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AF is getting athletic these days! As our teachers enrich students in the class room, scholars across our states are also pushing themselves outside. Below you can see our first NYC high school climbing team. Say hello to the AF University Prep High Sloths! In Connecticut, our kids at Elm City College Prep Elementary are building up their soccer practice (it's enrichment during the school day!) AND are the FIRST elementary school team in the state of Connecticut to compete as a travel soccer team! It's a blessing to watch these wonderful students grow and show us new dimension of themselves and the network every year.
It’s not every day that you stop by a school and the ENTIRE FOURTH GRADE is ready to perform their very own rap about success and going back to school. But, believe it or not, that is what happened at AF Bridgeport Academy Elementary! Check out this original rap straight outta Bridgeport at the link below (and hit the “CC” button to turn on captions so you get the full impact of the lyrics)! http://glassdoor.com/slink.htm?key=vMYmM
Let's take a look into the past: Back in 2013, Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist urged Achievement First to open their first location in Providence, RI in order to "prove what is possible" for children of the Ocean State. As we strengthen our offerings for students, moments like these remind us why we do what we do: we're bringing a transformative education to students and building a family of innovative educators and practitioners in the process.
At Achievement First, we do our best to envision student success because we know they're capable of incredible things. However, they keep us on our toes and show everyone- not just us- exactly what they can do. The 2019-20 AF Brooklyn High’s Speech and Debate team did just that with an incredibly strong start to their season. One of our eleventh graders deserves a special shout-out—she finished the Yale Invitational with three wins in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate, a team first at a national tournament! We're not only proud of our students, we're proud of the teachers who help them manifest these incredible moments.
Achievement First Bushwick has been named a 2019 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education! In a first for our network, AF Bushwick is among only 362 schools in the entire country to receive this prestigious honor. The award is used to recognize “what is possible when committed educators hold all students and staff to high standards and create vibrant, innovative cultures of teaching and learning.” We are so proud of the teachers, ops, and leaders who made this possible! Our network is proud and energized to keep pushing these boundaries and creating the best environments and experiences for our students!
When we design our processes and goals, we have to think about who our students are and where they come from. Heritage gives us the backdrop against which we push ourselves to excel across the Achievement First network. History is a significant part of the empowerment we want to instill in our students and across our community as a whole. Our strive for excellence in the classroom, to support the growth of phenomenal teachers and staff, and to redefine and reimagine an effective education doesn't exist without the tenets of heritage and history. That's why our schools, like Apollo Middle, take the initiative to create experiences like Latin Heritage Dress Down Day. Here you can see some students wearing their Ecuadorian jerseys to celebrate!
Teaching is about high standards for our students, but it's about nurturing, too! Here's a wonderful picture of a first grade class's group hug at AF Linden Elementary. As educators, we have to keep returning to the question of what pushes our students to grow and what helps them shine as people at the same time! Here's to a lovely week from our friends at Linden Elementary.
When we think about what it means to teach, we always come back to our scholars. Students are looking to educators for guidance through the challenges and opportunities that school presents. What we see consistently at Achievement First is that our teams and teachers are doing something drastic - they're changing social circumstances by teaching students what they're capable of. It's care imbued with high expectations, and it's showing results. Take a look at this link to see what one of our scholars realized he was capable of.
Over the summer, our scholars’ BRILLIANT, inspiring (and tear-inducing!) speeches from their Senior Signing Days were picked up by the media! The CT Post featured Joselyn, a member of the Class of 2019 at AF Amistad High, and her story about creating her own path. Elvis, also an Amistad grad, was featured on The 74, talking about what it means to be Nuyorican. The Hartford Courant featured Walter, AF Hartford High ‘19, and his valedictory advice on achieving immortality. AF Brooklyn High Speech and Debate champ Sasha’s reflections on ableism were published in Kings County Politics. You can take a look at Sasha's words in the link below!
In August, we welcomed over 14,000 scholars back to school! Student leaders from two of our Brooklyn high schools ventured upstate to participate in a leadership retreat with Team Culture to prepare for leading at their schools this year. The trip was full of team building, problem solving, and foosball! AF Endeavor Middle school celebrated their grand return with an inaugural homecoming event (inspired by HBCUs and Beyonce's epic Coachella performance, of course). Perhaps the sweetest moments of returning to school are our principals greeting students as they arrive. Here you can see Principal Davis greeting students as they arrive for day one.
