PERSEVERANCE

2012 ANNUAL REPORT

WHATEVER

Dear Friends, For Achievement First studentsalmost all of whom will be the first in their families to graduate from collegeit 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 ourselvesand how the Achievement First team responded to these challenges. We faced the brutal facts, re-evaluated our approach, planned more and worked harderbecause 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 stateand at Achievement Firstplummeted. 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 Aand 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 failbut 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 itand, 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

What is the Secret of Success?

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 skillsthey are the students who are able to persist through challenges without losing sight of their goals. Named grit in research by University of Pennsylvanias 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 wont give up on our resolve to put more low-income students than ever before on the path to collegeour promise to families must endure through our challenges.

DEDICATION

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.

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 futurea path in which he knew he possessed the persistence to achieve.

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 stateand 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.

RESULTS Two years after the higher

standards were introduced, Achievement First schools and students posted breakthrough gains. Across our schools in New York, weve 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 Yorkone of the wealthiest and highestperforming districts in the state.

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 collegepreparatory program.

WHATS 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.

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 AF Bushwick overhauled

the schools 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.

Courtney OReilly 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 Kaylas teachers about her growth areas and developed strong relationships with Kaylas family to ensure they were partners in her development.

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, fiveyear renewal, citing the schools 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.

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 201112 Progress Reports.

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 Kaylas vocabularyand her confidencegrew in both Spanish and English, she made tremendous reading gains.

WHATS 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 studentsincluding 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!

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

SOLUTION Achievement First

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

Luke Harrison ACADEMIC DEAN, AF AMISTAD HIGH The demands of AF Amistad

Highs 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.

Determination to Prepare Students for the Rigor of College

In 2009, data on SAT and Advanced Placement exams at Achievement First was disappointing: AF Amistad Highs 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.

RESULTS While national SAT averages

have declined, SAT scores across our two high schools have improved 200 points, and AF Amistad Highs 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.

MaryAnn Holland CO-DIRECTOR, THE COLLEGE OFFICE, AF AMISTAD HIGH

Thanks to our SAT class, Oranes combined critical reading and math SAT scores topped 1,000a 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 cant believe this is finally real, that Im 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.

WHATS 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 programsfrom internships to pre-college opportunitiesfor exposure to experiences beyond the classroom and to make them increasingly competitive applicants to universities.

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 Higharticulating clear arguments and collecting compelling, convincing evidencewere the same skills necessary for success in the real world. I am becoming prepared for college and beyond while at Achievement First.

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.

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 socialemotional needs. For Christines 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.

Persistence to Graduate From College

AF Amistad Highs 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 graduationand 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 bachelors 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.

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.

Amy Christie NETWORK DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE, ACHIEVEMENT FIRST

Research on the obstacles facing firstgeneration 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.

WHATS NEXT The college persistence

rate of our first classthe Class of 2010has 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 directionbut 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.

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.

PERSISTENCE

PASSION
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 reportbut 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.

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 Standardsnew, 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 initiallybut we know it is the right decision for our students.

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.

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 superintendentsformer principals of high-performing schoolsto ensure that all of our leaders receive the kind of targeted, individual coaching and support that has been shown to make the greatest difference.

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 Islanda 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.

Diversity and Inclusiveness

With the launch of our Diversity and Inclusiveness Initiative, we are increasing our work to recruit a diverse and highperforming team, to develop and retain talented people of color, and to ensure that all Achievement First staff membersregardless of their backgroundshave 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

NO EXCUSES

Amistad Academy Middle School

Principal: 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.

Achievement Gap

Despite the promise of equal educational opportunity, the United States has largely failed to provide the vast majority of lowincome children with access to the highquality 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 imperativethe 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.

Achievement Firsts Theory of Change

Amistad Academy Middle School
Principal: 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.

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 Firsts 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 sustainablefinancially, humanly and institutionallyover 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.

13,000

Proficiency (65%) in Multiple Subjects *

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

TOP GRADES
Achievement 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.

New York Results

* 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. 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

AF Endeavor A AF Brownsville A AF Bushwick A AF Crown Heights A AF East New York B

* AF Bushwick was the highest-scoring

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 highestperforming districts in the state. 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.

K-8 school in the city on the New York City Department of Education 2011-12 Progress Reports, scoring in the 100th percentile. scored in the 93rd percentile for all New York City schools, and AF Brownsville scored in the 86th percentile. mathematics improvement and showed substantial improvement in English. AF Bushwick also earned full credit for its percentage of eighth graders attaining high school credits.

* Achievement First students are not

* Our elementary and middle schools have

* AF Crown Heights and AF Endeavor both

* AF Bushwick earned full credit for

Bushwick Brownsville Crown Heights East New York

* 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

Achievement First Brownsville Elementary

Principal: Gina Ribeiro (2011-12); Michelle Kagan (2012-13) Open Date: August 2008 Grades Served: K to 4 Number of Students: 419 HIGHLIGHT The schools 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 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 Crown Heights Middle

Principal: 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.

New York Highlights

* 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. 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

* Thirty-one parents from across our

percent of Brooklyn students in the Class of 2013 participated in summer internships. Students worked at organizations including The Childrens Law Center, Moodys Corporation and the American Civil Liberties Union. 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

* We were pleased to open AF Brownsville

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.

* 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

Hartford

New Haven

Bridgeport

Elm City College Prep Middle

Principal: 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.

Connecticut Highlights
* For the 2012-13 academic year,
Achievement Firsts 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. 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 Malloys education reform package. 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 Connecticuts 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

* Through an expanded partnership with

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. school in August 2012AF 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. 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.

* We were thrilled to open our third high

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Elementary

Principal: 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.

* In collaboration with parents and other

* Amistad Academy, Elm City College Prep

Connecticut Results

* 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 percentilemeaning 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. evaluate a schools impact is to look at the achievement of a group of students over time. At Achievement Firsts 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 goala 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 goala 43 percentage point improvement.

* Achievement First high school students

* Across Connecticut, our students are

* It is often said that the best way to

closing the achievement gap by eighth grade, surpassing statewide averages and, in some subjects, outperforming the states most affluent suburban districts. In each of our Connecticut middle schools, our oldest middle school studentseighth gradersachieved 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 states most affluent towns.

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.

New York Vital Stats

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

Achievement First East New York Elementary

Principal: 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 Brooklyns Prospect Park. The students, who performed under the direction of AF East New York Elementary dance teacher Meghan Carter, also danced in the festivals official music video.

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 schools 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 Middle

Principal: 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 schools first Multicultural Fair, a successful event attended by more than 300 students and their families.

NEVER SETTLE

CURIOSITY
Amistad 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 schools first Black History Month celebration, during which student performances highlighted AfricanAmerican achievement through singing, poetry and dance.

Achievement First Hartford Academy Elementary

Principal: 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 Middle

Principal: Jeff House Open Date: August 2008 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 336 HIGHLIGHT The schools soccer team won the city championship, and the boys and girls basketball teams both competed in the city playoffs.

Proficiency (65%) in Multiple Subjects

Connecticut Vital Stats

Achievement First Amistad High

Principal: 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 traveled to Boston to visit Northeastern University and enjoy an overnight stay inside the Museum of Science.

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle

Principal: Morgan Barth Open Date: August 2007 Grades Served: 5 to 8 Number of Students: 323 HIGHLIGHT The schools 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 Nights Dream.

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

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.

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.

Talent Development 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.

Achievement 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.

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 datadriven instructional plans that target wholeclass, small-group and one-on-one instruction to address any gaps in student learning.

More Time on Task

The 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

GRIT
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 Firsts school culture include the following:

* 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. Wilsons 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 schools chosen uniform.

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

* Parents Are Partners At Achievement

* 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.

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. 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.

* College Focus The message at

* Joy Factor Achievement First believes

* 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.

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

Network Support Finances

Core Revenues
Management Fees Public Grants Philanthropy Other Total Revenues 7,978,426 392,099 3,950,000 27,450 12,347,975

Network Support Expenses

11% 26% 11%

Core Expenses
Personnel Expenses Non-personnel Expenses Total Expenses (before depreciation) 9,158,063 3,174,588 12,332,651 15,325

14% 22% 16%

Surplus/(Deficit)

School Support and Curriculum Development 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. Talent Development and Recruiting Development and Community Relations Leadership and Administration Information Technology and Data Operations and Finance

Achievement First Endeavor Elementary

Principal: 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 Middle

Principal: Amy DAngelo (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.

Our School Finances

$14,539 $774

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
Host District Expenses
$12,828 $3,656 $2,208

NEW YORK Achievement First Model

$238

$14,542 $14,449

CT $13,068

Host District Expenses

$11,363

$1,275

$2,861

$10,884 $13,527 $9,345 $8,502

**
*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.

**

Revenue, Philanthropy Revenue, Federal Revenue, State and District Non-personnel Expenses Personnel Expenses

Facilities

* A new playfield opened at Elm City

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 * The $4.2-million renovation of AF hard to scale our facilities to Bridgeport Academy Middle added a meet the growth and longevity new main entrance, an expanded of the organization. This is only cafeteria, a new gymnasium, two new possible through generous classrooms, an elevator to complete ADA support from our donors and access throughout the building, a new main office and a new landscaped parking cooperative partnerships with traditional public school districts. lot. The Low Income Investment Fund
was a valuable partner through a $2.7-million loan.

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.

* 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. 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. 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.

* AF Amistad High has been awarded a

Achievement First Brooklyn High

Principal: Paul Adler Open Date: August 2009 Grades Served: 9 to 11 Number of Students: 192 HIGHLIGHT In the schools 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 Leagues 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.

* 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 buildings amenities, including a full-size gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium. The renovation represented a $600,000 investment into the space.

* Achievement First is working with

Donors
Individuals
Sabeela Aftabodeen-khan Nancy Ahern Bruce Alexander Margaret B. Allison Nitesh Ambastha Stephen Anbinder Judith Andrews Anonymous Diane Ariker Mary Arnstein Amy Arthur Samuels Alan Asa Jon Atkeson Rosemary Avery Sayan Banerjee Brian Barkley Eve Barron Morgan Barth Richard and Ilene Barth Joseph Bartholomew Dominic Basile Myrna Baskin Jim Bennett Dr. Eric and Mrs. Ethel Berger William R. Berkley Carey Bisbee Andrew and Carol Boas Lisa Bonnifield Laxmikant Bopalkar Doug Borchard and Barbara Talcott Matthew Borin Joseph Boskovski Harold and Rachel Brooks Susan Simpson Brown Jane Bryggare Amy Budinger Julie Burton and George P. Sharrad Peter Butler Guido and Anne Calabresi Nicole Campbell Linc Caplan Lawrence Caruso William Chabla Avik Chatterjee Michelle Chau Natalia Chefer Iris Chen Xiying Chen David Chorney Allen Church Joanne Clain Laura Clancy Henry H. Clark III Paul Farrell and Paula Cleary Justin Cohen William Cohen Theodore Coons Terry and Lou Ann Counihan Michael and Joyce Critelli Ray Cunningham William Curran Diana Czel Barry and Pauline Dahne Tony Davis and Suzy Franczak Nicole Day Donna D. Desilus Milton and Margaret DeVane Howard Dingle Leander Dolphin Neel Doshi Frank Downey Susan and Thomas Dunn Cindy and David Eigen Audrey Eisenlohr Emily Eisenlohr Tracy Epp Martin Erb George and Laura Estes John and Katharine Esty Cece and Richard Fabbro Ruth M. Feldman Mr. and Mrs. Eric N. Ferguson Richard and Marissa Ferguson Harris Ferrell Barry and Pamela Fingerhut Tom Foley and Leslie Fahrenkopf Dorothy and Jon Fox Catherine Frantzis Timothy Frazier Christina Frey Rob Fried Monica Gaffney Denise Gallucci Amy Williams and William I. Garfinkel Lee Gelernt Sheri and David Gellman Chris and Toddie Getman Lorraine Gibbons Frank and Marjorie Gillis Lynn and Thomas Goldberg Timothy Goodson Marc and Kristine K. Granetz William and Jean Graustein Sarah Grayson Adam and Carolyn Greene Melinda and Charles Greenlee W. Patric Gregory Geoff and Sheri Griffin Michael D. Griffin and Molly Butler Hart Lesley and Ike Groff Chris Growney Allen Hadelman L. Priscilla Hall Marnie Halsey Jim and Melinda Hamilton Taylor and Amy Harmeling Anne Harris Mike and Sally Harris Steven and Maryln Hart Elizabeth and James Hartzell Darrell Harvey Jonathan and Beth Hayes William and Judy Heins Debra and John Hertz Karen and Robert Hess Howard K. Hill Howard Model and Donna Howe Andrew Hubbard Salvatore Internicola Anastasia Iourtchevksi Norman and Sandra Jellinghaus Judith Jenkins Regina Johnson Joe Jolson Katherine Joyce Timur Kalimov Richard and Lydia Kalt Harold and Peggy Kamins Isa Karce Vipin Babu Kasarla Shelly and Michael Kassen Daniel J. Kelley Donald M. Kendall Dorsey Kendrick Barbara Kerin Marcia Kessler Charles and Gretchen Kingsley Matt Klein Theodore and Maribel Knappen Aaron Koffman Harvey and Ruth Koizim Moira Konrad Carol Kranowitz Jessica Krant Christopher and Robin Kunhardt Andrew Lachman and Ruth Messinger Ishan Lal Jean LaVecchia Marsha Lederer Tung-Chieh Lee William and Kate Lee Richard and Jane Levin Kevin and Erika Long Henry Lord Richard and Katherine Loughlin Babette and Gary Lubben Heather Lynch Robert Lyons Marlene Macauda Grant McCracken Paul and Cynthia McCraven Doug McCurry Brendan McVeigh Cornelius Medas Maximino Medina Frances Messano John Minshall Emerson Moore Michelle Morin John Motley Melanie Mullan Zhanna Mullokandova Gerard Murphy Michelle Murray Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Netter David Newton Harold and Sandra Noborikawa Kenneth Oba Brian and Jill Olson Michael ONeill Peter and Beverly Orthwein Sharon Oster and Raymond Fair Colleen Palmer Lauren and Michael Park Michael Park and James Quinn Nicole Patterson Kathleen Pedrolini Maximo Perez Justin Perl Michael Petryczenko Jim Peyser Patricia Pierce and Marc Rubenstein Nick Piscno Constance Chung and Maury Povich Nadya Prashad David Quezada Edward Raice Tatsiana Rebenkova William Reese and Dorothy Hurt Christopher Rezek Lystra and Renelle Richardson Claire Robinson Gerald Rosenberg and Cheryl Wiesenfeld Karl and Elaine Rosenberger Marshall Ruben and Carolyn Greenspan Mary Corson and Jonathan Sackler Susan Santana Gregory Santoni Michael Sarezky Ken and Laura Saverin Jennifer Schiff Eric Schmale Jack Schnirman Gabriel Schwartz Nathaniel Schwartz Andrew and Erica Schwedel Habib Shaikh Deborah Shanley Sanjay Sharma Sarah Sherwood Michelle Shortsleeve Mark Shufro Constance Silver Bruce and Pamela Simonds Benjamin Smeal Janie Smith Jennifer Smith Turner Nate Snow Jon Sonneborn John and Susan Steuer Chrystal Stokes-Williams Lawrence and Joyce Stupski Lizette B. Suxo James Sweeney Patricia Sweet Zebulon Taintor Matthew Tartaglia Sarah and Christian Taubman Holland Taylor Iris Taylor Denny Tejada Samuel Tenenbaum Michael Thomas Margaret H. Tilney Caroline Toll Dacia M. Toll and Jeffrey Klaus Dan and Sue Toll Deborah Toll Heather Tow-Yick Kenneth and Kathleen Tropin Alexander and Dale Troy Gretchen Unfried Steven Vames Michael Van Leesten Brian VanDenBerghe Elisa Villlanueva Beard Dushyant Vishnoi Sanjeev Wadhawan Giselle Wagner and Paul Myerson Kathryn Webster Benjamin Weetman Joanne Weiss Mildred M. White Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Tiger and Caroline Williams Edward and Mary Lou Winnick Richard Witmer Martha Wood Ambrose Wooden Jr. Benjamin Wright Joao Zambujeiro David Zawistowski Nancy and David Zwiener

Corporations

Ashforth Properties, Inc. Bank of America Capstone Digital McKinsey & Company Newman Architects Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. The Wave, Inc. Thomson Reuters Yale New Haven Hospital Yale University Yannix Management LP

Foundations

Anonymous Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Inc. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Carnegie Corporation Carolyn Foundation Charles Hayden Foundation Charter School Growth Fund Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation, Inc. Credit Suisse Americas Foundation David and Geri Epstein Private Foundation First Niagara Bank Foundation George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation H. A. Vance Foundation Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels Trust John B. and Ruth L. Kilton Fund at The Rhode Island Foundation Junior League of Greater New Haven Kirby Family Foundation Leo Nevas Memorial Fund at the Fairfield County Community Foundation Lone Pine Foundation Marx Family Foundation Near & Far Aid Association NewAlliance Foundation New Profit, Inc. Newmans Own Foundation NewSchools Venture Fund Northeast Utilities Foundation, Inc. Peoples United Community Foundation Peter and Barbara McSpadden Fund at the Fairfield County Community Foundation Robertson Foundation Robin Hood Foundation Savin Family Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Scholarship America Schwedel Foundation Seedlings Foundation Shumway Capital Foundation Silverleaf Foundation Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation, Inc. Tauck Foundation The Achelis Foundation The Broad Foundation The Carson Family Charitable Trust The Cerimon Fund The Charter Oak Challenge Foundation, Inc. The Clark Foundation The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven The Grossman Family Foundation The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation The Hyde and Watson Foundation The Louis Calder Foundation The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation The Moodys Foundation The Ohnell Family Foundation, Inc. The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation The Stewart & Constance Greenfield Foundation The Vince and Linda McMahon Family Foundation, Inc. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The William H. Pitt Foundation, Inc. Travelers Foundation UIL Holdings Corporation Woodward Fund

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

Boards of Directors
Achievement First Network Support Board
William R. Berkley CHAIR W.R. Berkley Corporation, Chairman and CEO Doug Borchard TREASURER New Profit, Inc., Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer Barry 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, COO Jennifer Smith Turner Girl Scouts of Connecticut, CEO Ariela Rozman The New Teacher Project, CEO Harold Kamins Community Activist Marlene Macauda Mellick & Sexton, P.C., Attorney Wiley Mullins Uncle Wileys Specialty Foods, Inc., President James Bennett Really Good Stuff, Owner Chris Kunhardt J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., Managing Director Judy Andrews AF Bridgeport Academy Middle, Teacher Debra Hertz The Strategy Group, LLC, Managing Director Cornelius Medas Parent Representative Shelly Kassen Selectman, Town of Westport (representative through 3/12)

Achievement First Crown Heights

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

Achievement First Brownsville

Kelly Wachowicz CHAIR EKO Asset Management, Consulting Partner Chrystal Stokes Williams TREASURER American Express Company, Vice President of IP Strategy Amy Arthur Samuels J.P. Morgan, Vice President Glovena Moore Parent Representative Lee Gelernt ACLU Immigrants Rights Project, Deputy Director Max Polaner Achievement First, Chief Financial and Operating Officer Julie Marlette 50Can, Vice President of Government Relations Nicole Campbell Operation Generation Values, Managing Director (representative through 5/12)

Achievement First East New York

Jon Atkeson CHAIR Fortress Investment Group, Managing Director Matt Tartaglia TREASURER Deloitte Services LP, Director Aaron Koffman The Hudson Companies, Senior Project Manager Lee Gause Smile Design Manhattan, Dentist Melanie Mullan Turnaround for Children, Inc., Vice President for Field Operations Sarah Coon Achievement First, Senior Director, Talent Development Angela Tucker Parent Representative

Achievement First Apollo

Andy Hubbard CHAIR Credit Suisse, Managing Director Ambrose Wooden, Jr. TREASURER Goldman Sachs, Analyst Matt Klein Blue Ridge Foundation, Executive Director Miriam Raccah Achievement First, Vice President, External Relations, NY (AF representative through 5/12) Mirian Rodriguez Parent Representative Natalia Chefer D.E. Shaw, Vice President Nathaniel Schwartz General Atlantic, LLC, Associate (representative through 5/12)

Achievement First Endeavor

Claire Robinson CHAIR Moodys Corporation, Senior Managing Director Chris Growney TREASURER Clearwater Analytics, Co-Founder Erica Williamson Achievement First, Senior Director, Human Capital Frances Messano Monitor, Consultant Justin Cohen M. Brixton Partners, CEO Prentiss Leary Parent Representative Theodore Coons Technology Crossover Ventures, Principal Michael Park McKinsey & Company, Partner

Achievement First Bushwick

Deborah 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 Operations Harris Ferrell Achievement First, Chief Information Officer Iris Chen I Have A Dream Foundation, CEO/President Jack Schnirman Long Beach, NY, City Manager Andromeda Hansraj Parent Representative

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy

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

EXCELLENCE
Achievement First Hartford Academy Amistad Academy
Jean LaVecchia CHAIR Northeast Utilities System, Vice President of Human Resources and Ethics Marshall Ruben VICE CHAIR Ruben, Johnson & Morgan, P.C., President John Motley TREASURER MotleyBeup, Owner Colleen Palmer SECRETARY Weston Public Schools, Superintendent Denise Gallucci CREC, General Director of Magnet Schools Ja Hannah Vision Enterprises, Owner Nancy Zweiner DesignSourceCT, LLC, Owner Laura Estes Philanthropist Gretchen Unfried AF Hartford Academy Elementary, Teacher James Morton Greater Hartford YMCA, President Alexander Troy CHAIR Troy Capital, LLC, CEO Michael Van Leesten VICE CHAIR Hopkins School, Director of Breakthrough New Haven Michael D. Griffin TREASURER Warmaug Associates, CEO Jane Levin SECRETARY Yale University, Senior Lecturer, Department of Humanities John DeStefano Jr. City of New Haven, Mayor Sherri Gellman SG Partners, Founder/CEO Lorraine Gibbons Parent Representative Dorsey Kendrick Gateway Community College, President Andrew Lachman Connecticut Center for School Change, Executive Director Paul McCraven First Niagara Bank, Senior Vice President Caroline Williams Event Coordinator Michael Thomas ArchAngel Ventures, President Howard K. Hill HKH Funeral Services, Director Director Lisa Bonnifield Amistad Academy Elementary, Teacher

Elm City College Preparatory

Dick Ferguson CHAIR New City Foundation Melinda Hamilton VICE CHAIR Education Activist Will Heins TREASURER Private Investor Lystra Richardson SECRETARY Southern Connecticut State University, Professor Harold Brooks City of New Haven, Senior Accountant Joyce Critelli Community Activist (representative through 3/12) Carolyn Greenspan Blue State Coffee, COO Marnie Halsey Education Activist M. Ann Levett Yale School Development Program, Executive Director Sharon M. Oster Yale School of Management, Frederick D. Wolfe Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Program on Social Enterprise Patricia Pierce Community Activist Laura 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.

CT Office 403 James Street New Haven, CT 06513 NY Office 1485 Pacific Street Brooklyn, NY 11216 www.achievementfirst.org