Achievement First reviews

Thank you for your sharing this review. Although your insight is incredibly alarming, I would be grateful for the chance to follow-up and learn more. I’m going to respond broadly to some of the content in your review in order to shed light on our larger organization for other reviewers – but my response is not meant to demean your personal truth or experience. I am incredibly eager to hear more about your experience. Your review is anonymous but you can reach me at tomkaiser@achievementfirst.org. Yelling at kids is NOT a part of our coaching playbook. We are big believers in strong voice and “warm/demanding” tone (as described by Lisa Delpit) but yelling in a kids face is inappropriate and disrespectful (at best). No argument can be made otherwise. Student investment is a network-wide priority at AF next year and we’re making a major investment in a new approach to social-emotional learning (thanks to a partnership with Valor Collegiate Academies). It is a critical part of our mission if we’re serious about preparing kids for college success (and we are). We’ve actively worked to reduce suspensions, and cut the number of suspensions in half at AF over the last three years. They are not used as a tool to actively push kids out. We have lower student attrition rates than many of our district peers and we replace any scholar that we lose to make sure that we’re still serving the community to the fullest extent that we can. The people at AF (the students, parents, and teachers) are the lifeblood of our organization. Without them, we do not exist. With their deep partnership, we can create something spectacular. This was obviously not your experience and I would relish the opportunity to learn more.