percentage point jump while statewide growth has only increased 3 percentage points. Our students are now exceeding the statewide averages in both English Language Arts and math; in fact, on the eighth-grade math test, our students are outperforming their peers in Rye, New York—one of the wealthiest and highest-performing districts in the state.

WHAT’S NEXT While we are pleased with our progress to meet higher state standards, there is more hard work needed to reach our goals. In many subjects, especially reading, our students still fail to meet the standards of their peers in the highest-performing suburban districts, whom they will need to compete with for college admission and competitive careers. Our next challenge is to prepare for the even higher rigor of the Common Core State Standards as a way to ensure true college readiness for every student.

Tenacity to Never Settle for So-So

In 2010, New York State raised its proficiency standards to better reflect true college readiness, and achievement scores across the state—and at Achievement First—plummeted. We had to confront the brutal fact that we were not preparing our students well enough when measured against higher standards.

SOLUTION AF Bushwick overhauled the school’s ELL and literacy curriculum and hired an English language specialist to provide targeted support to students with limited English proficiency. The newly formed ELL team crafted a more intensive approach that combined small-group instruction focused on amplifying vocabulary, conversation and comprehension skills with data-driven classroom support in key subjects.

RESULTS With this specific, targeted support, AF Bushwick received an “A” on its New York City Department of Education 2010-11 Progress Report with “full credit” for exceptional gains with ELL students in both English and math, defined as scoring in the top 20 percent of New York City schools. In only the first year of having its dedicated English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, 45 percent of the ELL students at the school demonstrated enough language proficiency to graduate from ELL services. Thanks in part to the strong academic growth of ELL students, AF Bushwick was the highest-scoring K-8 school in the city according to the New York City Department of Education 2011-12 Progress Reports.

WHAT’S NEXT While these results are a good start, they underscore the hard work ahead of us to meet our unwavering commitment as a network to adequately serve all students—including those with special needs. By one study, more than one third of New York City students classified as ELL by first grade are still ELL by the time they finish seventh grade. There is much more we need to learn about great ELL instruction to guarantee that our students receive the outstanding education they need and deserve. ¡Si, se puede!

Courtney O’Reilly DEAN OF SPECIAL SERVICES, AF BUSHWICK ELEMENTARY On the first day of school last year, Kayla walked into the kindergarten classroom at AF Bushwick Elementary with little, if any, conversational English. Ilana Gritzewsky Fainsod, our ESL teacher, committed to putting in the hard, deliberate work it would take to help Kayla achieve. She communicated frequently with Kayla’s teachers about her growth areas and developed strong relationships with Kayla’s family to ensure they were partners in her development.

Ilana Gritzewsky Fainsod ESL TEACHER, AF BUSHWICK ELEMENTARY Repeatedly practicing with picture vocabulary cards and listening intently to books being read, Kayla never stopped pushing herself. Paired with two other girls with limited English proficiency, Kayla first learned words that would help her relate to peers, mastering expressions like “Please” and “Thank you.” Once Kayla’s vocabulary—and her confidence—grew in both Spanish and English, she made tremendous reading gains. Kayla Centeno STUDENT, AF BUSHWICK ELEMENTARY I was scared on the first day of kindergarten. I could not understand what my teachers were saying. But Ms. Ilana talked about her time in Mexico. She made learning fun. We repeated the stories back to her using picture cards. Ms. Ilana told us it was hard work to learn English. She also told us we could do anything with hard work. My hard work has now helped me get to first grade. I want to do well in school this year. When I grow up, I am going to be a doctor.

Commitment to Serve All Students

In 2011, New York charter authorizers granted Achievement First Bushwick only a probationary, three-year charter renewal rather than a full, five-year renewal, citing the school’s inadequate support for our English Language Learner (ELL) students. In Bushwick, a community where one in five children is identified as an ELL, this setback motivated our dedicated teachers and school leaders to strengthen our program to help all students meet gap-closing standards.

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Determination to Prepare Students for the Rigor of College

SOLUTION Achievement First strengthened the seminar framework of humanities classes to expect increasingly complex and self-directed critical thinking from our students—an essential requirement for college success. We also gathered and analyzed exemplar writing from some of the country’s top prep schools to create the interactive AF Writing Rubric, which outlines and assesses specific criteria for excellent writing.

RESULTS While national SAT averages have declined, SAT scores across our two high schools have improved 200 points, and AF Amistad High’s results now exceed the national average. Our high school writing scores on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test also earned AF Amistad High a spot as one of the top 10 performing districts in the state. In 2011, AF Amistad High students were second only to students in Simsbury, Connecticut, in terms of absolute performance on the statewide writing test.

WHAT’S NEXT While we are pleased with our improvement, we still have more work ahead of us to enhance our curriculum and to prepare students for the rigor and changing landscape of college. Our students also need to attend even more summer programs—from internships to pre-college opportunities—for exposure to experiences beyond the classroom and to make them increasingly competitive applicants to universities.

Luke Harrison ACADEMIC DEAN, AF AMISTAD HIGH The demands of AF Amistad High’s college-preparatory curriculum require our students to practice grit daily, developing the habits and mindsets that characterize successful college students. Orane initially resisted our academic requirements because he did not always believe he could go to college. Though he is a smart young man, Orane has struggled in the past to understand why our team holds such high expectations for his work.

MaryAnn Holland CO-DIRECTOR, THE COLLEGE OFFICE, AF AMISTAD HIGH Thanks to our SAT class, Orane’s combined critical reading and math SAT scores topped 1,000—a score known as the “gate-keeper” score for many colleges and universities. Similarly, our work to align our curriculum to exemplar A.P. performance helped Orane earn a 4 on the A.P. U.S. History test. When Orane found out he had been selected to attend a summer program at Columbia University, he turned to me in the hallway and said, “I can’t believe this is finally real, that I’m actually going to live on a college campus.” Orane is now one of the hardest working students at school, and he is beaming about college because he is confident that his persistence will lead him there.

Orane Fraser STUDENT, AF AMISTAD HIGH I used to believe friends on the street who told me that college was not the path for me or even a real possibility for me. At the end of the Columbia summer program, my group had to sell our company to Microsoft in a mock business transaction. Collaborating with students from across the country during these negotiations, I realized the skills I had learned at AF Amistad High—articulating clear arguments and collecting compelling, convincing evidence—were the same skills necessary for success in the real world. I am becoming prepared for college and beyond while at Achievement First.

In 2009, data on SAT and Advanced Placement exams at Achievement First was disappointing: AF Amistad High’s first junior class earned scores that fell short of state averages. We quickly recognized that we had to better equip our students with the analytical, systematic and adaptive thinking skills necessary for success on college entrance exams and in college-level academics.

Persistence to Graduate From College

SOLUTION We developed an “AF High School Through College Completion” team focused on facilitating college readiness, matriculation and persistence for both our current high school students and our alumni. By studying the challenges our alumni face in college, we identified six levers that drive post-secondary success: a four-year college readiness seminar, targeted college counseling, college entrance exam preparation, summer programs, a college-going culture and alumni support. The college readiness seminar in high school teaches the skills, knowledge and mindsets necessary to successfully apply and matriculate to college.

RESULTS Achievement First alumni counselors work in partnership with college officials, families and students to help provide access to on-campus resources and problem solve barriers to persistence. Knowing that 85 percent of our students will be the first in their families to earn a college diploma, the barriers to degree attainment are steep. To understand the factors that predict college persistence and to better develop student perseverance skills, Achievement First is now collaborating with researchers and other high-performing public charter school networks as part of a study on grit funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

WHAT’S NEXT The college persistence rate of our first class—the Class of 2010—has actually increased from 64 to 72 percent since we have been able to support some students returning to school. Moreover, 84 percent of the Class of 2011 and 100 percent of the Class of 2012 are still enrolled in college. With more Achievement First high school alumni now persisting in college, we are moving in the right direction—but we have more work to do. As we receive data from our alumni, we must respond immediately by intensifying our support for them while also implementing programmatic improvements to our high school curriculum to adequately prepare our future college students.

Emery Sykes DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING, AF AMISTAD HIGH The Class of 2010 made largely blind college decisions without visiting college campuses, and several alumni matriculated to colleges that did not match their academic or social-emotional needs. For Christine’s Class of 2011, we made a concerted effort to ensure students visited the campuses to which they were applying. Christine submitted applications to diversity overnight programs, which allowed her to visit potential schools at no cost to her family, and she also gained on-campus experience through a variety of summer programs, including a pre-college program at Carleton College. Armed with multiple on-campus experiences, Christine was able to enter our “college process” with the self-knowledge to choose the best school.

Amy Christie NETWORK DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE, ACHIEVEMENT FIRST Research on the obstacles facing first-generation college students suggests that adequate academic preparation alone will not ensure a student earns a diploma. To navigate the obstacles of college, students need to develop key non-academic skills as well: grit, perseverance, time-management, self-knowledge and an ability to advocate for themselves. The ability to persist toward a long-term goal despite setbacks characterizes both how our students approach college and how we approach our college-access work.

Christine Wright STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, AF AMISTAD HIGH CLASS OF 2011 No one else in my family has earned a college degree. As I work toward my future career, I know that AF Amistad High has prepared me well, and I know that I am not alone. Last fall, our alumni counselor visited me, met with my advisor and helped connect me to resources on campus for additional support. With the help of the self-advocacy skills I learned at Achievement First, I was able to recover from a rough first semester and earn strong grades last semester. I am now serving as an alumni mentor to support other graduates of Achievement First schools as we work toward the same goal of college graduation.

AF Amistad High’s first graduating class, the Class of 2010, left for college with great fanfare. However, only 64 percent of them remained enrolled in college one year later, which is below our goal of 75 percent reaching college graduation—and these students had only completed their freshman year! According to one study, only 16 percent of students who were the first in their families to enter college had attained a bachelor’s degree six years later. To change these harrowing odds, Achievement First students must be equipped both academically and mentally for the challenges they will face on campus. It was obvious we needed to provide our students with more support.

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Passion to Provide Every Student with an Outstanding Education

We are constantly reminded at Achievement First that we are not perfect and that closing the achievement gap is hard work. The proof of who we are as an organization comes not in our successes but in how we respond when we face challenges. Grit and determination have led to the improvements recognized in this report—but they will be even more important as we confront the challenges ahead of us. There are many low-income families who still need excellent public school options. To help meet this need, we are planning

to open additional Achievement First schools over the next five years, eventually serving more than 12,000 students on our way to becoming a “proof point” that success is possible at district scale.

As we grow, the same “whatever it takes” approach we employed to confront past challenges will be even more important as we improve our performance and scale our impact. Five organizational priorities will guide us in providing more students with access to the door-opening power of a great public education.

PASSION

K-12 Curriculum We have an obligation to our students and families to provide an education that ensures college readiness, so we are enthusiastically embracing the Common Core State Standards—new, internationally benchmarked standards that define the more rigorous skills and knowledge our students need to learn in each grade to enter college truly prepared. Although most states will not transition to these standards until 2014, we are already adopting them by developing Common Core-aligned instructional materials and assessments, as well as providing targeted professional development at all schools. Transitioning to this more rigorous set of standards may reveal gaps initially—but we know it is the right decision for our students.

Leadership Development The single biggest factor holding us back from opening additional schools is the availability of effective school leaders, yet we have historically had thin leadership pipelines. As we work to further improve our existing schools and open new schools, we are doubling down on our investment in leadership development. We are focusing on a few “power skills” to help our leaders become more effective in key areas of instructional leadership, starting this year with how to conduct meetings for teacher observation and feedback and effective data analysis. To strengthen the depth of our pipeline of future leaders, we added a second year to our Principal-in-Residence (PIR) Program to allow for more differentiated training. We have also expanded our corps of talented regional superintendents—former principals of high-performing schools—to ensure that all of our leaders receive the kind of targeted, individual coaching and support that has been shown to make the greatest difference.

Diversity and Inclusiveness With the launch of our Diversity and Inclusiveness Initiative, we are increasing our work to recruit a diverse and high-performing team, to develop and retain talented people of color, and to ensure that all Achievement First staff members—regardless of their backgrounds—have the skills and self-awareness they need to successfully partner with our students and families. We are launching a training initiative focused first on our Network Support team and

regional superintendents to develop diversity and inclusiveness core competencies like self-awareness, communication, talent development and organizational leadership. We are also offering community groups and targeted mentoring to our talented staff members who share the backgrounds of our students, and we are developing a parent engagement toolkit that all of our school leaders will be able to use.

Teacher Career Pathway Teacher effectiveness is the single largest determinate of student outcomes, so last year we launched the Teacher Career Pathway at all Achievement First schools to develop, reward and retain effective teachers. In our second year of this initiative, we believe that the Teacher Career Pathway is a promising approach to develop and celebrate great teachers, but we also know that it is still a work-in-progress. Great teaching is as complex as it is important. Therefore, we are using feedback from teachers and leaders to improve our process and measurements and create an exemplar system of development and recognition.

Scaling With Excellence To put more students on the climb to college, we are planning to open additional schools every year over the next five years. We are especially excited that this growth includes the opening of our first school in Rhode Island—a state with one of the largest Hispanic-white achievement gaps in the country. In addition, we are also committed to working with traditional public school districts to improve performance more broadly. A key component of our partnership work is the Residency Program for School Leadership, which recruits and trains future leaders for the highest-needs schools in our three Connecticut districts: New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport. As part of a District-Charter Collaboration grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we are also collaborating with the City of Hartford and Jumoke Academy, another public charter school, to share best practices around teacher development and evaluation. We know there is much we can share with our partners, but we also are humbled by how much we need to learn as we grow to “district” scale.

PASSION

Despite the promise of equal educational opportunity, the United States has largely failed to provide the vast majority of low-income children with access to the high-quality education all kids need and deserve. With only one in 10 low-income students in the U.S. graduating from college, the difference in academic performance between poor and affluent students, known as the achievement gap, has serious implications for the future life opportunities of students and for our society at large. In addition to this national disparity, U.S. students also face a growing global achievement gap: the U.S. ranks 14th in reading out of 34 OECD countries and 25th in math, trailing behind Poland, Estonia and Iceland. Closing these twin achievement gaps is both an economic and moral imperative—the modern frontier of the civil rights movement. Over the last decade, thanks to the example set by individual, high-performing schools across the country, conventional wisdom has shifted from a belief that “demographics are destiny” to an acknowledgment that success is possible for all students. Education reform skeptics now question whether success is possible at scale.

Amistad Academy Middle SchoolPrincipal: Sarah White Open Date: July 1999 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 323

HIGHLIGHT More than 125 students participated in Partnership for Learning, a joint effort between Achievement First, the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, and the Learning House. The program is designed to provide additional support to students who struggle with reading.

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SAchievement Gap

Our first priority is to provide a truly outstanding, gap-closing education for the thousands of families we have the honor and responsibility of working with directly—the kind of education that will help these families and our urban communities break the cycle of poverty. Beyond this direct impact, 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 22 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:

· Excellence Ensure that all Achievement First schools provide the truly outstanding, gap-eliminating public education that our students need and deserve.

· Scale Increase the number of students we help climb the mountain to college and prove success is possible at “district” scale.

· Sustainability Build systems that support growth and excellence and ensure the work is sustainable—financially, humanly and institutionally—over the long term; specifically, provide an outstanding education at a per-student cost equal to or less than that of our host public school districts.

Achievement First’s Theory of Change

Amistad Academy Middle SchoolPrincipal: Sarah White Open Date: August 1999 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 323

HIGHLIGHT More than 125 students participated in Partnership for Learning, a joint initiative between Achievement First, the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, and the Learning House. The program is designed to provide additional support to students who struggle with reading.

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Proficiency (65%) in Multiple Subjects

* Achievement First New York schools and students continued to outpace their statewide peers on achievement tests. In math, 88 percent of our New York students achieved proficiency, compared to a 60 percent average proficiency rate in New York City and a 65 percent average proficiency rate across the state. In English Language Arts, 58 percent of Achievement First students achieved proficiency, compared with 47 percent of New York City students and 55 percent of students statewide.

* Achievement First students are not only achieving higher proficiency rates than their peers, but their achievement is also increasing at a faster rate. The proportion of students in our Brooklyn schools reaching English Language Arts proficiency rose more than 20 percentage points since 2010 when the state increased standards, and math scores have increased more than 18 percentage points. During the same time period, the statewide average increased by only 2 percentage points in English Language Arts and 4 percentage points in math.

* Math remains an especially strong area for Achievement First. On the nationally normed TerraNova math assessment, kindergarten through second-grade students achieved, on average, at the 92nd percentile. Across Achievement First middle schools, 91 percent of our students achieved math proficiency, including 99 percent of eighth graders. On the eighth-grade math test, students outperformed their peers in Rye, New York, one of the wealthiest and highest-performing districts in the state.

* Our elementary and middle schools have made substantial gains in reading, with seven of our eight New York schools posting improved scores. In the past two years, AF Bushwick Elementary improved its English Language Arts scores by 30 percentage points, and AF Endeavor Middle improved these scores by 22 percentage points.

New York ResultsTOP GRADESAchievement First congratulates all of its eligible charters that earned top grades on the New York City Department of Education 2011-12 Progress Reports. Four of the five evaluated Achievement First schools earned an “A,” scoring in the top 15 percent of all New York City schools.

AF Endeavor A

AF Brownsville A

AF Bushwick A

AF Crown Heights A

AF East New York B

* AF Bushwick was the highest-scoring K-8 school in the city on the New York City Department of Education 2011-12 Progress Reports, scoring in the 100th percentile.

* AF Crown Heights and AF Endeavor both scored in the 93rd percentile for all New York City schools, and AF Brownsville scored in the 86th percentile.

* AF Bushwick earned “full credit” for mathematics improvement and showed substantial improvement in English. AF Bushwick also earned “full credit” for its percentage of eighth graders attaining high school credits.

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*State and district values are from 2010-11 since 2011-12 values are not yet publicly available.

Crown Heights

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East New York

Brownsville

* Achievement First Apollo Elementary

* Achievement First Brooklyn High

* Achievement First Brownsville Elementary

* Achievement First Brownsville Middle

* Achievement First Bushwick Elementary

* 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 Elementary

* Achievement First Endeavor Middle

* For the 2012-13 academic year, Achievement First Brooklyn schools received applications from 6,580 potential students, representing nearly 11 applicants for every open seat.

* Thirty-one parents from across our Brooklyn schools trained with Families for Excellent Schools, and hundreds more joined them to advocate for increased educational opportunities for their families and communities by participating in hearings and meetings with their local elected officials. At the close of the year, our parents were among 1,500 public charter school parents who held a rally

in front of City Hall to demonstrate their unified voice around education reform.

* During their high school careers, 70 percent of Brooklyn students in the Class of 2013 participated in summer internships. Students worked at organizations including The Children’s Law Center, Moody’s Corporation and the American Civil Liberties Union.

* We were pleased to open AF Brownsville Middle School in 2012 under the leadership of Principal Keith Brooks. In August 2013, Achievement First is slated to open our second Brooklyn high school, AF University Prep, as well as our seventh

elementary school, AF Aspire, and our sixth middle school, AF North Brooklyn Prep. We are excited to serve even more Brooklyn families as we scale with excellence.

* Current Achievement First parents joined our student recruitment initiatives to help us connect with families in the neighborhoods we serve. Our street team parents distributed nearly 10,000 applications in our Brooklyn communities, and we are grateful they have partnered with us to recruit new families.

New York Highlights

Achievement First Crown Heights Elementary

Principal: Camilla Lopez Open Date: August 2005 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 418

HIGHLIGHT Fourth graders excelled in science, with 97 percent of students achieving proficiency on the fourth-grade science test.

Achievement First Brownsville ElementaryPrincipal: Gina Ribeiro (2011-12); Michelle Kagan (2012-13) Open Date: August 2008 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 419

HIGHLIGHT The school’s Family Leadership Council worked with teachers and students to host three school-wide Arts and Culture Nights, during which students showcased their music, dance and other artistic abilities.

Achievement First Crown Heights MiddlePrincipal: Wells Blanchard (2011-12); Gillette Eckler (2012-13) Open Date: August 2005 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 294

HIGHLIGHT The girls’ basketball and volleyball teams both placed first in the Charter School Athletic Association Championship.

* For the 2012-13 academic year, Achievement First’s Connecticut schools received an average of six applications from potential students for every available seat. We are excited to welcome more than 500 new students to our Connecticut schools this year.

* Through an expanded partnership with Families for Excellent Schools, we trained 19 Achievement First parents to become effective advocates for their children and communities. These parent advocates met with elected officials and led more than 400 parents in a rally to support Governor Dannel Malloy’s education reform package.

* In collaboration with parents and other Connecticut public charter schools, we secured a $1,100 increase in per-student funding for the 2012-13 academic year. This is the single largest annual funding increase for public charter schools in Connecticut’s history, which puts us on a path to parity with our host districts and better equips us to support students on their journey to and through college.

* Achievement First is finally able to move forward with building a state-of-the-art facility for our blossoming high school program. The state approved $24 million dollars in construction funding to develop a new school facility for AF Amistad High, significantly helping us bridge the cost of the $35-million-dollar project. This was only the second time that such a grant was awarded to a Connecticut public charter school.

* We were thrilled to open our third high school in August 2012—AF Hartford High. We are especially pleased that, through a cooperative agreement, Achievement First ninth-grade students are joined by students from Jumoke Academy, another high-performing public charter school in Hartford.

* Amistad Academy, Elm City College Prep and AF Bridgeport Academy all received five-year charter renewals, the longest term available. AF Hartford Academy will be going through the renewal process this year.

Bridgeport

New Haven

Hartford* Amistad Academy Elementary

* Amistad Academy Middle

* Achievement First Amistad 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

* Achievement First Hartford High

Elm City College Prep MiddlePrincipal: Rebecca Good Open Date: August 2004 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 219

HIGHLIGHT Fifth- and sixth-grade students traveled to Philadelphia to visit Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, where they played Wiffle Ball on the field at the Camden Riversharks’ baseball stadium and visited the Philadelphia Art Museum. Seventh- and eighth-grade students traveled to Washington, D.C., where they visited the White House and toured Catholic University, Georgetown University and Howard University.

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy ElementaryPrincipal: Kate Baker Open Date: August 2010 Grades Served: K to 1 Number of Students: 118

HIGHLIGHT On a recent survey, more than 98 percent of parents responded that the school has very high academic standards and a rigorous curriculum, and more than 94 percent of parents reported that they could tell that the teachers and staff at the school cared about their child.

Connecticut Highlights

* Achievement First students are excelling in early elementary math and reading. On the nationally normed TerraNova math assessment, our kindergarten through second-grade students performed, on average, at the 90th percentile—meaning that our students’ math achievement averages are in the top 10 percent of all students nationwide. In reading at all four of our Connecticut elementary schools, an average of 90 percent of students in kindergarten through second grade achieved at or above proficiency on the nationally normed Fountas & Pinnell assessment.

* It is often said that the best way to evaluate a school’s impact is to look at the achievement of a group of students over time. At Achievement First’s Connecticut middle schools, the percentage of students at or above goal on the Connecticut Mastery Test doubled from fourth grade in 2008 to eighth grade in 2012. In Bridgeport, only 22 percent of our eighth-grade students scored at or above goal on the Connecticut Mastery Test across all subjects when these same

students were in fourth grade (before they came to Achievement First). After four years at AF Bridgeport Academy Middle, 73 percent of these students scored at or above goal—a 51 percentage point gain over the four years. Similarly, at Amistad Academy Middle, the fourth-grade cohort entered with only 45 percent scoring at goal. By eighth grade, achievement jumped to 88 percent at goal—a 43 percentage point improvement.

* Across Connecticut, our students are closing the achievement gap by eighth grade, surpassing statewide averages and, in some subjects, outperforming the state’s most affluent suburban districts. In each of our Connecticut middle schools, our oldest middle school students—eighth graders—achieved 73 percent at goal averaged across all subjects, 4 percentage points higher than the statewide average. Eighth graders at Amistad Academy achieved 90 percent at goal on the math section of the Connecticut Mastery Test, outperforming students in Greenwich, one of the state’s most affluent towns.

* Achievement First high school students are working hard to get ready for college. More than 61 percent of our students who took the A.P. U.S. History exam scored a 4 or 5 (5 is the top score), compared with only 33 percent of students across the country. On the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, Achievement First students were again top performers on the writing section, with more than 88 percent of our students achieving at goal, compared with 63 percent of their state peers. Through a coordinated focus on college readiness, SAT performance continues to improve; Achievement First students are averaging more than 1,020 points on the reading and math sections of the test, combined. Nationally, for the Class of 2012, the combined average for those two sections of the test was 1,010.

Connecticut Results

New York Vital Stats

*State and district values are from 2010-11 since 2011-12 values are not yet publicly available.

*

Proficiency (65%) in Multiple Subjects

Achievement First Apollo Elementary Principal: Jabari Sims Open Date: August 2010 Grades Served: K to 2 Number of Students: 267

HIGHLIGHT More than 150 fathers attended the school’s inaugural “Dads Take Your Child to School Day.” Fathers had breakfast with their children, observed a REACH Circle and sat in on a reading class.

Achievement First East New York ElementaryPrincipal: Hilary Cymrot Open Date: August 2005 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 430

HIGHLIGHT Third- and fourth-grade students performed a dance routine in front of an audience of 30,000 people during the Great GoogaMooga festival held in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The students, who performed under the direction of AF East New York Elementary dance teacher Meghan Carter, also danced in the festival’s official music video.

Achievement First East New York MiddlePrincipal: Dave Hardy (2011-12); Fatimah Barker (2012-13) Open Date: August 2009 Grades Served: 5 to 7 Number of Students: 252

HIGHLIGHT An eighth-grade student conceived, planned and carried out the school’s first Multicultural Fair, a successful event attended by more than 300 students and their families.

NEVER SETTLE FOR SO-SO

CURIOSITYAmistad Academy Elementary Principal: Amanda Alonzy Open Date: August 2006 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 426

HIGHLIGHT More than 100 supporters attended the school’s first Black History Month celebration, during which student performances highlighted African-American achievement through singing, poetry and dance.

Achievement First Hartford Academy ElementaryPrincipal: Claire Shin (2011-12); Liz Ferguson (2012-13) Open Date: August 2008 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 428

HIGHLIGHT Students read more than 51,000 books throughout the year. By the end of the year, 95 percent of first-grade students were reading at grade level and 50 percent were reading at an advanced level.

Achievement First Hartford Academy MiddlePrincipal: Jeff House Open Date: August 2008 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 336

HIGHLIGHT The school’s soccer team won the city championship, and the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both competed in the city playoffs.

Connecticut Vital Stats

Achievement First Amistad HighPrincipal: Jeff Sudmyer (2011-12); Chris Bostock (2012-13) Open Date: August 2006 Grades Served: 9 to 12 Number of Students: 238

HIGHLIGHT For the third year in a row, 100 percent of graduating seniors were accepted into college, including our first student attending Yale University.

Elm City College Preparatory Elementary Principal: Andrew Poole Open Date: August 2004 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 292

HIGHLIGHT The fourth-grade class trav-eled to Boston to visit Northeastern Univer-sity and enjoy an overnight stay inside the Museum of Science.

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy MiddlePrincipal: Morgan Barth Open Date: August 2007 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 323

HIGHLIGHT The school’s new gymnasium opened in April 2012. At a dedication ceremony held in June, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch spoke to students, parents and supporters, and students performed a scene from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Proficiency (65%) in Multiple Subjects

CURIOSITY

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 network, school, principal and teacher evaluations.

Talent DevelopmentAchievement First firmly believes that the most important determinant of student achievement is the effectiveness of the teacher in the classroom. Likewise, the effectiveness 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 at least two years before launching a new school, and all new Achievement First teachers participate in nearly four weeks of professional development before the school year begins. Achievement First schools release early on Fridays to provide two additional hours every week of staff meeting and learning time. All Achievement First teachers have coaches (principals, deans or lead teachers) who observe them in action on a weekly basis and meet with them each week to provide individual coaching and support.

More Time on TaskThe Achievement First school day is at least 1.5 hours longer than the traditional public school day, allowing many students to have two reading classes and an extended math class every day, with tutoring available during and after school, an average of one to two

hours of homework assigned per night, and an intensive independent reading program so that students READ, READ, READ both at home and at school. In addition, the Achievement First school year is 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. We are in the process of revising our curriculum so that it is aligned to the new, internationally benchmarked Common Core State Standards and to true college readiness. Strategic Use of Data and Interventions for Struggling Students Every six to eight 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. After each IA, teachers and principals spend a Data Day 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.

Our Approach

All Achievement First schools share six core program elements that have emerged and are constantly refined.

Achievement First Endeavor Middle

Principal: Tom Kaiser Open Date: August 2006 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 304

HIGHLIGHT The school launched an extensive, school-wide character education program. Students put into practice their newly developed “high-level character traits” during a college tour in Connecticut, trips to New Orleans and Montreal, and on a camping trip to the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.

Strong School Culture Immediately upon entering an Achievement First school, you can feel a sense of urgency and 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 and cultivate these character strengths as explicitly as we do academic skills.

* Teachers Know and Care Achievement First schools are small learning communities in which all the teachers and leaders know the names of all students. Every Achievement First school has some form of advisory program so that teachers are able to develop meaningful relationships with each student in their cohort.

* 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 set for them. In addition, all Achievement First students wear their school’s chosen uniform.

* 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 the year they are expected to graduate

from college (our current kindergarteners are known as the “Class of 2029”).

* Parents Are Partners At Achievement First schools, parents, students and school leaders all sign a contract that outlines their shared commitment to hard 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.

* Joy Factor Achievement First believes that great education should be rigorous and fun, challenging and engaging, structured and joyful. In fact, we coach teachers to ensure that the J-Factor (the “Joy Factor”) is high in every class and dominates regular school-wide celebrations. Students are frequently and systematically recognized for academic achievement and good behavior.

GRIT

Network Support Expenses

Network Support Finances

Core RevenuesManagement Fees 7,978,426

Public Grants 392,099

Philanthropy 3,950,000

Other 27,450

Total Revenues 12,347,975

Core ExpensesPersonnel Expenses 9,158,063

Non-personnel Expenses 3,174,588

Total Expenses (before depreciation) 12,332,651

Surplus/(Deficit) 15,325

26%

22%

16%

14%

11%

11%

School Support and Curriculum Development

Talent Development and Recruiting

Development and Community Relations

Leadership and Administration

Information Technology and Data

Operations and Finance

Network Support refers only to the core central office

services that AF provides to support its schools. If all school

revenues and expenses were added to these central office

services, overall finances for the Achievement First network

would amount to more than $103 million in 2011-12, with

more than 82 percent coming from public sources.

Achievement First Endeavor ElementaryPrincipal: Stephanie Blake Open Date: August 2011 Grades Served: K to 1 Number of Students: 192

HIGHLIGHT Staff members, students and families joined together for several events, including Family Literacy Night, Family Math Night and Family Movie Night.

Achievement First Bushwick MiddlePrincipal: Amy D’Angelo (2011-12); Mike Rosskamm (2012-13) Open Date: August 2007 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 339

HIGHLIGHT Seventy-nine eighth graders passed the New York State Integrated Algebra Regents exam, enabling them to earn their first high school credit while still in middle school.

Achievement First Bushwick Elementary Principal: Stacey Park Open Date: August 2006 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 420

HIGHLIGHT All fourth graders took a trip to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia during the spring semester. Students were amazed by the Ivy League campus, especially the science laboratories, and many vowed to attend college there.

Revenue, Philanthropy

Revenue, Federal

Revenue, State and District

Non-personnel Expenses

Personnel Expenses

*The New York host district per-student data is based on 2010-11

budgets, and the Connecticut host district per-student data is based

on 2009-10 budgets, which in both cases were the latest available.

The amount does not include incomparable expenses or things

provided in-kind, such as facilities, special education services,

transportation and food service.

Achievement First per-student expenses are calculated for schools that

have grown to full size.

NEW YORK Achievement First Model

Our School Finances

Achievement First operates college-preparatory public charter schools at an average per-student cost equal to or less than its host public school districts in New York and Connecticut.

CONNECTICUT Achievement First Model

$238

$14,542

$13,527$10,884

$3,656

$774

$14,539$14,449

CT $13,068

$9,345$8,502

$2,861$1,275

$2,208

$12,828

$11,363

Host District Expenses

Host District Expenses

** **

* *

* A new playfield opened at Elm City College Preparatory Middle after the purchase and reformation of two parcels of land adjacent to the existing school building. A landscaped parking lot was built on one parcel so that the former parking lot could be repurposed for the new playfield. This $900,000 capital investment provides a much-needed outdoor activity area for our middle school students.

* The $4.2-million renovation of AF Bridgeport Academy Middle added a new main entrance, an expanded cafeteria, a new gymnasium, two new classrooms, an elevator to complete ADA access throughout the building, a new main office and a new landscaped parking lot. The Low Income Investment Fund was a valuable partner through a $2.7-million loan.

* Achievement First completed its 7,000-square-foot renovation of space for the ninth graders at one of our newest schools, AF Hartford High. The space is located on the first floor of the Lewis Fox Middle School, which is the same building that houses AF Hartford Academy Elementary and Middle. The high school has a separate entrance, and the space was renovated to include classrooms, offices, a library, a science lab and a Fun Room for students who earn special privileges. Students also have access to the building’s amenities, including a full-size gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium. The renovation represented a $600,000 investment into the space.

* Elm City College Preparatory Elementary moved to a permanent location from its leased space on Greene Street in New Haven. When Amistad Academy Middle moved to its permanent home on Edgewood Avenue, our James Street facility became available, providing more space and a better layout for the elementary school. After an investment of $650,000 to renovate the building to support the elementary program, the school started the 2012-13 academic year in its new home.

* AF Amistad High has been awarded a major grant for the construction of a new high school facility in New Haven. The project is estimated to cost $35 million, with $24 million funded by the state of Connecticut. A site has been identified at the former MLK Elementary School property located at 580 Dixwell Avenue, with an aggressive timeline for the school to begin use of the building in 2014. Upon completion of this project, all Achievement First New Haven schools will be housed in permanent locations.

* Achievement First is working with the City of Providence and Rhode Island Mayoral Academies to renovate a facility for our first Rhode Island school, which will open in the 2013-14 academic year with kindergarteners and first graders. Currently, Achievement First is negotiating a deal for a long-term lease at the former Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School, located at 370 Hartford Avenue. This building has a beautiful entryway, two gyms, a large cafeteria and a formal auditorium, as well as enough classroom space for a K-8 school.

Achievement First students are learning in more than one million square feet of space across our 22 schools. As we scale our gap-closing instructional approach, we are also working hard to scale our facilities to meet the growth and longevity of the organization. This is only possible through generous support from our donors and cooperative partnerships with traditional public school districts.

Facilities

Achievement First Brooklyn HighPrincipal: Paul Adler Open Date: August 2009 Grades Served: 9 to 11 Number of Students: 192

HIGHLIGHT In the school’s first year offering Latin, 12 students earned awards on the National Latin Exam. Their honors include two gold medals, three silver medals and two magna cum laude distinctions. Six students on the Debate Team competed in the New York City Urban Debate League’s Early Bird Tournament, competing against teams from New York City, Rhode Island and Newark, N.J. Students won second place and fourth place at the event, their first policy debate competition.

IndividualsSabeela Aftabodeen-khanNancy AhernBruce AlexanderMargaret B. AllisonNitesh AmbasthaStephen AnbinderJudith AndrewsAnonymous Diane ArikerMary ArnsteinAmy Arthur SamuelsAlan AsaJon AtkesonRosemary AverySayan BanerjeeBrian BarkleyEve BarronMorgan BarthRichard and Ilene BarthJoseph BartholomewDominic BasileMyrna BaskinJim BennettDr. Eric and Mrs. Ethel BergerWilliam R. BerkleyCarey BisbeeAndrew and Carol BoasLisa BonnifieldLaxmikant BopalkarDoug Borchard and Barbara TalcottMatthew BorinJoseph BoskovskiHarold and Rachel BrooksSusan Simpson BrownJane BryggareAmy BudingerJulie Burton and George P. SharradPeter ButlerGuido and Anne CalabresiNicole CampbellLinc CaplanLawrence CarusoWilliam ChablaAvik ChatterjeeMichelle ChauNatalia CheferIris ChenXiying ChenDavid ChorneyAllen ChurchJoanne ClainLaura ClancyHenry H. Clark IIIPaul Farrell and Paula ClearyJustin CohenWilliam CohenTheodore CoonsTerry and Lou Ann CounihanMichael and Joyce CritelliRay CunninghamWilliam CurranDiana CzelBarry and Pauline DahneTony Davis and Suzy Franczak Nicole DayDonna D. DesilusMilton and Margaret DeVaneHoward DingleLeander DolphinNeel DoshiFrank DowneySusan and Thomas DunnCindy and David Eigen

Audrey EisenlohrEmily EisenlohrTracy EppMartin ErbGeorge and Laura EstesJohn and Katharine EstyCece and Richard FabbroRuth M. FeldmanMr. and Mrs. Eric N. FergusonRichard and Marissa FergusonHarris FerrellBarry and Pamela FingerhutTom Foley and Leslie FahrenkopfDorothy and Jon FoxCatherine FrantzisTimothy FrazierChristina FreyRob FriedMonica GaffneyDenise GallucciAmy Williams and William I. GarfinkelLee GelerntSheri and David GellmanChris and Toddie GetmanLorraine GibbonsFrank and Marjorie GillisLynn and Thomas GoldbergTimothy GoodsonMarc and Kristine K. GranetzWilliam and Jean GrausteinSarah GraysonAdam and Carolyn GreeneMelinda and Charles GreenleeW. Patric GregoryGeoff and Sheri GriffinMichael D. Griffin and Molly Butler HartLesley and Ike GroffChris GrowneyAllen HadelmanL. Priscilla HallMarnie HalseyJim and Melinda HamiltonTaylor and Amy HarmelingAnne HarrisMike and Sally HarrisSteven and Maryln HartElizabeth and James HartzellDarrell HarveyJonathan and Beth HayesWilliam and Judy HeinsDebra and John HertzKaren and Robert HessHoward K. HillHoward Model and Donna Howe Andrew HubbardSalvatore InternicolaAnastasia IourtchevksiNorman and Sandra JellinghausJudith JenkinsRegina JohnsonJoe JolsonKatherine JoyceTimur KalimovRichard and Lydia KaltHarold and Peggy KaminsIsa KarceVipin Babu KasarlaShelly and Michael KassenDaniel J. KelleyDonald M. KendallDorsey KendrickBarbara KerinMarcia KesslerCharles and Gretchen KingsleyMatt Klein

Theodore and Maribel KnappenAaron KoffmanHarvey and Ruth KoizimMoira KonradCarol KranowitzJessica KrantChristopher and Robin KunhardtAndrew Lachman and Ruth MessingerIshan LalJean LaVecchiaMarsha LedererTung-Chieh LeeWilliam and Kate LeeRichard and Jane LevinKevin and Erika LongHenry LordRichard and Katherine LoughlinBabette and Gary LubbenHeather LynchRobert LyonsMarlene MacaudaGrant McCrackenPaul and Cynthia McCravenDoug McCurryBrendan McVeighCornelius MedasMaximino MedinaFrances MessanoJohn MinshallEmerson MooreMichelle MorinJohn MotleyMelanie MullanZhanna MullokandovaGerard MurphyMichelle MurrayMr. and Mrs. Ronald NetterDavid NewtonHarold and Sandra NoborikawaKenneth ObaBrian and Jill OlsonMichael O’NeillPeter and Beverly OrthweinSharon Oster and Raymond FairColleen PalmerLauren and Michael ParkMichael Park and James QuinnNicole PattersonKathleen PedroliniMaximo PerezJustin PerlMichael PetryczenkoJim Peyser Patricia Pierce and Marc RubensteinNick PiscnoConstance Chung and Maury PovichNadya PrashadDavid QuezadaEdward RaiceTatsiana RebenkovaWilliam Reese and Dorothy HurtChristopher RezekLystra and Renelle RichardsonClaire RobinsonGerald Rosenberg and Cheryl WiesenfeldKarl and Elaine RosenbergerMarshall Ruben and Carolyn Greenspan Mary Corson and Jonathan SacklerSusan SantanaGregory SantoniMichael SarezkyKen and Laura SaverinJennifer SchiffEric SchmaleJack Schnirman

Gabriel SchwartzNathaniel SchwartzAndrew and Erica SchwedelHabib ShaikhDeborah Shanley Sanjay SharmaSarah SherwoodMichelle ShortsleeveMark ShufroConstance SilverBruce and Pamela SimondsBenjamin SmealJanie SmithJennifer Smith TurnerNate SnowJon Sonneborn John and Susan SteuerChrystal Stokes-WilliamsLawrence and Joyce StupskiLizette B. SuxoJames SweeneyPatricia SweetZebulon TaintorMatthew TartagliaSarah and Christian TaubmanHolland TaylorIris TaylorDenny TejadaSamuel TenenbaumMichael ThomasMargaret H. TilneyCaroline TollDacia M. Toll and Jeffrey Klaus Dan and Sue TollDeborah TollHeather Tow-YickKenneth and Kathleen TropinAlexander and Dale TroyGretchen UnfriedSteven VamesMichael Van LeestenBrian VanDenBergheElisa Villlanueva BeardDushyant VishnoiSanjeev WadhawanGiselle Wagner and Paul MyersonKathryn WebsterBenjamin WeetmanJoanne WeissMildred M. WhiteMalcolm and Carolyn WienerTiger and Caroline WilliamsEdward and Mary Lou WinnickRichard WitmerMartha WoodAmbrose Wooden Jr. Benjamin WrightJoao ZambujeiroDavid ZawistowskiNancy and David Zwiener CorporationsAshforth Properties, Inc. Bank of AmericaCapstone Digital McKinsey & CompanyNewman ArchitectsPeter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc.The Wave, Inc.Thomson ReutersYale New Haven HospitalYale UniversityYannix Management LP

Donors

We are recognizing gifts of $20 or more received between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012.JOY

Gabriel SchwartzNathaniel SchwartzAndrew and Erica SchwedelHabib ShaikhDeborah Shanley Sanjay SharmaSarah SherwoodMichelle ShortsleeveMark ShufroConstance SilverBruce and Pamela SimondsBenjamin SmealJanie SmithJennifer Smith TurnerNate SnowJon Sonneborn John and Susan SteuerChrystal Stokes-WilliamsLawrence and Joyce StupskiLizette B. SuxoJames SweeneyPatricia SweetZebulon TaintorMatthew TartagliaSarah and Christian TaubmanHolland TaylorIris TaylorDenny TejadaSamuel TenenbaumMichael ThomasMargaret H. TilneyCaroline TollDacia M. Toll and Jeffrey Klaus Dan and Sue TollDeborah TollHeather Tow-YickKenneth and Kathleen TropinAlexander and Dale TroyGretchen UnfriedSteven VamesMichael Van LeestenBrian VanDenBergheElisa Villlanueva BeardDushyant VishnoiSanjeev WadhawanGiselle Wagner and Paul MyersonKathryn WebsterBenjamin WeetmanJoanne WeissMildred M. WhiteMalcolm and Carolyn WienerTiger and Caroline WilliamsEdward and Mary Lou WinnickRichard WitmerMartha WoodAmbrose Wooden Jr. Benjamin WrightJoao ZambujeiroDavid ZawistowskiNancy and David Zwiener CorporationsAshforth Properties, Inc. Bank of AmericaCapstone Digital McKinsey & CompanyNewman ArchitectsPeter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc.The Wave, Inc.Thomson ReutersYale New Haven HospitalYale UniversityYannix Management LP

FoundationsAnonymousBank of America Charitable Foundation, Inc. Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationCarnegie Corporation Carolyn FoundationCharles Hayden FoundationCharter School Growth FundCornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation, Inc.Credit Suisse Americas FoundationDavid and Geri Epstein Private FoundationFirst Niagara Bank Foundation George A. and Grace L. Long FoundationH. A. Vance FoundationHartford Foundation for Public GivingHenry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels TrustJohn B. and Ruth L. Kilton Fund at The Rhode Island Foundation Junior League of Greater New HavenKirby Family FoundationLeo Nevas Memorial Fund at the Fairfield County Community Foundation Lone Pine FoundationMarx Family FoundationNear & Far Aid Association NewAlliance FoundationNew Profit, Inc.Newman’s Own FoundationNewSchools Venture FundNortheast Utilities Foundation, Inc.People’s United Community FoundationPeter and Barbara McSpadden Fund at the Fairfield County Community FoundationRobertson FoundationRobin Hood FoundationSavin Family Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public GivingScholarship AmericaSchwedel FoundationSeedlings FoundationShumway Capital FoundationSilverleaf FoundationSteven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation, Inc.Tauck FoundationThe Achelis FoundationThe Broad Foundation The Carson Family Charitable TrustThe Cerimon FundThe Charter Oak Challenge Foundation, Inc. The Clark FoundationThe Community Foundation for Greater New HavenThe Grossman Family FoundationThe Henry J. Kaiser Family FoundationThe Hyde and Watson FoundationThe Louis Calder FoundationThe Michael and Susan Dell FoundationThe Moody’s FoundationThe Ohnell Family Foundation, Inc.The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck FoundationThe Stewart & Constance Greenfield Foundation The Vince and Linda McMahon Family Foundation, Inc.The William and Flora Hewlett FoundationThe William H. Pitt Foundation, Inc.Travelers FoundationUIL Holdings Corporation Woodward Fund

Achievement First Network Support BoardWilliam R. Berkley CHAIR W.R. Berkley Corporation, Chairman and CEO

Doug Borchard TREASURER New Profit, Inc., Managing Partner and Chief Operating OfficerBarry Fingerhut Fingerhut Management Corporation, Director

Carlton L. Highsmith Specialized Packing Group, CEO (retired)James Peyser NewSchools Venture Fund,

Partner Mike Critelli Dossia, CEO

Jon D. Sackler Bouncer Foundation, President

Elisa Villanueva-Beard Teach For America, COOJennifer Smith Turner Girl Scouts of Connecticut, CEO Ariela Rozman The New Teacher Project, CEO

Achievement First ApolloAndy Hubbard CHAIR Credit Suisse, Managing DirectorAmbrose Wooden, Jr. TREASURER Goldman Sachs, AnalystMatt Klein Blue Ridge Foundation, Executive DirectorMiriam Raccah Achievement First, Vice President, External Relations, NY (AF representative through 5/12)Mirian Rodriguez Parent Representative Natalia Chefer D.E. Shaw, Vice PresidentNathaniel Schwartz General Atlantic, LLC, Associate (representative through 5/12)

Achievement First Bridgeport AcademyAndy Boas CHAIR Carl Marks Management Co., LP, General PartnerMax Perez SECRETARY City of Bridgeport, Senior Economic Development AssociateEd Raice TREASURER Raice and Ramaekers, LLC, Principal Dick Kalt CRN International, Inc., Vice President Max Medina Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, P.C., Partner

Harold Kamins Community ActivistMarlene Macauda Mellick & Sexton, P.C., AttorneyWiley Mullins Uncle Wiley’s Specialty Foods, Inc., PresidentJames Bennett Really Good Stuff, OwnerChris Kunhardt J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., Managing DirectorJudy Andrews AF Bridgeport Academy Middle, TeacherDebra Hertz The Strategy Group, LLC, Managing DirectorCornelius Medas Parent RepresentativeShelly Kassen Selectman, Town of Westport (representative through 3/12)

Achievement First BrownsvilleKelly Wachowicz CHAIR EKO Asset Management, Consulting PartnerChrystal Stokes Williams TREASURER American Express Company, Vice President of IP StrategyAmy Arthur Samuels J.P. Morgan, Vice President Glovena Moore Parent Representative Lee Gelernt ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Deputy DirectorMax Polaner Achievement First, Chief Financial and Operating OfficerJulie Marlette 50Can, Vice President of Government RelationsNicole Campbell Operation Generation Values, Managing Director (representative through 5/12)

Achievement First BushwickDeborah Shanley CHAIR Brooklyn College School of Education, Dean Emerson Moore TREASURER TMP Worldwide, General Counsel (representative through 5/12)Christina Frey The Wall Street Journal, Director of Strategy and OperationsHarris Ferrell Achievement First, Chief Information OfficerIris Chen “I Have A Dream” Foundation, CEO/PresidentJack Schnirman Long Beach, NY, City ManagerAndromeda Hansraj Parent Representative

Achievement First Crown HeightsGabriel Schwartz CHAIR Davidson Kempner Capital Management, LLC, Managing DirectorVivian Lau TREASURER Serengeti Asset Management, Partner L. Priscilla Hall Brooklyn Supreme Court, Justice (chair through 5/12)Carlos Ascencio Parent RepresentativeChristopher Sommers Greenlight Capital, Analyst (representative through 11/12)Laura Clancy Achievement First, Chief of StaffJoanne Clain ?WhatIf!, Director Judith Jenkins Attorney, New York City

Achievement First East New YorkJon Atkeson CHAIR Fortress Investment Group, Managing DirectorMatt Tartaglia TREASURER Deloitte Services LP, Director Aaron Koffman The Hudson Companies, Senior Project ManagerLee Gause Smile Design Manhattan, DentistMelanie Mullan Turnaround for Children, Inc., Vice President for Field OperationsSarah Coon Achievement First, Senior Director, Talent DevelopmentAngela Tucker Parent Representative

Achievement First EndeavorClaire Robinson CHAIR Moody’s Corporation, Senior Managing DirectorChris Growney TREASURER Clearwater Analytics, Co-FounderErica Williamson Achievement First, Senior Director, Human CapitalFrances Messano Monitor, ConsultantJustin Cohen M. Brixton Partners, CEOPrentiss Leary Parent RepresentativeTheodore Coons Technology Crossover Ventures, PrincipalMichael Park McKinsey & Company, Partner

Boards of Directors

Achievement First Hartford AcademyJean LaVecchia CHAIR Northeast Utilities System, Vice President of Human Resources and Ethics Marshall Ruben VICE CHAIR Ruben, Johnson & Morgan, P.C., PresidentJohn Motley TREASURER MotleyBeup, OwnerColleen Palmer SECRETARY Weston Public Schools, SuperintendentDenise Gallucci CREC, General Director of Magnet SchoolsJa Hannah Vision Enterprises, OwnerNancy Zweiner DesignSourceCT, LLC, OwnerLaura Estes PhilanthropistGretchen Unfried AF Hartford Academy Elementary, TeacherJames Morton Greater Hartford YMCA, President

Amistad AcademyAlexander Troy CHAIR Troy Capital, LLC, CEOMichael Van Leesten VICE CHAIR Hopkins School, Director of Breakthrough New HavenMichael D. Griffin TREASURER Warmaug Associates, CEOJane Levin SECRETARY Yale University, Senior Lecturer, Department of HumanitiesJohn DeStefano Jr. City of New Haven, MayorSherri Gellman SG Partners, Founder/CEOLorraine Gibbons Parent RepresentativeDorsey Kendrick Gateway Community College, PresidentAndrew Lachman Connecticut Center for School Change, Executive DirectorPaul McCraven First Niagara Bank, Senior Vice PresidentCaroline Williams Event CoordinatorMichael Thomas ArchAngel Ventures, PresidentHoward K. Hill HKH Funeral Services, Director DirectorLisa Bonnifield Amistad Academy Elementary, Teacher

Elm City College PreparatoryDick Ferguson CHAIR New City Foundation Melinda Hamilton VICE CHAIR Education ActivistWill Heins TREASURER Private InvestorLystra Richardson SECRETARY Southern Connecticut State University, ProfessorHarold Brooks City of New Haven, Senior AccountantJoyce Critelli Community Activist (representative through 3/12)Carolyn Greenspan Blue State Coffee, COOMarnie Halsey Education ActivistM. Ann Levett Yale School Development Program, Executive DirectorSharon M. Oster Yale School of Management, Frederick D. Wolfe Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Program on Social EnterprisePatricia Pierce Community ActivistLaura Saverin Community Activist Joseph Boskovski Elm City College Preparatory Middle, Teacher

We are including individuals who served on our boards between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012.

EXCELLENCE

Inside Back Cover

CT Office403 James StreetNew Haven, CT 06513

NY Office1485 Pacific StreetBrooklyn, NY 11216

www.achievementfirst.org