Overview of Achievement FirstProvidence School Board August 22, 2011

Our History

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Achievement First schools are designed to close the achievement gap by providing a high-quality, rigorous K-12 college-preparatory education to students in

underserved communities.

Achievement First Schools and Scholars

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Connecticut Schools

• 2,400 students • Nine academies serving

communities in Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford

• 72% black, 26% Hispanic

• 76% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch

Brooklyn, NY Schools

• 3,000 students • Ten academies serving

the Bushwick, Brownsville, Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, and East NY communities

• 83% black, 15% Hispanic

• 76% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch

Achievement First schools are free, public charter schools and 100% of our scholars are selected by blind lottery.

Note: Data provided is for SY 2010-2011.

Elementary: Early Grade Performance

Across NY and CT, we see very strong performance in K-2 math.

AF East New York ES

AF Apollo ES AF Hartford ES AF Crown Heights ES

Elm City College Prep ES

AF Bridgeport ES Amistad Academy ES

AF Brownsville ES AF Bushwick ES0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

83%

71%77%

80%

95% 98%

70%

80%86% 89% 90%

96% 96%98% 98% 98%

Comparison of students at/above 50th National Percentile on the Terra Nova As-sessment

2010 to 2011

K-2 Performance (2010) K-2 Performance (2011)

Perc

ent o

f Stu

dent

s at/

Abov

e 50

th P

erce

ntile

AF Network Avg: 92%

Elementary: Early Grade Performance

89% of our K-2 scholars in CT and NY performed on grade level on the nationally normed Fountas & Pinnell assessment.

AF East New York AF Apollo AF Crown Heights AF Bushwick Amistad Academy Elm City College Prep

AF Bridgeport AF Hartford AF Brownsville0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

79% 81%

89%92%

95%

82%

98%

82% 83% 83%

90% 91% 91% 91% 93% 96%

Comparison of students at/above Proficiency on the F&P Assessment2010 to 2011

K-2 Performance (2010) K-2 Performance (2011)

Perc

ent o

f Stu

dent

s at/

Abov

e Pr

oficie

ncy

AF Network Avg: 89%

Elementary: CT 3rd and 4th Grade Performance

Host District (2011)

AF (2010) AF (2011) State Overall (2011)

State Non-Poor

(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

32%

64%62% 63%

76%

Comparison of Elementary School (Grades 3 and 4) Students at /above Goal

% 3

rd/4

th G

rade

rs a

t/ab

ove

Goal

(Al

l Sub

ject

s)

In CT, our upper elementary grades (tested grades) are performing close to the state average and we are aiming to close the achievement gap.

Host District (2011)

AF (2010) AF (2011) State Overall (2011)

State Non-Poor

(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

57%

85%83% 81%

90%

Comparison of Elementary School (Grades 3 and 4) Students at/aboveProficiency

% 3

rd/4

th G

rade

rs P

rofic

ient

(All

Subj

ects

)

Middle: Cohort Performance - Amistad

NOTE: High Level Numbers do not include Science

While students across the state make limited progress over time, Amistad students show significant gains as a cohort.

4th Grade(2007)

5th Grade(2008)

6th Grade(2009)

7th Grade(2010)

8th Grade(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

79%81% 83% 84% 84%

57%

72%79%

92% 93%

Amistad Academy MS % Proficiency over Time

State AF

% A

t/Ab

ove

Profi

cien

cy

Pre-AF

4th Grade(2007)

5th Grade(2008)

6th Grade(2009)

7th Grade(2010)

8th Grade(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

61% 64%67%

69% 69%

34%

43%

57%

77%80%

Amistad Academy MS % Goal over Time

State AF

% A

t/Ab

ove

Goa

l

Pre-AF

Middle: Cohort Performance – Elm City

While students across the state make limited progress over time, Elm City students show significant gains as a cohort.

NOTE: High Level Numbers do not include Science

4th Grade(2007)

5th Grade(2008)

6th Grade(2009)

7th Grade(2010)

8th Grade(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

79% 81%83% 84% 84%

51%

65%

74%81%

85%

Elm City Col Prep MS % Proficiency over Time

State AF

% A

t/Ab

ove

Profi

cien

cy

Pre-AF

4th Grade(2007)

5th Grade(2008)

6th Grade(2009)

7th Grade(2010)

8th Grade(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

61%64% 67%

69% 69%

28%35%

48%

62%68%

Elm City Col Prep MS % Goal over Time

State AF

% A

t/Ab

ove

Goa

l

Pre-AF

Middle: Cohort Performance – AF Hartford

While students across the state make limited progress over time, AF Hartford students show significant gains as a cohort.

NOTE: High Level Numbers do not include Science

4th Grade(2008)

5th Grade(2009)

6th Grade(2010)

7th Grade(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

79%83% 86% 84%

48%

68%

82% 86%

AF Hartford MS % Proficiency over Time

State AF

% A

t/Ab

ove

Profi

cien

cy

Pre-AF

4th Grade(2008)

5th Grade(2009)

6th Grade(2010)

7th Grade(2011)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

60%67% 71% 68%

23%

46%

60%

69%

AF Hartford MS % Goal over Time

State AF

% A

t /Ab

ove

Goa

l

Pre-AF

Other Key Achievement Highlights

82% of AF 4th graders in NY reached proficiency in Math. This is double the rate of our host districts where only 41% of 4th graders were proficient in Math.

For the 2nd year in a row, 100% of AF scholars graduating from Achievement First’s New Haven High school were accepted into competitive 4 year colleges and universities.

100% of AF 10th graders at our New Haven High School scored proficient in Writing on the 2011 CMT, 25 percentage points ahead of their peers in New Haven (75%), and even above and beyond their peers in CT’s non poor communities (94%).

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Achievement First’s Approach

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• AF recruits and develops great teachers and school leaders. Every teacher has a coach and receives 2 hours of individual feedback and 2 hours of group professional development weekly.

Effective Teachers

• AF clearly defines ambitious academic standards for each grade level so that success in one grade can be seamlessly built on in the next.

College Prep Curriculum

• AF built a customized interim assessment system, AF Athena™, that helps teachers identify areas for academic intervention and guides instructional planning on a six week basis.

Strategic Use of Data

• AF runs a longer school day (7:30am to 4:00pm) and school year (195 days versus 180). Scholars who need extra support receive additional tutoring after school and/or on Saturdays.

More Time on Task

• Administrative duties are handled by a centralized administrative team and a director of school operations at the school. This creates efficiency and frees the principal to focus on academic outcomes.

Freeing Schools to Focus on Student Achievement

• Students and faculty live by the AF REACH values—Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship, and Hard Work. Our school environments are both disciplined and joyful.

Strong School Culture

Supports Provided by Achievement First

• Recruiting, training and coaching of principal, teachers and other

school staff

• Special education support

• Data analysis and management support

• Development of core curriculum

• Budget development; business management and financial support

• Facilities support; coordination of repairs/renovations

• IT/ data support

• Startup support

• Fundraising

• Marketing and advocacy

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Achievement First provides a variety of support services to schools, enabling them to focus on student achievement.

2010-2011: Teacher Career Pathway Pilot, designed with teachers over several years

Spring 2011: Early Successes

2011-2012: Implementation and Revision

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Through our development of our Teacher Career Pathway, AF has become a national leader in defining, developing and rewarding great teachers.

Teacher Evaluation

Fundamental Principals:• Rigorous evaluation based on value-added student achievement

growth, instructional observations by school and “external” observers, and parent, student and peer surveys.

• Compensation tied to effectiveness, not seniority, with significant increases (+$10K) as teachers progress through five levels

Public Recognition and Broad Support of TCP:• AF’s approach to teacher evaluation was one of only two

promising case studies profiled by the Aspen Institute for its urban superintendents cohort; also profiled by The New Teacher Project in “Teacher Evaluation 2.0”

• AF received a $6.3MM federal Teacher Incentive Fund grant, as well as significant support from the Gates Foundation

• 98.6 percent of AF teachers believe that the Teacher Career Pathway is the right direction for the organization

Successful District Partnerships

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New Haven Public Schools/Superintendent Reginald Mayo

• Included in the district’s portfolio of choice

• Development of Residency Program for School Leadership to recruit, train and support a corps of outstanding principals and assistant principals for NHPS

• Professional development provided by AF to New Haven principals and lead teachers on data practices

• Information sharing

Hartford Public Schools/ Superintendent Christina Kishimoto

• Included in the district’s portfolio of choice

• The district receives “credit” for AF test scores.

• Strong collaboration and information sharing between AF and traditional district schools

• Part of the Gates District-Charter Collaboration Compact, which recognizes successful collaborations between school districts and charters

Achievement First collaborates with its host districts and is a pioneer in district/charter partnerships.

Proposed RI Enrollment Plan

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Grade Year 1 2012-13

Year 2 2013-14

Year 3 2014-15

Year 4 2015-16

Year 5 2016-17

K 88 176 176 176 176

1 88 176 176 176 176

2 86 172 172 172

3 80 160 160

4 74 148

5 88

Total Students

176 438 604 758 920

Per statute, AF Mayoral Academies will offer an equal number of seats to students from Providence and Cranston. It is our goal to grow into a K-12 network of

schools, contingent on future charter renewals.